Editing 1912 United States presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}{{for|related races|1912 United States elections}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1912 United States presidential election
| country = United States
| flag_year = 1912
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1908 United States presidential election
| previous_year = 1908
| election_date = November 5, 1912
| next_election = 1916 United States presidential election
| next_year = 1916
| votes_for_election = 531 members of the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]]
| needed_votes = 266 electoral
| turnout = 58.8% {{decrease}} 6.6 [[percentage point|pp]]
| 1blank = First round
| 2blank = [[Two-round system|Runoff]]
| image_size = x200px
| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Woodrow Wilson Portrait 1912 (3x4 cropped).tif|bSize = 160|cWidth = 150|cHeight = 200|oTop = 0|oLeft = 5}}
| nominee1 = '''[[Woodrow Wilson]]'''
| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)
| home_state1 = [[New Jersey]]
| running_mate1 = '''[[Thomas R. Marshall]]'''
| electoral_vote1 = '''435'''
| states_carried1 = '''40'''
| popular_vote1 = '''6,296,284'''
| percentage1 = '''41.8%'''
| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Unsuccessful 1912 2.jpg|bSize = 150|cWidth = 150|cHeight = 200|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| nominee2 = [[Theodore Roosevelt]]
| party2 = [[Bull Moose Party|Progressive]]
| color2 = a2ed70
| home_state2 = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| running_mate2 = [[Hiram Johnson]]
| electoral_vote2 = 88
| states_carried2 = 6
| popular_vote2 = 4,122,721
| percentage2 = 27.4%
| image4 = [[File:William Howard Taft Portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg|x200px]]
| nominee4 = [[William Howard Taft]]
| party4 = Republican Party (United States)
| home_state4 = [[Ohio]]
| running_mate4 = [[Nicholas Murray Butler]]  <small> (replacing [[James S. Sherman]]) </small>
| electoral_vote4 = 8
| states_carried4 = 2
| popular_vote4 = 3,486,242
| percentage4 = 23.2%
| image5 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Eugene Debs portrait.jpeg|bSize = 150|cWidth = 150|cHeight = 200|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| nominee5 = [[Eugene V. Debs]]
| party5 = Socialist Party of America
| home_state5 = [[Indiana]]
| running_mate5 = [[Emil Seidel]]
| electoral_vote5 = 0
| states_carried5 = 0
| popular_vote5 = 901,551
| percentage5 = 6.0%
| map_size = 100px
| map = {{1912 United States presidential election imagemap}}
| map_caption = Presidential election results map. <span style="color:blue;">Blue</span> denotes states won by Wilson/Marshall, <span style="color:lightgreen;">light green</span> denotes those won by Roosevelt/Johnson, <span style="color:red;">red</span> denotes those won by Taft/Butler. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
| title = President
| before_election = [[William Howard Taft]]
| before_party = Republican Party (United States)
| after_election = [[Woodrow Wilson]]
| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| image1_size = 100px
| image2_size = 100px
| image5_size = 100px
}}
[[United States presidential election|Presidential elections]] were held in the [[United States]] on November 5, 1912. [[History of the United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] governor [[Woodrow Wilson]] of New Jersey unseated incumbent [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican]] president [[William Howard Taft]] while defeating former president [[Theodore Roosevelt]] (who ran under the banner of the new [[Bull Moose Party|Progressive/"Bull Moose" Party]]) and [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]] nominee [[Eugene V. Debs]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Edmund|title=Colonel Roosevelt|publisher=Random House Trade Paperbacks|location=New York|pages=215, 646}}</ref>

Roosevelt served as president from 1901 to 1909 as a Republican, and Taft succeeded him with his support. Taft's conservatism angered Roosevelt, so he challenged Taft for the party nomination at the [[1912 Republican National Convention]]. When Taft and his [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] allies narrowly prevailed, Roosevelt rallied his [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] supporters and launched a [[Third party (United States)|third-party]] bid. At the [[1912 Democratic National Convention|Democratic Convention]], Wilson won the presidential nomination on the 46th ballot, defeating Speaker of the House [[Champ Clark]] and several other candidates with the support of [[William Jennings Bryan]] and other progressive Democrats. The [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]] renominated its perennial standard-bearer, [[Eugene V. Debs]].

The general election was bitterly contested by Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs. Roosevelt's "[[New Nationalism (Theodore Roosevelt)|New Nationalism]]" platform called for [[social insurance]] programs, reduction to an [[eight-hour workday]], and robust federal regulation of the economy. Wilson's "[[The New Freedom|New Freedom]]" platform called for [[Tariffs in United States history|tariff]] reduction, banking reform, and new [[United States antitrust law|antitrust regulation]]. Incumbent Taft conducted a subdued campaign based on his platform of "progressive conservatism". Debs, who was attempting to gain widespread support for his [[socialist]] policies, claimed that Wilson, Roosevelt and Taft were all financed by different factions within the [[capitalist]] trusts, and that Roosevelt in particular was a [[demagogue]] using socialistic language in order to divert socialist policies up safe channels for the capitalist establishment.

The Republican split enabled Wilson to win 40 states and a [[landslide victory]] in the electoral college with just 41.8% of the popular vote, the lowest vote share for a victorious presidential candidate since [[1860 United States presidential election|1860]]. Wilson was the first Democrat to win a presidential election since [[1892 United States presidential election|1892]] as well as the first presidential candidate to receive over 400 electoral votes in a presidential election. Roosevelt finished second with 88 electoral votes and 27% of the popular vote. Taft carried 23% of the national vote and won two states, [[Vermont]] and [[Utah]]. Debs, the fourth-place finisher, won no electoral votes but received 6% of the popular vote, which remains the highest percentage of the vote ever won by a socialist candidate in the history of US presidential elections.

==Background==
Republican president Theodore Roosevelt had declined to run for re-election in [[1908 United States presidential election|1908]] in fulfillment of a pledge to the American people not to seek a third term.{{efn|Though he had become President upon the [[assassination of William McKinley]] in 1901, only six months of McKinley's term had elapsed. Thus, Roosevelt had served nearly a full eight years, effectively two full terms. Although the [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-second Amendment]] to the Constitution did not become effective until 1951, it would have barred Roosevelt from seeking another term, since he had served more than two years to which some other person (McKinley) had been elected.|name=|group=}} Roosevelt had tapped Secretary of War William Howard Taft to become his successor, and Taft defeated [[William Jennings Bryan]] in the 1908 general election.

===Republican Party split===
[[File:For Auld Lang Syne - Leonard Raven-Hill.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' cartoon by [[Leonard Raven-Hill]], depicting the perceived aggression between Taft and Roosevelt.]]

During Taft's administration, a rift developed between Roosevelt and Taft, and they became the leaders of the Republican Party's two wings: [[Progressivism in the United States|progressives]] led by Roosevelt and [[Conservatism in the United States|conservatives]] led by Taft.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gould |first=Lewis L. |title=The Republicans: A History of the Grand Old Party |date=16 October 2014 |publisher=[[Oxford Academic]] |edition=online |location=New York |publication-date=2014 |pages=116–142 |chapter=5. The Taft-Roosevelt Split, 1905–1912 |doi=10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199936625.003.0006 |author-link=Lewis L. Gould}}</ref> Progressives favored labor restrictions protecting women and children, promoted ecological [[conservation (ethic)|conservation]], and were more sympathetic toward [[trade union|labor unions]]. They also favored the popular election of federal and state judges over appointment by the president or governors. Conservatives supported [[Tariff in United States history|high tariffs to encourage domestic production]], but favored business leaders over labor unions and were generally opposed to the popular election of judges.

====Taft's policies====
Cracks in the party began to show when Taft supported the [[Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act]] in 1909.<ref>Coletta, ''Presidency of William Howard Taft'' ch 3</ref> The Act favored the industrial Northeast and angered the Northwest and South, where demand was strong for tariff reductions.<ref>G. M. Fisk, "The Payne-Aldrich Tariff". ''Political Science Quarterly'' (1910).  25(1), 35–39. {{doi|10.2307/2141008}}.</ref> Early in his term, President Taft had promised to stand for a lower tariff bill, but [[protectionism]] had been a major policy of the Republican Party since its founding.<ref>Stanley D. Solvick, "William Howard Taft and the Payne-Aldrich Tariff." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 50.3 (1963): 424–442. {{JSTOR|1902605}}.</ref>

Taft also fought against Roosevelt's antitrust policy.<ref>[[#Anderson|Anderson (1973)]], p. 79</ref> Roosevelt distinguished "good trusts" from "bad trusts", for which he had been lambasted.<ref>{{cite web |title=TR Center – The President's dream of a successful hunt |url=https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record?libID=o290993 |website=www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org}}</ref> Taft argued that all monopolies must be broken up. Taft also fired popular conservationist [[Gifford Pinchot]] as head of the [[Bureau of Forestry]] in 1910.<ref>[[#Schweikart and Allen|Schweikart and Allen]], p. 491.</ref> By 1910, the split within the party was deep, and Roosevelt and Taft turned against one another despite their personal friendship. In that summer Roosevelt began a national speaking tour, during which he outlined his progressive philosophy and the [[New Nationalism (Theodore Roosevelt)|New Nationalist]] platform, which he introduced in a speech in [[Osawatomie, Kansas]], on August 31.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Mara|first=Margaret|title=Pivotal Tuesdays|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia, PA|pages=32}}</ref>

====Court power and judicial recall====
Another source of tension involved the authority of the nation's courts, especially the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court.]] As early as 1910, Roosevelt had begun criticizing certain court decisions, such as ''[[Lochner v. New York]]'' (1905), and those jurists whom he dubbed "fossilized judges." He believed that the Supreme Court was interpreting the due process clause of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th Amendment]] and the doctrine of "freedom of contract" to forestall necessary reform legislation, such as the limiting of work hours. He, as well as more populist progressives like [[William Jennings Bryan]] in the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], came out in favor of an amendment to allow the recall of judges and, possibly, judicial decisions. This outraged Taft (a former judge and future Supreme Court [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice)]] and other constitutional conservatives, like [[Elihu Root]] and [[Alton B. Parker]]. Taft considered Roosevelt a danger to constitutional government and resolved to resist his eventual challenge for the Republican nomination.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Istre |first=Logan S. |date=2021 |title=Bench over Ballot: The Fight for Judicial Supremacy and the New Constitutional Politics, 1910–1916 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1537781420000079/type/journal_article |journal=The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era |language=en |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=2–23 |doi=10.1017/S1537781420000079 |issn=1537-7814}}</ref>

