The 1912 Republican National Convention in session The 1912 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held at the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, from June 18 to June 22, 1912. The party nominated William Howard Taft from Ohio for re-election as President of the United States and James S. Sherman of New York for re-election as Vice President.

Sherman died days before the election, and was replaced as Republican vice-presidential nominee by Nicholas M. Butler of New York.

Party power struggle

This convention marked the beginning of a split in the party, resulting from a power struggle between incumbent Taft and former president Theodore Roosevelt. This was the first year for Republican primaries. Roosevelt overwhelmingly won the primaries — winning 9 out of 12 states (8 by landslide margins). Taft won only the state of Massachusetts (by a small margin); he even lost his home state of Ohio to Roosevelt. Senator Robert M. La Follette, a reformer, won two states. Through the primaries, Senator LaFollette won a total of 36 delegates; President Taft won 48 delegates; and Roosevelt won 278 delegates. However 36 states did not hold primaries. Their delegates were chosen by state conventions, which were controlled by party politics, not by the voter. Many of the state delegates were contested.

Taft controlled the Republican National Committee, which had the power to make decisions on contested delegates. They awarded 235 of the contested delegates to Taft and 19 to Roosevelt. As a result, Roosevelt's delegates abstained from voting at his request.

Detailed results

President

1. William Howard Taft — 561 votes
2. Theodore Roosevelt — 107 votes
3. Robert La Follette — ~36 votes
4. Abstained (Roosevelt delegates) — 322 votes

Vice President

1. James S. Sherman ??? votes

See also

• 1912 Democratic National Convention
• United States presidential election, 1912

References

External links

• 1912 Republican National Convention at Smithsonian Magazine

Further reading

• "1912 Republican National Convention", The Political Graveyard. Accessed February 1, 2006
• "1912 Republican Convention", 1912 Presidential Election Project, Department of History , Ohio State University. Accessed February 1, 2006
• "1912: A Party Splits", Parades, Protests & Politics in Chicago. Accessed February 1, 2006
• "Bull Moose years: Who Won the Presidential Primaries in 1912?".
• William Jennings Bryan, Virgil V. McNitt. ''A Tale of Two Conventions''. Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1912.

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