Editing Charles Evans Hughes (section)

==Presidential candidate==
{{further|1916 United States presidential election}}
[[File:Charles E Hughes campaigning in Winona MN 1916.jpg|thumb|Hughes in [[Winona, Minnesota]], during the [[1916 United States presidential election|1916]] presidential campaign campaigning on the [[Olympian Hiawatha|Olympian]]]]

Taft and Roosevelt endured a bitter split during Taft's presidency, and Roosevelt challenged Taft for the 1912 Republican presidential nomination. Taft won re-nomination, but Roosevelt ran on the ticket of a [[third party (United States)|third party]], the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]].<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|p=82}}</ref> With the split in the Republican Party, Democratic Governor [[Woodrow Wilson]] defeated Taft and Roosevelt in the [[1912 United States presidential election|1912 presidential election]] and enacted his progressive [[The New Freedom|New Freedom]] agenda.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Henretta|2006|pp=142–143}}</ref> Seeking to bridge the divide in the Republican Party and limit Wilson to a single term, several Republican leaders asked Hughes to consider running in the [[1916 United States presidential election|1916 presidential election]]. Hughes at first rebuffed those entreaties, but his potential candidacy became the subject of widespread speculation and polls showed that he was the preferred candidate of many Republican voters.

By the time of the June [[1916 Republican National Convention]], Hughes had won two presidential primaries, and his backers had lined up the support of numerous delegates. Hughes led on the first presidential ballot of the convention and clinched the nomination on the third ballot. Hughes accepted the nomination, becoming the first and only sitting Supreme Court Justice to serve as a [[List of United States major party presidential tickets|major party's presidential nominee]], and submitted his resignation to President Wilson. Roosevelt, meanwhile, declined to run again on a third party ticket, leaving Hughes and Wilson as the only major candidates in the race.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|pp=95–99}}</ref>

[[File:ElectoralCollege1916.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.2|1916 electoral vote results]]

Because of the Republican Party's dominance in presidential elections held since the election of [[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1860, Hughes was widely regarded as the favorite even though Wilson was the incumbent. His candidacy was further boosted by his own reputation for intelligence, personal integrity, and moderation. Hughes also won the public support of both Taft and Roosevelt, though Roosevelt remained uneasy with Hughes, who he feared would be a "Wilson with whiskers." However, the 1912 split in Republican ranks remained a lingering issue, and Hughes damaged his campaign by deciding to base his California campaign with the conservative Republican regulars. [[Hiram Johnson]], the Governor of California who had been Roosevelt's running mate in the 1912 election, endorsed Hughes but the Progressive forces ignored Hughes.<ref>Spencer C. Olin, ''California's Prodigal Sons: Hiram Johnson and the Progressives, 1911-1917'' (1968) pp, 152-155.</ref> Nationally, because of Hughes's opposition to the [[Adamson Act]] and the [[Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Sixteenth Amendment]], most former Progressive Party leaders endorsed Wilson.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Henretta|2006|p=144}}</ref> By election day, Hughes was still generally considered to be the favorite. He performed strongly in the Northeast and early election returns looked good. Nevertheless, Woodrow Wilson, as expected, swept the [[Solid South]] while also winning several states in the Midwest and Great Plains, where his candidacy was boosted by a strong antiwar sentiment. Wilson ultimately prevailed after winning the decisive state of California by fewer than 4,000 votes.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|p=104}}</ref>

===Return to law practice and political advising===
After the election, Hughes turned down offers from larger organizations and returned to his small law firm, now known as Hughes, Rounds, Schurman & Dwight.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|p=115}}</ref> In March 1917, Hughes joined with many other Republican leaders in demanding that Wilson declare war on the [[Central Powers]] after [[German Empire|Germany]] sank several American merchant ships. The next month, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war, and the United States [[American entry into World War I|entered]] [[World War I]].<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|pp=106–108}}</ref> Hughes supported Wilson's military policies, including the imposition of the draft, and he served as chairman of New York City's draft appeals board. He also investigated the aircraft industry on behalf of the Wilson administration, exposing numerous inefficiencies.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|pp=115–116}}</ref> He once again returned to private practice after the war, serving a wide array of clients, including five [[Socialist Party of America|Socialists]] who had been expelled from the New York legislature for their political beliefs.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|pp=116–117}}</ref> He sought to broker a compromise between President Wilson and Senate Republicans regarding US entrance into Wilson's proposed [[League of Nations]], but the Senate rejected the League and the [[Treaty of Versailles]].<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|pp=121–122}}</ref>

With Wilson's popularity declining, many Republican leaders believed that their party would win the [[1920 United States presidential election|1920 presidential election]]. Hughes remained popular in the party, and many influential Republicans favored him as the party's candidate in 1920. Hughes was struck by personal tragedy when his daughter, Helen, died in 1920 of tuberculosis, and he refused to allow his name to be considered for the presidential nomination at the [[1920 Republican National Convention]]. The party instead nominated a ticket consisting of Senator [[Warren G. Harding]] of Ohio and Governor [[Calvin Coolidge]] of Massachusetts.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|pp=122–123}}</ref> The Republican ticket won in a landslide, taking 61 percent of the popular vote.<ref name="Simon 2012 132">{{harvnb|ps=.|Simon|2012|p=132}}</ref>