====Roosevelt emboldened====
In the [[1910 United States House of Representatives elections|1910 midterm elections]], the Republicans lost 57 seats in the House of Representatives as the Democrats gained a majority for the first time since [[1894 United States House of Representatives elections|1894]]. These results were a large defeat for the conservative wing of the party.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schantz|first=Harvey L.|title=American Presidential Elections|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany|pages=169}}</ref> [[James E. Campbell (academic)|James E. Campbell]] writes that one cause may have been a large number of progressive voters choosing third-party candidates over conservative Republicans.<ref>{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=James E.|title=The Presidential Pulse of Congressional Elections|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington|pages=261}}</ref> Roosevelt continued to reject calls to run for president into 1911. In a January letter to newspaper editor [[William Allen White]], he wrote, "I do not think there is one chance in a thousand that it will ever be wise to have me nominated."<ref>{{cite letter |first=Theodore |last=Roosevelt |recipient=William Allen White |subject=Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White |date=January 24, 1911 |url=https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record/ImageViewer?libID=o215330&imageNo=1 |access-date=October 12, 2020}}</ref>

However, speculation continued, further harming Roosevelt and Taft's relationship. After months of continually increasing support, Roosevelt changed his position, writing to journalist Henry Beach Needham in January 1912 that if the nomination "comes to me as a genuine public movement of course I will accept."<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Mara |first=Margaret |title=Pivotal Tuesdays |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |pages=35–37}}</ref>

==Nominations==

===Republican Party nomination===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Republican Disc.svg|65px|center|link=Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party (United States)]]<big>'''1912 Republican Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#E81B23; width:200px;" |[[William Howard Taft|{{color|white|William Howard Taft}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#E81B23; width:200px;" |[[James S. Sherman|{{color|white|James S. Sherman}}]]
|- style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#FFD0D7;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;" |'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;" |'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
|[[File:William Howard Taft - Harris and Ewing.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|[[File:James Schoolcraft Sherman.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
|[[List of presidents of the United States|27th]]<br />[[President of the United States]]<br /><small>(1909–1913)</small>
|[[List of vice presidents of the United States|27th]]<br />[[Vice President of the United States]]<br /><small>(1909–1912)</small>
|-
| colspan=2 |[[William Howard Taft#1912 presidential campaign and election|'''Campaign''']]
|-
| colspan=2 |'''566 Delegates<br />791,425''' votes
|}

====Other major candidates====

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- <sup>†</sup>
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center; width:650px; font-size:120%; color:white; background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};"|''Candidates in this section are sorted by number of delegates won in the nomination race''
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Theodore Roosevelt]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Robert M. La Follette, Sr.|Robert La Follette]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Albert B. Cummins|Albert Cummins]]
|-
|[[File:Theodore Roosevelt-Pach.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Robert M La Follette, Sr.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Cummins-Albert-Baird-1911.tif|center|120x120px]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|Fmr. President of the United States<br />from [[New York (state)|New York]]<br />(1901–1909)
|U.S. Senator<br />from [[Wisconsin]]<br /><small>(1906–1925)</small>
|U.S. Senator<br />from [[Iowa]]<br /><small>(1908–1926)</small>
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[Theodore Roosevelt#Election of 1912|Campaign]]
|[[Robert M. La Follette#1912 presidential election|Campaign]]
|[[Albert B. Cummins#Pursuit of the presidency|Campaign]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: June 22, 1912''<br />'''466 Delegates<br />1,183,238''' votes
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: June 22, 1912''<br />'''36 Delegates<br />336,373''' votes
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: June 22, 1912''<br />'''10 Delegates<br />0''' votes
|}

====Delegate selection====
{{Main|1912 Republican Party presidential primaries}}
For the first time, many convention [[Delegate (American politics)|delegates]] were elected in [[United States presidential primary|presidential preference primaries]]. Progressive Republicans advocated [[primary elections]] as a way of breaking the control of political parties by [[political boss|bosses]]. Altogether, twelve states held Republican primaries.

Senator [[Robert M. La Follette, Sr.|Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette]] won two of the first four primaries (North Dakota and his home state of Wisconsin), but Taft won a major victory in Roosevelt's home state of New York and continued to rack up delegates in more conservative, traditional state conventions.

Beginning with a runaway victory in Illinois on April 9, Roosevelt won nine of the last ten presidential primaries (including Taft's home state of Ohio), losing only Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web|title=History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places &#124; Smithsonian|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/1912-republican-convention.html|access-date=2016-08-18|website=Smithsonianmag.com|archive-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927121157/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/1912-republican-convention.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Taft also had support from the bulk of the Southern Republican organizations. Delegates from the former Confederate states supported Taft by a 5 to 1 margin. These states had voted [[Solid South|solidly Democratic]] in every presidential election since [[1880 United States presidential election|1880]], and Roosevelt objected that they were given one-quarter of the delegates when they would contribute nothing to a Republican victory.

====Convention====
{{Main|1912 Republican National Convention}}

For the Republican National Convention, held June 18-22 in [[Chicago]], 388 delegates were selected through the primaries and Roosevelt won 281 delegates, Taft received 71 delegates, and La Follette received 36 delegates. However, Taft had a 566–466 margin, placing him over the 540 needed for nomination, with the delegations selected at state conventions. Roosevelt accused the Taft faction of having over 200 fraudulently selected delegates. However, the [[Republican National Committee]] ruled in favor of Taft for 233 of the delegate cases while 6 were in favor of Roosevelt. The committee reinvestigated the 92 of the contested delegates and ruled in favor of Taft for all of them.<ref name="roosevelt">{{cite book |last=Nash |first=Howard P. Jr. |date=1959 |title=Third Parties in American Politics |publisher=[[PublicAffairs]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/06/16/100586218.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/06/16/100586218.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Taft 566 – Roosevelt 466. – Present Line-Up of Instructed and Pledged Delegates With All the Contests Decided. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1912-06-16 |access-date=2016-02-24}}</ref>

Roosevelt supporters criticized the large amount of delegates coming from areas the Republicans would not win, with over 200 delegates coming from areas that had not been won by a Republican since the [[Compromise of 1877]], or the four delegates that came from the territories which didn't vote in the general election. However, Roosevelt had rejected an attempt to abolish delegations from the south at the [[1908 Republican National Convention]] due to him needing them for Taft's nomination.<ref name="roosevelt" />

[[Herbert S. Hadley]] served as Roosevelt's floor manager at the convention. Hadley made a motion for 74 of Taft's delegates to be replaced by 72 delegates after the reading of the convention call, but his motion was ruled out of order. [[Elihu Root]], a supporter of Taft, was selected to chair the convention after winning 558 votes against [[Francis E. McGovern|McGovern]]'s 501 votes. Root was accused of having won through the [[Rotten and pocket boroughs|rotten boroughs]] of the southern delegations as every northern state, except for four, voted for McGovern.<ref name="roosevelt" /> In his closing speech, Root reiterated the party's support of "constitutional checks and limitations" by quoting figures like Alexander Hamilton, John Marshall, and Abraham Lincoln, effectively rebuking Roosevelt's support of the judicial recall and identifying the GOP with constitutional conservatism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Istre |first=Logan Stagg |date=2021 |title=Bench over Ballot: The Fight for Judicial Supremacy and the New Constitutional Politics, 1910–1916 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1537781420000079 |journal=The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=13 |doi=10.1017/s1537781420000079 |issn=1537-7814}}</ref>

Roosevelt broke with tradition and attended the convention, where he was welcomed with great support from voters.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Mara|first=Margaret|title=Pivotal Tuesdays|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia|pages=44}}</ref> Despite Roosevelt's presence in Chicago and his attempts to disqualify Taft supporters, the incumbent ticket of Taft and [[James S. Sherman]] was renominated on the first ballot.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 23, 1912 |title=Taft Nominee; Sherman His Running Mate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/355105653/ |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=October 12, 2020 }}{{subscription required}}</ref> Sherman was the first sitting vice president re-nominated since [[John C. Calhoun]] in [[1828 United States presidential election|1828]]. After losing the vote, Roosevelt announced the formation of a new party dedicated "to the service of all the people."<ref name="O'Laughlin">{{cite news |last=O'Laughlin |first=John |date=June 23, 1912 |title=Roosevelt Is Named Leader Of New Party |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/355105653/ |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=October 12, 2020 }}{{subscription required}}</ref> This would later come to be known as the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]]. Roosevelt announced that his party would hold its convention in Chicago and that he would accept their nomination if offered.<ref name="O'Laughlin" /> Meanwhile, Taft decided not to campaign before the election beyond his acceptance speech on August 1.<ref>Henry F. Pringle, ''The Life and Times of William Howard Taft'' (1939) 2:818, 832, 834,</ref> [[Warren G. Harding]] presented Taft's name for the nomination. Taft won the nomination while 344 of Roosevelt's delegates abstained from the vote. [[Henry Justin Allen]] read a speech from Roosevelt in which he criticized the process and stated that delegates had been stolen from his in order to secure Taft's nomination.<ref name="roosevelt" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="2" |'''Presidential Ballot'''<ref>{{cite news|date=June 22, 1912|title=Taft Is Nominated On First Ballot|work=Santa Cruz News|location=Santa Cruz, CA|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/50489331/|access-date=January 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=June 23, 1912|title=Taft Wins With 561|work=The Courier|location=Harrisburg, PA|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/69726115/|access-date=January 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pietrusza|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Avw4DgAAQBAJ&q=taft+561+1912+cummins+hughes&pg=PT58|title=1920: The Year of the Six Presidents|publisher=Carroll & Graf|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7867-1622-7|location=New York|author-link=David Pietrusza}}</ref>
|-
![[William Howard Taft]]!!561
|-
![[Theodore Roosevelt]]!!107
|-
![[Robert M. La Follette]]!!41
|-
![[Albert B. Cummins]]!!17
|-
![[Charles Evans Hughes]]!!2
|-
!Present, not voting !!344
|-
!Absent !!6
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="2" |'''Vice Presidential Ballot'''
|-
![[James S. Sherman]]!!596
|-
![[William Borah]]!!21
|-
![[Charles Edward Merriam]]!!20
|-
![[Herbert S. Hadley]]!!14
|-
![[Albert J. Beveridge]]!!2
|}

