Editing Woodrow Wilson (section)

=== Democratic nomination ===
{{Main|1912 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1912 Democratic National Convention}}
Wilson became a prominent 1912 presidential contender immediately upon his election as [[Governor of New Jersey]] in 1910, and his clashes with state party bosses enhanced his reputation with the rising Progressive movement.<ref>Cooper (2009), pp. 140–141</ref> In addition to progressives, Wilson enjoyed the support of Princeton alumni such as [[Cyrus McCormick Jr.]] and Southerners such as [[Walter Hines Page]], who believed that Wilson's status as a transplanted Southerner gave him broad appeal.<ref>Berg (2013), pp. 212–213</ref> Though Wilson's shift to the left won the admiration of many, it also created enemies such as [[George Brinton McClellan Harvey]], a former Wilson supporter who had close ties to [[Wall Street]].<ref>Berg (2013), pp. 224–225</ref> In July 1911, Wilson brought [[William Gibbs McAdoo]] and "Colonel" [[Edward M. House]] in to manage the campaign.<ref>Heckscher (1991), p. 238.</ref> Prior to the [[1912 Democratic National Convention]], Wilson made a special effort to win the approval of three-time Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan, whose followers had largely dominated the Democratic Party since the [[1896 United States presidential election|1896 presidential election]].<ref>Cooper (2009), pp. 141–142</ref>

Speaker of the House [[Champ Clark]] of Missouri was viewed by many as the front-runner for the nomination, while House Majority Leader [[Oscar Underwood]] of Alabama also loomed as a challenger. Clark found support among the Bryan wing of the party, while Underwood appealed to the conservative [[Bourbon Democrat]]s, especially in the South.<ref>Cooper (2009), pp. 149–150</ref> In the [[1912 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], Clark won several of the early contests, but Wilson finished strong with victories in Texas, the Northeast, and the Midwest.<ref>Berg (2013), pp. 229–230</ref> On the first presidential ballot of the Democratic convention, Clark won a plurality of delegates; his support continued to grow after the New York [[Tammany Hall]] machine swung behind him on the tenth ballot.<ref>Cooper (2009), pp. 155–156</ref> Tammany's support backfired for Clark, as Bryan announced that he would not support any candidate that had Tammany's backing, and Clark began losing delegates on subsequent ballots.<ref>Berg (2013), p. 233</ref> Wilson gained the support of [[Roger Charles Sullivan]] and [[Thomas Taggart]] by promising the vice presidency to Governor [[Thomas R. Marshall]] of Indiana.<ref>Roger C. Sullivan and the Triumph of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1908–1920. Chapter 5, Roger Sullivan and the 1912 Democratic Convention</ref> and several Southern delegations shifted their support from Underwood to Wilson. Wilson finally won two-thirds of the vote on the convention's 46th ballot, and Marshall became Wilson's running mate.<ref>Cooper (2009), pp. 157–158</ref>