Presidential Primaries and Caucuses: The 1912 Republican Primaries
In 1912, William Howard Taft probably knew that his prospects for re-election as president were in trouble. He faced two strong challengers for his renomination, never a good sign for an incumbent President. One of his challengers was a former President as well as his former mentor. A century ago, not every state held presidential primaries. Most state delegations were controlled by party bosses, and most of these liked (or at least preferred) Taft as their candidate. But in this early progressive era, eleven of the thirteen states that held primaries in the Republican Party sent a different message. Taft faced challenges to his renomination as the Republican Party's candidate for President from Theodore Roosevelt and from another progressive, Wisconsin Senator Robert LaFollette.
Taft's problems were no so much caused by a divided nation as they were by a divided Republican Party. The party was conflicted between its conservative wing, which supported Taft, and the more populist progressive wing of the party. Senator Robert LaFollette was a favorite among these Republicans. When Theodore Roosevelt returned from his travels out of the country, he too supported the progressives in the party and was displeased with much that Taft had done. By the middle of 1909, progressive Republicans had started accusing Taft of giving the pro-business wing of the party control when it came to filling political positions and doling out patronage. Roosevelt was also upset with Taft's actions in firing Roosevelt's good friend Bronson Pinchot from the position of Chief Forester following a dispute between Pinchot and Taft's Secretary of the Interior.
During the off-year elections of 1909, battles between reformers and conservatives were waged without a clear victor. In New York State, Governor Charles Evans Hughes asked the legislature to pass a bill providing for primary elections for each state office except for that of presidential electors. The proposal for primaries became the major issue in the state legislative elections, and the Democrats gained five seats. The following year, Roosevelt and sitting Vice President James S. Sherman each wanted to be the temporary chairman of the New York State Republican convention. Sherman's victory upset the progressive Republicans, highligting divisions within the party. The battle continued into Michigan that summer, where local conventions in the summer became polarized over Roosevelt.
Intra-party tension cost the Republicans in the midterm elections of 1910. In the Senate, the Democrats took ten seats from the Republicans, although the party still held the majority. But Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, defeating 45 incumbent Republicans to move from a 47-vote deficit to a 67 seat majority. In gubernatorial races, the Democrats took Idaho, Maine, and New Jersey while the Republicans took Nebraska, Nevada, and Tennessee. An Independent was elected in Wyoming, taking that seat out of the Republican column.
One of the major goals of the progressives in 1911 was for more primaries. By July 12, at least six states had passed legislation for delegates to the national convention to be chosen in primaries: North Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oregon, New Jersey, and Florida. Progressive Republicans increased their calls for primaries following the off-year election of 1911. On November 11, leading Progressives contacted all Republican state chairmen and asked them to provide for selection of delegates to the upcoming Republican National Convention by primaries.
During the last two months of 1911, Progressive Republican leaders considered their options for the spring primaries. La Follette was gaining endorsements from progressives around the nation, but he many in the party considered him to be too radical for the party. They saw the former President Theodore Roosevelt as a better option. One by one, leading progressives began to announce their support for Roosevelt. On November 21, Roosevelt's name was officially entered into a primary, that of Nebraska. Roosevelt finally announced on December 23 that he would accept the nomination if granted to him, but he said that he would not campaign for it. A couple on months later, in February 1912, that changed when Roosevelt officially began his campaign for the nomination.
Taft, Roosevelt, and La Follette began their battle for delegates in state conventions and continued through the primary season. The first presidential preference primary that year was held in North Dakota on March 19. But by then, Taft was leading in the delegate count with 127 to 10 for his challengers. He had won these delegates not in primaries, but in state conventions where party bosses held considerable influence. Fearing loss of that influence, these bosses opted to support Taft, who wanted to maintain the status quo.
In the first primary, voters who braved the cold in North Dakota on primary day to give La Follette the first official presidential primary victory. The campaign in the state was dominated by the progressives and was almost exclusively a Roosevelt vs. La Follette race. La Follette won the contest by a margin of 57% to 40% for Roosevelt and 3% for Taft. Roosevelt blamed his loss on Democrats who he said had come out to vote for La Follette to embarrass his candidacy.