===Democratic Party nomination===
{{Main|1912 Democratic National Convention}}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Democratic Disc.svg|65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States)]]<big>'''1912 Democratic Party ticket '''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[Woodrow Wilson|{{color|white|Woodrow Wilson}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"| [[Thomas R. Marshall|{{color|white|Thomas R. Marshall}}]]
|-
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Woodrow Wilson-H&E.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Thomas Riley Marshall headshot (3x4).jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
| [[List of governors of New Jersey|34th]]<br />[[Governor of New Jersey]]<br /><small>(1911–1913)</small>
| [[List of governors of Indiana|27th]]<br />[[Governor of Indiana]]<br /><small>(1909–1913)</small>
|-
| colspan=2 |[[Woodrow Wilson#Presidential election of 1912|'''Campaign''']]
|-
| colspan=2 |{{abbr|BC|Before Convention}} '''122 Delegates<br />527,296''' votes
|}

====Other major candidates====

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- <sup>†</sup>
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center; width:800px; font-size:120%; color:white; background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};"|''Candidates in this section are sorted by number of delegates won in the nomination race''
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Champ Clark]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Oscar Underwood]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Judson Harmon]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Eugene Foss]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Thomas R. Marshall|Thomas Marshall]]
|-
|[[File:ChampClark.png|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Oscar W. Underwood.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:JudsonHarmonLOC.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Governor Foss.png|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:Thomas Riley Marshall headshot.jpg|center|120x120px]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]]<br />from [[Missouri]]<br /><small>(1911–1919)</small>
|U.S. Congressman<br />from [[Alabama]]<br /><small>(1897–1915)</small>
|[[List of Governors of Ohio|Governor]]<br />of [[Ohio]]<br /><small>(1909–1913)</small>
|[[Governor of Massachusetts|Governor]]<br />of [[Massachusetts]]<br /><small>(1911–1914)</small>
|[[Governor of Indiana|Governor]]<br />of [[Indiana]]<br /><small>(1909–1913)</small>
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[Champ Clark#Politics|Campaign]]
|[[Oscar Underwood#Political career|Campaign]]
|[[Judson Harmon#Presidential candidate|Campaign]]
|
|[[Thomas R. Marshall#Election|Campaign]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: July 2, 1912''<br />'''423 Delegates<br />427,938''' votes
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: July 2, 1912''<br />'''84 Delegates<br />114,947''' votes
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: July 2, 1912''<br />'''48 Delegates<br />128,633''' votes
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: July 2, 1912''<br />'''36 Delegates<br />0''' votes
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: July 2, 1912''<br />'''30 Delegates<br />0''' votes
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[Simeon E. Baldwin|Simeon Baldwin]]
! scope="col" style="width:3em; font-size:120%;"|[[John Burke (North Dakota politician)|John Burke]]
|-
|[[File:Simeon E. Baldwin LCCN2014685131 (cropped).jpg|center|120x120px]]
|[[File:JohnBurke1908.png|center|120x120px]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[Governor of Connecticut|Governor]]<br />of [[Connecticut]]<br /><small>(1911–1915)</small>
|[[Governor of North Dakota|Governor]]<br />of [[North Dakota]]<br /><small>(1907–1913)</small>
|- style="text-align:center"
|[[Simeon E. Baldwin#Political life|Campaign]]
|[[John Burke (North Dakota politician)|Campaign]]
|- style="text-align:center"
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: July 2, 1912''<br />'''14 Delegates<br />0''' votes
|''{{abbr|LN|Lost Nomination}}: July 2, 1912''<br />'''10 Delegates<br />9,357''' votes
|}

In early 1912, it was widely believed that three-time Democratic presidential candidate [[William Jennings Bryan]] would make a fourth attempt to earn the party's nomination, and would likely not have difficulty in earning it. However, Bryan announced several months before the convention that he was not interested in another run for the White House. Though still seen by many as the Democrats' ideological leader, power shifts within the party in the wake of their success at the 1910 mid-term elections meant that Bryan could no longer be guaranteed the two-thirds majority needed to earn the nomination.

Bryan privately conceded that his three presidential runs having all ended in decisive losses, firstly to [[William McKinley]], and then to Taft, would seriously handicap his credibility as a candidate, even if the 1904 election, the only one of the previous four in which Bryan was not the Democratic candidate, had resulted in an even more lop-sided defeat for the party. However, Bryan still had enough followers in the party that he was in a strong position to be the kingmaker at the convention.

The Democratic National Convention was held in [[Baltimore]] from June 25 to July 2. Initially, the front-runner was [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[Champ Clark]] of [[Missouri]]. Though Clark received the most votes on early ballots, he was unable to get the [[two-thirds rule|two-thirds majority required]] to win.

Clark's chances were hurt when [[Tammany Hall]], the powerful [[New York City]] Democratic [[political machine]], threw its support behind him. The Tammany endorsement caused Bryan to turn against Clark, whom he decried as the candidate of [[Wall Street]], and shift his support to Woodrow Wilson, the reformist Governor of New Jersey. Wilson had consistently finished second in balloting, and nearly gave up hope and almost freed his delegates to vote for another candidate. Instead, Bryan's defection from Clark to Wilson led many other delegates to do the same. Wilson gradually gained strength while Clark's support dwindled, and Wilson finally received the nomination on the 46th ballot.

[[Thomas R. Marshall]], the [[governor of Indiana]] who had swung Indiana's votes to Wilson, was named Wilson's running mate.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
!(1-24)
! style="text-align:center" colspan="25"  |Presidential Ballot
|-
!||1st ||2nd ||3rd ||4th ||5th ||6th ||7th ||8th ||9th ||10th ||11th ||12th ||13th ||14th ||15th ||16th ||17th ||18th ||19th ||20th ||21st ||22nd ||23rd ||24th
|-
![[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson]]
|style="background:#82caff"|324
|style="background:#82caff"|339.75
|style="background:#82caff"|345
|style="background:#82caff"|349.5
|style="background:#82caff"|351
|style="background:#82caff"|354
|style="background:#82caff"|352.5
|style="background:#82caff"|351.5
|style="background:#82caff"|352.5
|style="background:#82caff"|350.5
|style="background:#82caff"|354.5
|style="background:#82caff"|354
|style="background:#82caff"|356
|style="background:#82caff"|361
|style="background:#82caff"|362.5
|style="background:#82caff"|362.5
|style="background:#82caff"|362.5
|style="background:#82caff"|361
|style="background:#82caff"|358
|style="background:#82caff"|388.5
|style="background:#82caff"|395.5
|style="background:#82caff"|396.5
|style="background:#82caff"|399
|style="background:#82caff"|402.5
|-
![[Champ Clark|Clark]]
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|440.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|446.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|441
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|443
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|443
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|445
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|449.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|448.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|452
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|556
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|554
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|547.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|554.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|553
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|552
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|551
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|545
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|535
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|532
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|512
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|508
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|500.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|497.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|496
|-
![[Judson Harmon|Harmon]]
|style="background:#c2dfff"|148
|style="background:#c2dfff"|141
|style="background:#c2dfff"|140.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|136.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|141.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|135
|style="background:#c2dfff"|129.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|130
|style="background:#c2dfff"|127
|31
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|0
|0
|0
|-
![[Oscar Underwood|Underwood]]
|117.5
|111.25
|114.5
|112
|119.5
|121
|123.5
|123
|122.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|117.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|118.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|123
|style="background:#c2dfff"|115.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|111
|style="background:#c2dfff"|110.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|112.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|112.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|125
|style="background:#c2dfff"|130
|style="background:#c2dfff"|121.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|118.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|115
|style="background:#c2dfff"|114.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|115.5
|-
![[Eugene Foss|Foss]]
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|2
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|2
|5
|43
|45
|43
|-
![[Thomas R. Marshall|T. Marshall]]
|31
|31
|31
|31
|31
|31
|31
|31
|31
|31
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|30
|-
![[Simeon E. Baldwin|Baldwin]]
|22
|14
|14
|14
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|-
![[William Jennings Bryan|W.J. Bryan]]
|1
|2
|1
|0
|0
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|2
|2
|1
|1
|1
|7
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|-
![[John W. Kern|Kern]]
|0
|0
|1
|2
|2
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|0
|2
|2
|2
|4.5
|3.5
|1
|1
|1
|1
|0
|0
|-
![[Ollie Murray James|James]]
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|3
|0
|0
|0
|0
|-
![[William Sulzer|Sulzer]]
|2
|2
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|-
![[William Jay Gaynor|Gaynor]]
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|1
|0
|-
![[J. Hamilton Lewis|Lewis]]
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|-
!Blank
|2
|0.5
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|2.5
|0
|0
|0
|0
|3.5
|3.5
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
!(25–46)
! style="text-align:center" colspan="23"  |Presidential Ballot
|-
!||25th || 26th || 27th || 28th || 29th || 30th || 31st || 32nd || 33rd || 34th || 35th || 36th || 37th || 38th || 39th || 40th || 41st || 42nd || 43rd || 44th || 45th || 46th || Unanimous
|-
![[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson]]
|style="background:#82caff"|405
|style="background:#82caff"|407.5
|style="background:#82caff"|406.5
|style="background:#82caff"|437.5
|style="background:#82caff"|436
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|460
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|475.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|477.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|477.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|479.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|494.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|496.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|496.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|498.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|501.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|501.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|499.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|494
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|602
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|629
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|633
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|990
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|1,088
|-
![[Champ Clark|Clark]]
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|469
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|463.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|469
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|468.5
|style="background:#5cb3ff"|468.5
|style="background:#82caff"|455
|style="background:#82caff"|446.5
|style="background:#82caff"|446.5
|style="background:#82caff"|447.5
|style="background:#82caff"|447.5
|style="background:#82caff"|433.5
|style="background:#82caff"|434.5
|style="background:#82caff"|432.5
|style="background:#82caff"|425
|style="background:#82caff"|422
|style="background:#82caff"|423
|style="background:#82caff"|424
|style="background:#82caff"|430
|style="background:#82caff"|329
|style="background:#82caff"|306
|style="background:#82caff"|306
|style="background:#82caff"|84
||
|-
![[Judson Harmon|Harmon]]
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|19
|17
|14
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|29
|28
|27
|27
|28
|27
|25
|style="background:#c2dfff"|12
||
|-
![[Oscar Underwood|Underwood]]
|style="background:#c2dfff"|108
|style="background:#c2dfff"|112.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|112
|style="background:#c2dfff"|112.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|112
|style="background:#c2dfff"|121.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|116.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|119.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|103.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|101.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|101.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|98.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|100.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|106
|style="background:#c2dfff"|106
|style="background:#c2dfff"|106
|style="background:#c2dfff"|106
|style="background:#c2dfff"|104
|style="background:#c2dfff"|98.5
|style="background:#c2dfff"|99
|style="background:#c2dfff"|97
|0
||
|-
![[Eugene Foss|Foss]]
|43
|43
|38
|38
|38
|30
|30
|28
|28
|28
|28
|28
|28
|28
|28
|28
|28
|28
|27
|27
|27
|0
||
|-
![[Thomas R. Marshall|T. Marshall]]
|30
|30
|30
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
![[Simeon E. Baldwin|Baldwin]]
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
![[William Jennings Bryan|W.J. Bryan]]
|1
|1
|1
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|0.5
|1
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
![[John W. Kern|Kern]]
|0
|0
|0
|1
|4
|2
|2
|2
|2
|2
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|1
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
![[Ollie Murray James|James]]
||3
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
![[William Sulzer|Sulzer]]
||0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
![[William Jay Gaynor|Gaynor]]
||0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
![[J. Hamilton Lewis|Lewis]]
||0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|0
|0
|0
|0
||
|-
!Blank
||0
|1.5
|2.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|0.5
|1.5
|0
|0
|2
||
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="4" | '''Vice Presidential Ballot'''
|-
!!!1st!!  2nd!!  Unanimous
|-
![[Thomas R. Marshall]] !!389!!  644.5!!  1,088
|-
![[John Burke (North Dakota politician)|John Burke]] !!304.67!!  386.33!!
|-
![[George Earle Chamberlain|George E. Chamberlain]] !!157!!  12.5!!
|-
![[Elmore W. Hurst]] !!78!!  0!!
|-
![[James H. Preston]] !!58!!  0!!
|-
![[Martin Joseph Wade|Martin J. Wade]] !!26!!  0!!
|-
![[William F. McCombs]] !!18!!  0!!
|-
![[John Eugene Osborne|John E. Osborne]] !!8!!  0!!
|-
![[William Sulzer]] !!3!!  0!!
|-
!Blank !!46.33!!  44.67!!
|}

===Progressive Party nomination===
{{Main|1912 Progressive National Convention}}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Theodore Roosevelt 1912 Progressive Party bull moose campaign button.jpg|70px|center|link=Bull Moose Party|Progressive Party (United States, 1912)]]<big>'''1912 Progressive Party ticket'''</big>
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#228B22; width:200px;"| [[Theodore Roosevelt|{{color|white|Theodore Roosevelt}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#228B22; width:200px;"| [[Hiram Johnson|{{color|white|Hiram Johnson}}]]
|-  style="color:#000000; font-size:100%;"
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#90EE90; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#90EE90; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Theodore Roosevelt-Pach.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Portrait of Hiram Johnson.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
| [[List of presidents of the United States|26th]]<br />[[President of the United States]]<br /><small>(1901–1909)</small>
| [[List of governors of California|23rd]]<br />[[Governor of California]]<br /><small>(1911–1917)</small>
|-
|}
*

[[File:Aa addams work 2 e.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The Progressive convention at the [[Chicago Coliseum]], 1912]]

Taft had won the Republican nomination while 344 of Roosevelt's delegates abstained from the vote. Later that day supporters of Roosevelt met in the [[Symphony Center|Chicago Orchestra Hall]] and nominated him as an independent candidate for president which Roosevelt accepted although he requested a formal convention. Roosevelt initially considered not running as a third-party candidate until [[George Walbridge Perkins]] and [[Frank Munsey]] offered their financial support. Roosevelt and his supporters formed the [[Bull Moose Party|Progressive Party]] at a convention, temporarily chaired by Senator [[Albert J. Beveridge]], on August 5, and [[Hiram Johnson]] was selected as his vice-presidential running mate. [[Ben B. Lindsey]] and [[John M. Parker]] had been considered for the presidential nomination, but Parker and Lindsey instead both nominated Johnson for the position.<ref name="roosevelt" />

The Progressives promised to increase federal regulation and protect the welfare of ordinary people. At the convention, Perkins blocked an antitrust plank, shocking reformers who thought of Roosevelt as a true trust-buster.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} The delegates to the convention sang the hymn "[[Onward, Christian Soldiers]]" as their anthem. In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt compared the coming presidential campaign to the Battle of [[Armageddon]] and stated that the Progressives were going to "battle for the Lord."<ref>{{Cite web |title=TR Center - First National Convention of the Progressive Party |url=http://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Blog/Item/First%20National%20Convention%20of%20the%20Progressive%20Party |access-date=2018-05-01 |website=www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org |language=en}}</ref>

===Socialist Party nomination===
{{Main|1912 National Socialist Convention}}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
| style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|[[File:Socialist Party of America - Logo.gif|70px|center|link=Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party of America]]
|-
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CD3700; width:200px;"| [[Eugene V. Debs|{{color|white|Eugene V. Debs}}]]
! style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#CD3700; width:200px;"| [[Emil Seidel|{{color|white|Emil Seidel}}]]
|-  style="color:#000; font-size:100%; background:#EF7245;"
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for President'''''
| style="width:3em; width:200px;"|'''''for Vice President'''''
|-
| [[File:Eugene V Debs 1912.jpg|center|200x200px]]
| [[File:Seidell-Emil-1910.jpg|center|200x200px]]
|-
| [[Indiana Senate|Indiana state senator]]<br /><small>(1885–1889)</small>
| [[List of mayors of Milwaukee|36th]]<br />Mayor of Milwaukee<br /><small>(1910–1912)</small>
|-
|}

Socialist candidates:
* [[Eugene V. Debs]], former [[Indiana Senate|state senator]] from [[Indiana]]
* [[Emil Seidel]], [[List of mayors of Milwaukee|Mayor of Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]]
* [[Charles Edward Russell]], journalist from [[New York (state)|New York]]

[[File:Debs campaign.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|Eugene V. Debs's popular vote results were the highest for the Socialist party.]]

Members of the [[Socialist Party of America]] had won in multiple elections between the 1908 and 1912 presidential elections with [[Emil Seidel]] being elected as the [[List of mayors of Milwaukee|mayor]] of [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin, and [[Victor L. Berger]] was elected to the United States House of Representatives. The party claimed that it had 435 members elected to office by 1911, and over one thousand by 1912.<ref name="socialist">{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=H. Wayne |date=1962 |title=Eugene V. Debs: Socialist for President |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]}}</ref>

Dan Hogan put Debs name up for the presidential nomination. Debs won the presidential nomination, although he had supported giving the nomination to the [[Appeal to Reason (newspaper)|Appeal to Reason]]'s editor Fred Warren, with 165 votes while Seidel received 56 votes and [[Charles Edward Russell]] received 54 votes. Seidel was given the vice-presidential nomination against Russell and Hogan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haynes |first=Fred |date=1924 |page=200 |title=Social Politics in the United States |publisher=[[Riverside Insights|The Riverside Press Cambridge]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Currie |first=Harold W. |date=1976 |title=Eugene V. Debs |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Twayne Publishers]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Coleman |first=McAlister |author-link=McAlister Coleman |date=1930 |title=Eugene V. Debs: A Man Unafraid |publisher=Greenberg Publisher}}</ref>

After the presidential ballot Seidel and Russell proposed a motion to make Debs' nomination unanimous and it was accepted. Hogan and Slayton proposed to make the nomination of Seidel unanimous after the vice-presidential selection and it was accepted. [[Otto Branstetter]], Berger, and [[Carl D. Thompson]], who were serving as delegates, voted for Seidel during the presidential balloting. [[Morris Hillquit]], [[Meyer London]], and [[John Spargo]], who were serving as delegates, supported Russell during the presidential balloting. Hogan, a delegate from Arkansas, had supported Debs during the presidential balloting.<ref name="selection">{{cite book |last=Spargo |first=John |author-link=John Spargo |date=1912 |title=Proceedings of the National Convention of the Socialist Party |publisher=[[Socialist Party of America]]}}</ref>

[[J. Mahlon Barnes]], who had managed Debs' campaign in the 1908 election, also managed the campaign in 1912. The Socialists predicted that they would receive over two million votes and have twelve members elected to Congress, but Debs only received 897,011 votes and Berger lost reelection. Debs received his largest number of votes from [[1912 United States presidential election in Ohio|Ohio]] while his best percentage was in [[1912 United States presidential election in Nevada|Nevada]]. The largest percentage gain since the 1908 presidential election was in [[1908 United States presidential election in West Virginia|West Virginia]] where their vote total increased by over 300%. [[George Brinton McClellan Harvey]] stated that had Roosevelt not run then Debs would have gained an additional half a million votes.<ref name="socialist" /> The number of Socialists in the state legislatures increased from twenty to twenty-one.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=Paul |date=1974 |title=Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Presidential ballot || 1st ballot || 2nd ballot || Vice-presidential ballot ||  1st ballot || 2nd ballot
|-
| '''[[Eugene V. Debs]]''' || 165 || Unanimous || '''[[Emil Seidel]]''' || 159 || Unanimous
|-
|| [[Emil Seidel]] || 56 || || [[Dan Hogan]] || 73 ||
|-
|| [[Charles Edward Russell]] || 54  || || [[John W. Slayton]] || 24 ||
|-
!Reference ||<ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" /> || <ref name="selection" />
|}

==General election==

Roosevelt conducted a vigorous national campaign for the Progressive Party, denouncing the way the Republican nomination had been "stolen". He bundled together his reforms under the rubric of "The [[New Nationalism (Theodore Roosevelt)|New Nationalism]]" and stumped the country for a strong federal role in regulating the economy and chastising bad corporations.{{Citation needed|date = February 2017}} Roosevelt rallied progressives with speeches denouncing the political establishment. He promised "an expert tariff commission, wholly removed from the possibility of political pressure or of improper business influence."<ref>Theodore Roosevelt Association. "The New Nationalism." The New Nationalism – Theodore Roosevelt Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.</ref>

Wilson supported a policy called "[[The New Freedom]]". This policy was based mostly on individualism instead of a strong government.{{Citation needed|date = February 2017}}[[File:TR-Chemist-1912.JPG|thumb|left| A Republican editorial cartoon depicts Roosevelt mixing "radical" ingredients in his speeches.|288x288px]] Wilson opposed Roosevelt's proposal to establish a powerful state bureaucracy charged with regulating large corporations, with Wilson instead favoring the break-up of large corporations in order to create a level economic playing field. Though Wilson's rhetoric paid homage to the traditional Democratic Party skepticisms of government and "collectivism", after his election win Wilson would embrace some of the progressive reforms which Roosevelt had campaigned on.