President Taft's first major victory came in New York's primary on March 26. Just before the vote, the New York Times reported that Taft had won 134 out of the 170 delegates chosen nationwide. New York Republicans voted overwhelmingly for Taft, by roughly a 2-to-1 margin; New York City gave Taft nearly 70% of the vote there. It was an embarrassing loss for Roosevelt in his home state and his second loss in the first two presidential primaries.
Roosevelt changed his strategy following his loss in New York. He announced on March 28 that he intended to run as an independent if he did not win his party's nomination. Roosevelt continued falling further behind in the delegate counts. La Follette won another primary on April 2 in his home state of Wisconsin. There he defeated Taft by a 73–26% margin. Roosevelt missed the filing deadline and only received some write-in votes.
Roosevelt's fortunes began to change with the Illinois primary on April 9. It turned out to be his first primary victory. Roosevelt won 61% of the vote to Taft 29% and La Follette 10%. Roosevelt won every county in the state. In the two weeks following the Illinois primary, Roosevelt won three more states. He defeated Taft by a 60-40% margin in Pennsylvania on April 13. Nebraska and Oregon voted on April 19, and Roosevelt won both of these states by receiving 59% and 40% respectively. Taft eked out a 50–48% win in Massachusetts, but Roosevelt won more delegates even though he placed second. By the end of the month, Roosevelt was leading in delegates chosen in primaries with 179 to 108 for Taft and 36 for La Follette.
Because only 14 states held primaries, Taft had 428 delegates overall while Roosevelt had 204 and La Follette had 36. On June 17, 1912, the Chicago Tribune published a column on the Republican primary entitled, "10 From South Desert Taft for Roosevelt". In this column the writer claimed that five Mississippi delegates and five Georgia delegates announced that they would not be supporting Taft in this second presidential election, and instead would switch their support to Roosevelt. All ten of the delegates signed a statement to this effect.
Roosevelt attacked President Taft in the Chicago Tribune on June 17, 1912 in a column that he authored. In the column Roosevelt wrote about the differences between his delegates and those for Taft. He stated that the delegates Taft had were from territories or states that had never cast a Republican electoral vote or were controlled by federal patronage. Roosevelt described Taft's delegates as follows: "one-eighth of his delegates represent a real sentiment for him and seven-eighths represent nothing whatever but the use of patronage in his interest in certain Democratic states". Roosevelt accused Taft of ruining the Republican Party and said that Taft had no chance of winning the election.
Five states voted in the final four weeks of the primary season. Roosevelt won all five states. He won Maryland 53–47 over Taft. In California, Roosevelt received 55% to Taft's 27% and La Follette's 18%. The major shock of the primary season was Roosevelt's 55–40% defeat of Taft in the President's home state of Ohio on May 21. One week later, Roosevelt won New Jersey, 56–41%. The primary season wrapped up with South Dakota, where Roosevelt won with 55%.
Altogether, Roosevelt won 290 delegates in the primaries to 124 for Taft and 36 for La Follette. Including delegates chosen in party conventions. But that didn't help him going into the convention. Taft had a 566–466 margin, placing him over the 540 needed for nomination. The convention turned out to be a disaster for the Republicans. Roosevelt challenged the credentials of nearly half of the Taft delegates, but Taft was supported by the party establishment. Taft delegations in Alabama, Arizona, and California were accredited on very close votes. After losing California, where Roosevelt had won the primary, the progressive delegates gave up hope. Roosevelt had hoped to form a "stop-Taft" alliance with La Follette, but relations were strained between the two and the alliance could not form.