[[File:PostcardTaftPensionExaminer1912.jpg|thumb|A Republican campaign postcard charges a Wilson administration would force pensioners back to work.|alt=|302x302px]]Taft campaigned quietly and spoke of the need for judges to be more powerful than elected officials. The departure of the progressives left the Republican Party firmly controlled by the conservative wing. Much of the Republican effort was designed to discredit Roosevelt as a dangerous radical, but this had little effect.{{Citation needed|date = February 2017}} Many of the nation's pro-Republican newspapers depicted Roosevelt as an [[Egotism|egotist]] running only to spoil Taft's chances and feed his vanity.{{Citation needed|date = February 2017}}

The Socialists had little funding compared to the Republican, Democratic and Progressive campaigns. Debs' campaign spent only $66,000, mostly on 3.5&nbsp;million leaflets and travel to locally organized rallies. Debs' biggest event was a speech to 15,000 supporters in New York City. The crowd sang "[[La Marseillaise]]" and "[[The Internationale]]." Debs's running mate [[Emil Seidel]] boasted:

{{Blockquote|text=Only a year ago workingmen were throwing decayed vegetables and rotten eggs at us but now all is changed... Eggs are too high. There is a great giant growing up in this country that will someday take over the affairs of this nation. He is a little giant now but he is growing fast. The name of this little giant is socialism.|author=|title=|source=}}

Debs claimed that there was no hope under the present decaying capitalist system, and that the worker who votes the Republican or Democratic ticket does worse than throw away his vote, as he is a deserter of his class and becomes his own worst enemy. Debs insisted that Democrats, Progressives, and Republicans alike were financed by different factions within the capitalist trusts, and that only the Socialists represented labor. Debs condemned "Injunction Bill Taft" and condemned Roosevelt for stealing his socialist clothes with the intent to make socialist policies "safer" for the establishment.

At a campaign speech in Philadelphia on September 28, 1912, Debs said of Roosevelt:

{{Blockquote|text=Theodore Roosevelt now alludes to me as "Brother Debs". I do not acknowledge the new relation. I still wish to be the undesirable citizen in his eyes. If he knew me then, I know him now. I know what he stands for and what his methods are. I know he is the enemy of the workers. I know he is now trying to deceive that class to further his own selfish ambition — to get back into the White House and if possible remain there for life.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1912/120928-debs-redseaofsocialism.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1912/120928-debs-redseaofsocialism.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=The Red Sea of Socialism: Campaign Speech at Convention Hall, Philadelphia (September 28, 1912) |website=marxists.org}}</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

===Attempted assassination of Theodore Roosevelt===
At a campaign stop in Milwaukee on October 14, [[John Schrank]], a saloonkeeper from New York, shot Roosevelt in the chest. The bullet penetrated his steel eyeglass case and a 50-page single-folded copy of his speech ''[[s:Progressive Cause Greater Than Any Individual|Progressive Cause Greater Than Any Individual]]'' and became lodged in his chest. Schrank was immediately disarmed and captured.<ref>Gerard Helferich, ''Theodore Roosevelt and the Assassin: Madness, Vengeance, and the Campaign of 1912'' (2013)</ref> Schrank had been stalking Roosevelt. He was suffering from delusion and said the ghost of President McKinley ordered him to kill Roosevelt to prevent a third term.<ref>Lewis Gould, ''Four Hats in the Ring: The 1912 Election and the Birth of Modern American Politics'' (2008) p. 171.</ref>

Roosevelt shouted for Schrank to remain unharmed and assured the crowd he was all right, then ordered police to take charge of Schrank and ensure no violence was done to him.<ref name="remey">{{cite book |first1=Oliver E. |last1=Remey |first2= Henry F. |last2=Cochems |first3=Wheeler P. |last3=Bloodgood |title=The Attempted Assassination of Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt |publisher=The Progressive Publishing Company |location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin |year=1912 |page=192 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21261}}</ref> Roosevelt, an experienced hunter and anatomist, correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood, the bullet had not reached his lung. He declined suggestions to go to the hospital and instead delivered his [[s:I have just been shot|scheduled speech]] with blood seeping into his shirt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Medical History of American Presidents|url=http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/z_x26a_g.htm|access-date=September 14, 2010|publisher=Doctor Zebra}}</ref> His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a bull moose." He spoke for 90 minutes before completing his speech and accepting medical attention.<ref>{{Citation|title=[[Detroit Free Press]]|contribution=Excerpt|contribution-url=http://www.historybuff.com/library/refteddy.html|publisher=History buff|access-date=January 23, 2018|archive-date=April 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419001634/http://www.historybuff.com/library/refteddy.html|url-status=dead}}.</ref><ref name="speech">{{cite web|title=It Takes More Than That to Kill a Bull Moose: The Leader and The Cause|url=http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/site/c.elKSIdOWIiJ8H/b.9297449/k.861A/It_Takes_More_Than_That_to_Kill_a_Bull_Moose_The_Leader_and_The_Cause.htm|access-date=October 14, 2015|publisher=Theodore Roosevelt Association}}</ref>

Afterward, probes and an x-ray showed that the bullet had lodged in Roosevelt's chest muscle, but did not penetrate the [[pleura]]. Doctors concluded that it would be less dangerous to leave it in place than to attempt to remove it, and Roosevelt carried the bullet with him for the rest of his life.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/timeline.htm |title=Roosevelt Timeline |publisher=Theodore Roosevelt | access-date =September 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/timeline.htm Timeline of Theodore Roosevelt's Life by the Theodore Roosevelt Association<!-- bot-generated title -->] at http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org</ref>

Taft was not campaigning and focused on his presidential duties. Wilson briefly suspended his campaigning. By October 17, Wilson was back on the campaign trail but avoided any criticism of Roosevelt or his party.<ref>"Wilson Starts on a Tour: Will Not Touch on Third Party's Programme in Speeches." ''New York Times'' Oct 17. 1912, p. 10.</ref> Roosevelt spent two weeks recuperating before returning to the campaign trail with a major speech on October 30, designed to reassure his supporters he was strong enough for the presidency.<ref>{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Edmund|title=Colonel Roosevelt|publisher=Random House Trade Paperbacks|location=New York|pages=250–251}}</ref>

=== Death of Vice President Sherman ===
On October 30, 1912, [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[James S. Sherman]] died of [[nephritis]], leaving Taft without a running mate less than a week before the election. [[Nicholas Murray Butler]], president of [[Columbia University]], was quickly chosen to replace Sherman on the Republican ticket.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gould|first=Lewis L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/180756978|title=Four hats in the ring : the 1912 election and the birth of modern American politics|date=2008|publisher=University Press of Kansas|isbn=978-0-7006-1564-3|location=Lawrence, Kan.|pages=157|oclc=180756978}}</ref>

==Results==
27.9% of the voting age population and 59% of eligible voters participated in the election.{{sfn|Abramson|Aldrich|Rohde|1995|p=99}} Wilson captured the presidency handily by carrying a record 40 states. {{As of|2024}}, this is the only presidential election since [[1860 United States presidential election|1860]] in which 4 candidates received more than 5% of the popular vote and a third-party candidate outperformed a major party candidate in the general election.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} This election saw the lowest turnout among eligible voters since the [[1836 United States presidential election|1836 presidential election]], falling 20 points short of the turnout in the [[1896 United States presidential election|1896 election]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} The implementation of [[Jim Crow laws]] after the Reconstruction Era significantly reduced Black voter turnout.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sides |first1=John |last2=Shaw |first2=Daron R. |last3=Grossmann |first3=Matthew |last4=Lipsitz |first4=Keena |title=Campaigns and elections: rules, reality, strategy, choice |date=2023 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |location=New York London |isbn=9781324046912 |page=78 |edition=Fourth, election update}}</ref>

Wilson won the presidency with a lower percentage of the popular vote than any candidate since [[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1860. Taft's result remains the worst performance for any incumbent president, both in terms of electoral votes (8) and share of popular votes (23.17%). His 8 electoral votes remain the fewest by a Republican and by any major-party candidate, matched by [[1936 United States presidential election|Alf Landon's 1936 campaign]]. His 23.17% of the popular vote is the lowest ever for a Republican or any major party nominee.

This was the first time since 1852 that Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Rhode Island voted for a Democrat, and the first time in history that Massachusetts voted Democratic. Democrats would not win Maine again until 1964, Connecticut and Delaware until 1936, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wisconsin until 1932, and Massachusetts and Rhode Island until 1928. Additionally, it was the last time until 1932 that the Republicans failed to win Michigan, Minnesota and South Dakota. This is one of two times since 1852 that Maine and Vermont did not support the same party (the other being in 1968). Theodore Roosevelt's 88 electoral votes and 27.4% of the popular vote are the highest won by a third party in a presidential election.<ref name="how">Sullivan, Robert David; [http://www.americamagazine.org/content/unconventional-wisdom/how-red-and-blue-map-evolved-over-past-century ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’]; ''America Magazine'' in ''The National Catholic Review''; June 29, 2016</ref>

Wilson's raw vote total and percentage was less than William Jennings Bryan's total in any of his three campaigns.<ref name="autogenerated14">The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932, Edgar E. Robinson, p. 14</ref> In only two regions, New England and the Pacific, was Wilson's vote greater than the greatest Bryan vote.<ref name="autogenerated15">The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932, Edgar E. Robinson, p. 15</ref> The 1912 election was the first to include all 48 of the current [[contiguous United States]].<div style="overflow:auto;"> Only 12 of the 48 states saw a candidate win with a majority of the popular vote. Wilson won a majority in the 11 former [[Confederate States of America|Confederate states]]. Only South Dakota, where Taft did not appear on the ballot, gave Roosevelt a majority. Taft won only two states, Vermont and Utah, each with a plurality.<ref name="autogenerated14" /> This is the only time in American history that three people who at some point served as president ran in the same election.

Wilson finished 1st in 40 states. He finished 2nd behind Roosevelt in 5 states, and 2nd behind Taft only in Utah. He finished 3rd in 2 states, in Michigan where Roosevelt finished 1st and Taft finished 2nd, and in Vermont where Taft finished 1st and Roosevelt finished 2nd.

Roosevelt would win the most electoral votes out of any third-party candidate in American history, finishing 1st in 6 states.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sides |first=John |title=Campaigns and elections: rules, reality, strategy, choice |last2=Shaw |first2=Daron R. |last3=Grossmann |first3=Matthew |last4=Lipsitz |first4=Keena |date=2023 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-1-324-04691-2 |edition=Fourth edition, election update |location=New York London |pages=171}}</ref> He finished 2nd in 24 states, behind Wilson in 23, and behind Taft in Vermont. He finished 3rd in 17 states. In 15 of those, Wilson finished 1st and Taft finished 2nd. In the other two, Taft finished 1st and Wilson finished 2nd in Utah, while Wilson finished 1st and Debs finished 2nd in Florida. Roosevelt was not on the ballot in Oklahoma.

Taft finished 1st in Vermont and Utah. He finished 2nd in 18 states, behind Wilson in 17 of those. The one exception was Michigan where Taft finished 2nd behind Roosevelt. He finished 3rd in 21 states. In 18 of those, Wilson finished 1st and Roosevelt finished 2nd. In the other 3, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Washington, Roosevelt finished 1st and Wilson finished 2nd. Taft also finished 4th in 5 states. In 4 of those, the top 3 in order were Wilson-Roosevelt-Debs. In Florida, Wilson finished 1st, Debs finished 2nd, and Roosevelt finished 3rd. While not on the ballot in California, Taft received 3,914 write-in votes in the state, placing him 5th, behind Roosevelt, Wilson, Debs, and Chafin. Taft was not on the ballot at all in South Dakota, not even as a write-in option.

Debs finished 2nd in Florida behind Wilson. He finished 3rd in 7 states. In Nevada, Arizona, Louisiana and Mississippi, Wilson finished 1st, Roosevelt finished 2nd, Debs finished 3rd and Taft finished 4th. The other 3 states where Debs finished 3rd were Oklahoma, where Roosevelt was not on the ballot; South Dakota, where Taft was not on the ballot; and California, where Taft was not on the ballot, but received write-in votes, causing Taft to finish 5th in California. Debs finished 4th in 38 states. Debs was beaten by Chafin in two states, Vermont and Delaware, with Debs finishing 5th in both states.

Chafin finished last in 18 states. The states where Chafin avoided finishing last were 19 of the 20 states where Reimer was on the ballot – Reimer finished last in all 20 states that he contested – as well as Vermont and Delaware, where Chafin managed to force Debs into last place. The other state where Chafin avoided last place was California, where Taft was only a write-in candidate and finished last. Reimer was not on the ballot in 28 states, while Chafin was not on the ballot in 8 states. Only in Utah was Reimer on the ballot but Chafin was not. 5.44% of Taft's votes came from the eleven states of the former Confederacy, with him taking 12.22% of the vote in that region while Roosevelt took 16.76%.{{sfn|Sherman|1973|p=263}}

===By county===
In a plurality of 1,396 counties, no candidate obtained a majority.<ref name="autogenerated17">The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932, Edgar E. Robinson, p. 17</ref> Wilson won 1,969 counties but held a majority in only 1,237, less than Bryan had had in any of his campaigns.<ref name="autogenerated15" />

"Other(s)", mostly Roosevelt, won a plurality in 772 counties and a majority in 305 counties. Most of them in Pennsylvania (48), Illinois (33), Michigan (68), Minnesota (75), [[United States presidential elections in Iowa|Iowa]] (49), South Dakota (54), Nebraska (32), Kansas (51), Washington (38), and California (44).

Debs carried four counties: [[Lake County, Minnesota|Lake]] and [[Beltrami County, Minnesota|Beltrami]] in Minnesota, [[Burke County, North Dakota|Burke]] in North Dakota, and [[Crawford County, Kansas|Crawford]] in Kansas. These are the only counties ever to vote for the Socialist presidential nominee.

Taft won a plurality in only 232 counties and a majority in only 35. In addition to South Dakota and California, where there was no Taft ticket, Taft carried no counties in Maine, New Jersey, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, and seven "[[Solid South]]" states.<ref name="autogenerated15" />

Nine counties did not record any votes due to either [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|black disenfranchisement]] or being inhabited only by Native Americans, who would not gain full citizenship for twelve more years. {{As of| 2016}}, 1912 remains the last election in which the key Indiana counties of [[Hamilton County, Indiana|Hamilton]] and [[Hendricks County, Indiana|Hendricks]], along with [[Walworth County, Wisconsin]], [[Pulaski County, Kentucky|Pulaski]] and [[Laurel County, Kentucky|Laurel Counties]] in Kentucky and [[Hawkins County, Tennessee]] have given a plurality to the Democratic candidate.<ref name="how"/>

[[File:United States Electoral College 1912.svg]]

{{start U.S. presidential ticket box| pv_footnote=| ev_footnote=}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Woodrow Wilson]]| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]| state=[[New Jersey]]| pv=6,296,284| pv_pct=41.84%| ev=435| vp_name=[[Thomas R. Marshall]]| vp_state=[[Indiana]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Theodore Roosevelt]]| party=[[Bull Moose Party|Progressive]]| state=[[New York (state)|New York]]| pv=4,122,721| pv_pct=27.40%| ev=88| vp_name=[[Hiram Johnson]]| vp_state=[[California]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[William Howard Taft]] (incumbent)| party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]| state=[[Ohio]]| pv=3,486,242| pv_pct=23.17%| ev=8| vp_name=[[Nicholas Murray Butler]]| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Eugene V. Debs]]| party=[[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]]| state=[[Indiana]]| pv=901,551| pv_pct=5.99%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Emil Seidel]]| vp_state=[[Wisconsin]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Eugene W. Chafin]]| party=[[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]]| state=[[Arizona]]| pv=208,156| pv_pct=1.38%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Aaron S. Watkins]]| vp_state=Ohio}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Arthur E. Reimer]]| party=[[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]]| state=[[Massachusetts]]| pv=29,324| pv_pct=0.19%| ev=0| vp_name=[[August Gillhaus]]| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box other| footnote=| pv=4,556| pv_pct=0.03%}}
{{end U.S. presidential ticket box| pv=15,048,834| ev=531| to_win=266}}

{{bar box
|title=Popular vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Wilson'''|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|41.84}}
{{bar percent|Roosevelt|#A2ED70|27.40}}
{{bar percent|Taft|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|23.17}}
{{bar percent|Debs|#CD3700|5.99}}
{{bar percent|Others|#777777|1.60}}
}}
{{bar box
|title=Electoral vote
|titlebar=#ddd
|width=600px
|barwidth=410px
|bars=
{{bar percent|'''Wilson'''|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|81.92}}
{{bar percent|Roosevelt|#A2ED70|16.57}}
{{bar percent|Taft|{{party color|Republican Party (US)}}|1.51}}
}}'''Source (Popular Vote):''' {{Leip PV source 2| year=1912| as of=July 28, 2005}}

'''Source (Electoral Vote):''' {{National Archives EV source| year=1912| as of=July 31, 2005}}