On the evening of June 22, 1912, Roosevelt asked his supporters to leave the convention. He claimed that Taft had allowed fraudulent seating of delegates to win the presidential nomination and cheat the progressives in the party. Republican progressives reconvened in Chicago and endorsed the formation of a national progressive party. When formally launched later that summer, the new Progressive Party chose Roosevelt as its presidential candidate and Governor Hiram Johnson from California as his running mate. Roosevelt told reporters that he felt as strong as a "bull moose". Thanks to that remark, more people think of Roosevelt at the candidate for the "Bull Moose Party," rather than the Progressives.
Taft's problems were no so much caused by a divided nation as they were by a divided Republican Party. The party was conflicted between its conservative wing, which supported Taft, and the more populist progressive wing of the party. Senator Robert LaFollette was a favorite among these Republicans. When Theodore Roosevelt returned from his travels out of the country, he too supported the progressives in the party and was displeased with much that Taft had done. By the middle of 1909, progressive Republicans had started accusing Taft of giving the pro-business wing of the party control when it came to filling political positions and doling out patronage. Roosevelt was also upset with Taft's actions in firing Roosevelt's good friend Bronson Pinchot from the position of Chief Forester following a dispute between Pinchot and Taft's Secretary of the Interior.
During the off-year elections of 1909, battles between reformers and conservatives were waged without a clear victor. In New York State, Governor Charles Evans Hughes asked the legislature to pass a bill providing for primary elections for each state office except for that of presidential electors. The proposal for primaries became the major issue in the state legislative elections, and the Democrats gained five seats. The following year, Roosevelt and sitting Vice President James S. Sherman each wanted to be the temporary chairman of the New York State Republican convention. Sherman's victory upset the progressive Republicans, highligting divisions within the party. The battle continued into Michigan that summer, where local conventions in the summer became polarized over Roosevelt.
Intra-party tension cost the Republicans in the midterm elections of 1910. In the Senate, the Democrats took ten seats from the Republicans, although the party still held the majority. But Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, defeating 45 incumbent Republicans to move from a 47-vote deficit to a 67 seat majority. In gubernatorial races, the Democrats took Idaho, Maine, and New Jersey while the Republicans took Nebraska, Nevada, and Tennessee. An Independent was elected in Wyoming, taking that seat out of the Republican column.
One of the major goals of the progressives in 1911 was for more primaries. By July 12, at least six states had passed legislation for delegates to the national convention to be chosen in primaries: North Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oregon, New Jersey, and Florida. Progressive Republicans increased their calls for primaries following the off-year election of 1911. On November 11, leading Progressives contacted all Republican state chairmen and asked them to provide for selection of delegates to the upcoming Republican National Convention by primaries.
During the last two months of 1911, Progressive Republican leaders considered their options for the spring primaries. La Follette was gaining endorsements from progressives around the nation, but he many in the party considered him to be too radical for the party. They saw the former President Theodore Roosevelt as a better option. One by one, leading progressives began to announce their support for Roosevelt. On November 21, Roosevelt's name was officially entered into a primary, that of Nebraska. Roosevelt finally announced on December 23 that he would accept the nomination if granted to him, but he said that he would not campaign for it. A couple on months later, in February 1912, that changed when Roosevelt officially began his campaign for the nomination.
Taft, Roosevelt, and La Follette began their battle for delegates in state conventions and continued through the primary season. The first presidential preference primary that year was held in North Dakota on March 19. But by then, Taft was leading in the delegate count with 127 to 10 for his challengers. He had won these delegates not in primaries, but in state conventions where party bosses held considerable influence. Fearing loss of that influence, these bosses opted to support Taft, who wanted to maintain the status quo.
In the first primary, voters who braved the cold in North Dakota on primary day to give La Follette the first official presidential primary victory. The campaign in the state was dominated by the progressives and was almost exclusively a Roosevelt vs. La Follette race. La Follette won the contest by a margin of 57% to 40% for Roosevelt and 3% for Taft. Roosevelt blamed his loss on Democrats who he said had come out to vote for La Follette to embarrass his candidacy.