===Results by state===
{|class="wikitable"
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
|States/districts won by [[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson]]/[[Thomas R. Marshall|Marshall]]
|-{{Party shading/Bull Moose}}
|States/districts won by [[Theodore Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]/[[Hiram Johnson|Johnson]]
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
|States/districts won by [[William Howard Taft|Taft]]/[[Nicholas Murray Butler|Butler]]
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
! colspan="2" |
! colspan="3" style="border-top: solid #33f 3px; border-bottom: solid #33f 3px;" | Woodrow Wilson<br />Democratic
! colspan="3" style="border-top: solid #c97979 3px; border-bottom: solid #c97979 3px;" | Theodore Roosevelt<br />Progressive "Bull Moose"
! colspan="3" style="border-top: solid #f33 3px; border-bottom: solid #f33 3px;" | William H. Taft<br />Republican
! colspan="3" style="border-top: solid #c00 3px; border-bottom: solid #c00 3px;" | Eugene V. Debs<br />Socialist
! colspan="3" style="border-top: solid #f09 3px; border-bottom: solid #f09 3px;" | Eugene Chafin<br />Prohibition
! colspan="3" style="border-top: solid #DD051D 3px; border-bottom: solid #DD051D 3px;" | Arthur Reimer<br />Socialist Labor
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Margin
! colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | State Total
|-
! align="center" | State
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | electoral<br />votes
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | #
! style="text-align:center;" data-sort-="" type="number" | %
! style="text-align:center; font-size: 60%" data-sort-type="number" | #
!
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Alabama|Alabama]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 82,438
| 69.89
| 12
| 22,680
| 19.23
|  -
| 9,807
| 8.31
|  -
| 3,029
| 2.57
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 59,758
| 50.66
| 117,959
| style="text-align:center;" | AL
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Arizona|Arizona]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 10,324
| 43.52
| 3
| 6,949
| 29.29
|  -
| 3,021
| 12.74
|  -
| 3,163
| 13.33
|  -
| 265
| 1.12
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 3,375
| 14.23
| 23,722
| style="text-align:center;" | AZ
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Arkansas|Arkansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 68,814
| 55.01
| 9
| 21,644
| 17.30
|  -
| 25,585
| 20.45
|  -
| 8,153
| 6.52
|  -
| 908
| 0.73
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 43,229
| 34.55
| 125,104
| style="text-align:center;" | AR
|- {{Party shading/Bull Moose}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in California|California]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 283,436
| 41.81
| 2
| 283,610
| 41.83
| 11
| 3,914
| 0.58
|  -
| 79,201
| 11.68
|  -
| 23,366
| 3.45
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -174
|  -0.03
| 673,527
| style="text-align:center;" | CA
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Colorado|Colorado]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 114,232
| 42.80
| 6
| 72,306
| 27.09
|  -
| 58,386
| 21.88
|  -
| 16,418
| 6.15
|  -
| 5,063
| 1.90
|  -
| 475
| 0.18
|  -
| 41,926
| 15.71
| 266,880
| style="text-align:center;" | CO
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Connecticut|Connecticut]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| 74,561
| 39.16
| 7
| 34,129
| 17.92
|  -
| 68,324
| 35.88
|  -
| 10,056
| 5.28
|  -
| 2,068
| 1.09
|  -
| 1,260
| 0.66
|  -
| 6,237
| 3.28
| 190,398
| style="text-align:center;" | CT
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Delaware|Delaware]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 22,631
| 46.48
| 3
| 8,886
| 18.25
|  -
| 15,998
| 32.85
|  -
| 556
| 1.14
|  -
| 623
| 1.28
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 6,633
| 13.62
| 48,694
| style="text-align:center;" | DE
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Florida|Florida]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 35,343
| 69.52
| 6
| 4,555
| 8.96
|  -
| 4,279
| 8.42
|  -
| 4,806
| 9.45
|  -
| 1,854
| 3.65
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 30,537
| 60.07
| 50,837
| style="text-align:center;" | FL
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Georgia|Georgia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
| 93,087
| 76.63
| 14
| 21,985
| 18.10
|  -
| 5,191
| 4.27
|  -
| 1,058
| 0.87
|  -
| 149
| 0.12
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 71,102
| 58.53
| 121,470
| style="text-align:center;" | GA
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Idaho|Idaho]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 33,921
| 32.08
| 4
| 25,527
| 24.14
|  -
| 32,810
| 31.02
|  -
| 11,960
| 11.31
|  -
| 1,536
| 1.45
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 1,111
| 1.05
| 105,754
| style="text-align:center;" | ID
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Illinois|Illinois]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 29
| 405,048
| 35.34
| 29
| 386,478
| 33.72
|  -
| 253,593
| 22.13
|  -
| 81,278
| 7.09
|  -
| 15,710
| 1.37
|  -
| 4,066
| 0.35
|  -
| 18,570
| 1.62
| 1,146,173
| style="text-align:center;" | IL
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Indiana|Indiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
| 281,890
| 43.07
| 15
| 162,007
| 24.75
|  -
| 151,267
| 23.11
|  -
| 36,931
| 5.64
|  -
| 19,249
| 2.94
|  -
| 3,130
| 0.48
|  -
| 119,883
| 18.32
| 654,474
| style="text-align:center;" | IN
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Iowa|Iowa]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 185,325
| 37.64
| 13
| 161,819
| 32.87
|  -
| 119,805
| 24.33
|  -
| 16,967
| 3.45
|  -
| 8,440
| 1.71
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 23,506
| 4.77
| 492,356
| style="text-align:center;" | IA
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Kansas|Kansas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 143,663
| 39.30
| 10
| 120,210
| 32.88
|  -
| 74,845
| 20.47
|  -
| 26,779
| 7.33
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 23,453
| 6.42
| 365,497
| style="text-align:center;" | KS
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Kentucky|Kentucky]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 219,484
| 48.48
| 13
| 101,766
| 22.48
|  -
| 115,510
| 25.52
|  -
| 11,646
| 2.57
|  -
| 3,253
| 0.72
|  -
| 1,055
| 0.23
|  -
| 103,974
| 22.97
| 452,714
| style="text-align:center;" | KY
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Louisiana|Louisiana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 60,871
| 76.81
| 10
| 9,283
| 11.71
|  -
| 3,833
| 4.84
|  -
| 5,261
| 6.64
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 51,588
| 65.10
| 79,248
| style="text-align:center;" | LA
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Maine|Maine]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 51,113
| 39.43
| 6
| 48,495
| 37.41
|  -
| 26,545
| 20.48
|  -
| 2,541
| 1.96
|  -
| 946
| 0.73
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 2,618
| 2.02
| 129,640
| style="text-align:center;" | ME
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Maryland|Maryland]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 112,674
| 48.57
| 8
| 57,789
| 24.91
|  -
| 54,956
| 23.69
|  -
| 3,996
| 1.72
|  -
| 2,244
| 0.97
|  -
| 322
| 0.14
|  -
| 54,885
| 23.66
| 231,981
| style="text-align:center;" | MD
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
| 173,408
| 35.53
| 18
| 142,228
| 29.14
|  -
| 155,948
| 31.95
|  -
| 12,616
| 2.58
|  -
| 2,754
| 0.56
|  -
| 1,102
| 0.23
|  -
| 17,460
| 3.58
| 488,056
| style="text-align:center;" | MA
|- {{Party shading/Bull Moose}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Michigan|Michigan]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
| 150,751
| 27.36
|  -
| 214,584
| 38.95
| 15
| 152,244
| 27.63
|  -
| 23,211
| 4.21
|  -
| 8,934
| 1.62
|  -
| 1,252
| 0.23
|  -
|  -62,340
|  -11.31
| 550,976
| style="text-align:center;" | MI
|- {{Party shading/Bull Moose}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Minnesota|Minnesota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 106,426
| 31.84
|  -
| 125,856
| 37.66
| 12
| 64,334
| 19.25
|  -
| 27,505
| 8.23
|  -
| 7,886
| 2.36
|  -
| 2,212
| 0.66
|  -
|  -19,430
|  -5.81
| 334,219
| style="text-align:center;" | MN
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Mississippi|Mississippi]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 57,324
| 88.90
| 10
| 3,549
| 5.50
|  -
| 1,560
| 2.42
|  -
| 2,050
| 3.18
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 53,775
| 83.39
| 64,483
| style="text-align:center;" | MS
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Missouri|Missouri]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
| 330,746
| 47.35
| 18
| 124,375
| 17.80
|  -
| 207,821
| 29.75
|  -
| 28,466
| 4.07
|  -
| 5,380
| 0.77
|  -
| 1,778
| 0.25
|  -
| 122,925
| 17.60
| 698,566
| style="text-align:center;" | MO
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Montana|Montana]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 27,941
| 35.00
| 4
| 22,456
| 28.13
|  -
| 18,512
| 23.19
|  -
| 10,885
| 13.64
|  -
| 32
| 0.04
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 5,485
| 6.87
| 79,826
| style="text-align:center;" | MT
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Nebraska|Nebraska]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 109,008
| 43.69
| 8
| 72,681
| 29.13
|  -
| 54,226
| 21.74
|  -
| 10,185
| 4.08
|  -
| 3,383
| 1.36
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 36,327
| 14.56
| 249,483
| style="text-align:center;" | NE
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Nevada|Nevada]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 7,986
| 39.70
| 3
| 5,620
| 27.94
|  -
| 3,196
| 15.89
|  -
| 3,313
| 16.47
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 2,366
| 11.76
| 20,115
| style="text-align:center;" | NV
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 34,724
| 39.48
| 4
| 17,794
| 20.23
|  -
| 32,927
| 37.43
|  -
| 1,981
| 2.25
|  -
| 535
| 0.61
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 1,797
| 2.04
| 87,961
| style="text-align:center;" | NH
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in New Jersey|New Jersey]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
| 178,289
| 41.20
| 14
| 145,410
| 33.60
|  -
| 88,835
| 20.53
|  -
| 15,948
| 3.69
|  -
| 2,936
| 0.68
|  -
| 1,321
| 0.31
|  -
| 32,879
| 7.60
| 432,739
| style="text-align:center;" | NJ
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in New Mexico|New Mexico]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 20,437
| 41.39
| 3
| 8,347
| 16.90
|  -
| 17,733
| 35.91
|  -
| 2,859
| 5.79
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 2,704
| 5.48
| 49,376
| style="text-align:center;" | NM
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in New York|New York]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 45
| 655,573
| 41.27
| 45
| 390,093
| 24.56
|  -
| 455,487
| 28.68
|  -
| 63,434
| 3.99
|  -
| 19,455
| 1.22
|  -
| 4,273
| 0.27
|  -
| 200,086
| 12.60
| 1,588,315
| style="text-align:center;" | NY
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in North Carolina|North Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 144,407
| 59.24
| 12
| 69,135
| 28.36
|  -
| 29,129
| 11.95
|  -
| 987
| 0.40
|  -
| 118
| 0.05
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 75,272
| 30.88
| 243,776
| style="text-align:center;" | NC
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in North Dakota|North Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 29,555
| 34.14
| 5
| 25,726
| 29.71
|  -
| 23,090
| 26.67
|  -
| 6,966
| 8.05
|  -
| 1,243
| 1.44
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 3,829
| 4.42
| 86,580
| style="text-align:center;" | ND
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Ohio|Ohio]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 24
| 424,834
| 40.96
| 24
| 229,807
| 22.16
|  -
| 278,168
| 26.82
|  -
| 90,144
| 8.69
|  -
| 11,511
| 1.11
|  -
| 2,630
| 0.25
|  -
| 146,666
| 14.14
| 1,037,094
| style="text-align:center;" | OH
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Oklahoma|Oklahoma]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 119,156
| 46.95
| 10
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 90,786
| 35.77
|  -
| 41,674
| 16.42
|  -
| 2,185
| 0.86
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 28,370
| 11.18
| 253,801
| style="text-align:center;" | OK
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Oregon|Oregon]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 47,064
| 34.34
| 5
| 37,600
| 27.44
|  -
| 34,673
| 25.30
|  -
| 13,343
| 9.74
|  -
| 4,360
| 3.18
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 9,464
| 6.91
| 137,040
| style="text-align:center;" | OR
|- {{Party shading/Bull Moose}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 38
| 395,637
| 32.49
|  -
| 444,894
| 36.53
| 38
| 273,360
| 22.45
|  -
| 83,614
| 6.87
|  -
| 19,525
| 1.60
|  -
| 706
| 0.06
|  -
|  -49,257
|  -4.04
| 1,217,736
| style="text-align:center;" | PA
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 30,412
| 39.04
| 5
| 16,878
| 21.67
|  -
| 27,703
| 35.56
|  -
| 2,049
| 2.63
|  -
| 616
| 0.79
|  -
| 236
| 0.30
|  -
| 2,709
| 3.48
| 77,894
| style="text-align:center;" | RI
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in South Carolina|South Carolina]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 48,357
| 95.94
| 9
| 1,293
| 2.57
|  -
| 536
| 1.06
|  -
| 164
| 0.33
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 47,064
| 93.37
| 50,350
| style="text-align:center;" | SC
|- {{Party shading/Bull Moose}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in South Dakota|South Dakota]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 48,942
| 42.07
|  -
| 58,811
| 50.56
| 5
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 4,662
| 4.01
|  -
| 3,910
| 3.36
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -9,869
|  -8.48
| 116,325
| style="text-align:center;" | SD
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Tennessee|Tennessee]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 133,021
| 52.80
| 12
| 54,041
| 21.45
|  -
| 60,475
| 24.00
|  -
| 3,564
| 1.41
|  -
| 832
| 0.33
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 72,546
| 28.80
| 251,933
| style="text-align:center;" | TN
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Texas|Texas]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
| 221,589
| 72.73
| 20
| 28,853
| 8.86
|  -
| 26,755
| 9.45
|  -
| 25,743
| 8.25
|  -
| 1,738
| 0.57
|  -
| 442
| 0.14
|  -
| 192,736
| 63.17
| 305,120
| style="text-align:center;" | TX
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Utah|Utah]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 36,579
| 32.55
|  -
| 24,174
| 21.51
|  -
| 42,100
| 37.46
| 4
| 9,023
| 8.03
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 510
| 0.45
|  -
|  -5,521
|  -4.91
| 112,386
| style="text-align:center;" | UT
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Vermont|Vermont]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 15,354
| 24.43
|  -
| 22,132
| 35.22
|  -
| 23,332
| 37.13
| 4
| 928
| 1.48
|  -
| 1,095
| 1.74
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -1,200
|  -1.91
| 62,841
| style="text-align:center;" | VT
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Virginia|Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 90,332
| 65.95
| 12
| 21,776
| 15.90
|  -
| 23,288
| 17.00
|  -
| 820
| 0.60
|  -
| 709
| 0.52
|  -
| 50
| 0.04
|  -
| 67,044
| 48.95
| 136,975
| style="text-align:center;" | VA
|- {{Party shading/Bull Moose}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Washington (state)|Washington]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| 86,840
| 26.90
|  -
| 113,698
| 35.22
| 7
| 70,445
| 21.82
|  -
| 40,134
| 12.43
|  -
| 9,810
| 3.04
|  -
| 1,872
| 0.58
|  -
|  -26,858
|  -8.32
| 322,799
| style="text-align:center;" | WA
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in West Virginia|West Virginia]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 113,197
| 42.11
| 8
| 79,112
| 29.43
|  -
| 56,754
| 21.11
|  -
| 15,248
| 5.67
|  -
| 4,517
| 1.68
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 34,085
| 12.68
| 268,828
| style="text-align:center;" | WV
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 164,230
| 41.06
| 13
| 62,448
| 15.61
|  -
| 130,596
| 32.65
|  -
| 33,476
| 8.37
|  -
| 8,584
| 2.15
|  -
| 632
| 0.16
|  -
| 33,634
| 8.41
| 399,966
| style="text-align:center;" | WI
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| style="text-align:center;" |[[1912 United States presidential election in Wyoming|Wyoming]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 15,310
| 36.20
| 3
| 9,232
| 21.83
|  -
| 14,560
| 34.42
|  -
| 2,760
| 6.53
|  -
| 434
| 1.03
|  -
|  -
|  -
|  -
| 750
| 1.77
| 42,296
| style="text-align:center;" | WY
|-
! TOTALS:
! 531
! 6,296,284
! 41.84
! 435
! 4,122,721
! 27.40
! 88
! 3,486,242
! 23.17
! 8
! 901,551
! 5.99
! -
! 208,156
! 1.38
! -
! 29,324
! 0.19
! -
! 2,173,563
! 14.44
! 15,044,278
| style="text-align:center;" | US
|}</div>