President Taft's first major victory came in New York's primary on March 26. Just before the vote, the New York Times reported that Taft had won 134 out of the 170 delegates chosen nationwide. New York Republicans voted overwhelmingly for Taft, by roughly a 2-to-1 margin; New York City gave Taft nearly 70% of the vote there. It was an embarrassing loss for Roosevelt in his home state and his second loss in the first two presidential primaries.
Roosevelt changed his strategy following his loss in New York. He announced on March 28 that he intended to run as an independent if he did not win his party's nomination. Roosevelt continued falling further behind in the delegate counts. La Follette won another primary on April 2 in his home state of Wisconsin. There he defeated Taft by a 73–26% margin. Roosevelt missed the filing deadline and only received some write-in votes.
Roosevelt's fortunes began to change with the Illinois primary on April 9. It turned out to be his first primary victory. Roosevelt won 61% of the vote to Taft 29% and La Follette 10%. Roosevelt won every county in the state. In the two weeks following the Illinois primary, Roosevelt won three more states. He defeated Taft by a 60-40% margin in Pennsylvania on April 13. Nebraska and Oregon voted on April 19, and Roosevelt won both of these states by receiving 59% and 40% respectively. Taft eked out a 50–48% win in Massachusetts, but Roosevelt won more delegates even though he placed second. By the end of the month, Roosevelt was leading in delegates chosen in primaries with 179 to 108 for Taft and 36 for La Follette.
Because only 14 states held primaries, Taft had 428 delegates overall while Roosevelt had 204 and La Follette had 36. On June 17, 1912, the Chicago Tribune published a column on the Republican primary entitled, "10 From South Desert Taft for Roosevelt". In this column the writer claimed that five Mississippi delegates and five Georgia delegates announced that they would not be supporting Taft in this second presidential election, and instead would switch their support to Roosevelt. All ten of the delegates signed a statement to this effect.
Roosevelt attacked President Taft in the Chicago Tribune on June 17, 1912 in a column that he authored. In the column Roosevelt wrote about the differences between his delegates and those for Taft. He stated that the delegates Taft had were from territories or states that had never cast a Republican electoral vote or were controlled by federal patronage. Roosevelt described Taft's delegates as follows: "one-eighth of his delegates represent a real sentiment for him and seven-eighths represent nothing whatever but the use of patronage in his interest in certain Democratic states". Roosevelt accused Taft of ruining the Republican Party and said that Taft had no chance of winning the election.
Five states voted in the final four weeks of the primary season. Roosevelt won all five states. He won Maryland 53–47 over Taft. In California, Roosevelt received 55% to Taft's 27% and La Follette's 18%. The major shock of the primary season was Roosevelt's 55–40% defeat of Taft in the President's home state of Ohio on May 21. One week later, Roosevelt won New Jersey, 56–41%. The primary season wrapped up with South Dakota, where Roosevelt won with 55%.
Altogether, Roosevelt won 290 delegates in the primaries to 124 for Taft and 36 for La Follette. Including delegates chosen in party conventions. But that didn't help him going into the convention. Taft had a 566–466 margin, placing him over the 540 needed for nomination. The convention turned out to be a disaster for the Republicans. Roosevelt challenged the credentials of nearly half of the Taft delegates, but Taft was supported by the party establishment. Taft delegations in Alabama, Arizona, and California were accredited on very close votes. After losing California, where Roosevelt had won the primary, the progressive delegates gave up hope. Roosevelt had hoped to form a "stop-Taft" alliance with La Follette, but relations were strained between the two and the alliance could not form.
On the evening of June 22, 1912, Roosevelt asked his supporters to leave the convention. He claimed that Taft had allowed fraudulent seating of delegates to win the presidential nomination and cheat the progressives in the party. Republican progressives reconvened in Chicago and endorsed the formation of a national progressive party. When formally launched later that summer, the new Progressive Party chose Roosevelt as its presidential candidate and Governor Hiram Johnson from California as his running mate. Roosevelt told reporters that he felt as strong as a "bull moose". Thanks to that remark, more people think of Roosevelt at the candidate for the "Bull Moose Party," rather than the Progressives.