===States that flipped from Republican to Democratic===
* [[Connecticut]]
* [[Delaware]]
* [[Idaho]]
* [[Illinois]]
* [[Indiana]]
* [[Iowa]]
* [[Kansas]]
* [[Maine]]
* [[Maryland]]
* [[Massachusetts]]
* [[Missouri]]
* [[Montana]]
* [[New Hampshire]]
* [[New Jersey]]
* [[New York (state)|New York]]
* [[North Dakota]]
* [[Ohio]]
* [[Oregon]]
* [[Rhode Island]]
* [[West Virginia]]
* [[Wisconsin]]
* [[Wyoming]]

===States that flipped from Republican to Progressive===
* [[California]]
* [[Michigan]]
* [[Minnesota]]
* [[Pennsylvania]]
* [[South Dakota]]
* [[Washington (state)|Washington]]

===Close states===
Margin of victory less than 1% (13 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:#c97979;">'''California, 0.03% (174 votes)'''</span>

Margin of victory less than 5% (142 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Idaho, 1.05% (1,111 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Illinois, 1.62% (18,570 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Wyoming, 1.77% (750 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Vermont, 1.91% (1,200 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Maine, 2.02% (2,618 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New Hampshire, 2.04% (1,797 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Connecticut, 3.28% (6,237 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Rhode Island, 3.48% (2,709 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Massachusetts, 3.58% (17,460 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:#c97979;">'''Pennsylvania, 4.04% (49,257 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''North Dakota, 4.42% (3,829 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Iowa, 4.77% (23,506 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:red;">'''Utah, 4.91% (5,521 votes)'''</span>

Margin of victory between 5% and 10% (73 electoral votes):
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New Mexico, 5.48% (2,704 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:#c97979;">'''Minnesota, 5.81% (19,430 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Kansas, 6.42% (23,453 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Montana, 6.87% (5,485 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Oregon, 6.91% (9,464 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New Jersey, 7.60% (32,879 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:#c97979;">'''Washington, 8.32% (26,858 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Wisconsin, 8.41% (33,634 votes)'''</span>
# <span style="color:#c97979;">'''South Dakota, 8.48% (9,869 votes)'''</span>

Tipping point state:
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New York, 12.6% (200,086 votes)'''</span> (for a Wilson victory)
# <span style="color:blue;">'''Ohio, 18.9% (146,666 votes)'''</span> (for a Roosevelt victory)
# <span style="color:blue;">'''New Hampshire, 37.2% (32,743 votes)'''</span> (for a Debs victory)

===County statistics===
Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic)
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Greenville County, South Carolina]] 100%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Marlboro County, South Carolina]] 100%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Hampton County, South Carolina]] 100%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Jasper County, South Carolina]] 100%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:blue;">[[Reagan County, Texas]] 100%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Progressive)
# '''<span style="color:#c97979;">[[Scott County, Tennessee]] 75.15%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:#c97979;">[[Campbell County, South Dakota]] 74.93%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:#c97979;">[[Avery County, North Carolina]] 72.69%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:#c97979;">[[Hutchinson County, South Dakota]] 67.84%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:#c97979;">[[Hamlin County, South Dakota]] 66.79%</span>'''

Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican)
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Zapata County, Texas]] 80.89%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Valencia County, New Mexico]] 77.25%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Kane County, Utah]] 75.40%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Clinton County, Kentucky]] 64.79%</span>'''
# '''<span style="color:red;">[[Huerfano County, Colorado]] 63.36%</span>'''
Counties with the Highest Percent of Vote (Socialist; incomplete)

# '''[[Lake County, Minnesota]]''' '''36.81%'''
# '''[[Crawford County, Kansas]]''' '''35.28%'''
# '''[[Marshall County, Oklahoma]] 34.94%'''
# '''[[McCurtain County, Oklahoma]] 31.83%'''
# '''[[Okfuskee County, Oklahoma]] 30.90%'''

===Maps===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:1912 Electoral Map.png|Results by state
File:PresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|Map of presidential election results by county
File:1912 United States presidential election results map by county.svg|Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
File:DemocraticPresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|Results by county, shaded according to percentage of the vote for '''Wilson'''
File:RepublicanPresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|Results by county, shaded according to percentage of the vote for '''Taft'''
File:1912 Debs County Map.svg|Results by county, shaded according to percentage of the vote for '''Debs'''
File:OtherPresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|Results by county, shaded according to percentage of the vote for '''all others including Debs'''
File:CartogramPresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|A continuous [[cartogram]] of the 1912 United States presidential election
File:CartogramDemocraticPresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|Cartogram shaded according to percentage of the vote for '''Wilson'''
File:CartogramRepublicanPresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|Cartogram shaded according to percentage of the vote for '''Taft'''
File:CartogramOtherPresidentialCounty1912Colorbrewer.gif|Cartogram shaded according to percentage of the vote for '''all others'''
</gallery>

==Results in major cities==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2020}}

[[File:1912 Progressives.jpg|thumb|300px|Roosevelt, hurting from his defeats, reviews his wounded lieutenants Munsey, Perkins and Dixon. From ''The Evening Star'' (Washington DC) Dec 10, 1912]]
Results of various cities within the top 100 municipalities by the [[1910 United States census]].
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!City
!ST
!Wilson
!Taft
!Roosevelt
!Debs
!Others
!Totals
|-
|San Francisco
|CA
|48,953
|65
|38,610
|12,354
|1,166
|101,148
|-
|Oakland
|CA
|11,210
|0
|14,221
|1,549
|525
|27,505
|-
|Denver
|CO
|26,690
|8,155
|25,154
|2,750
|764
|63,513
|-
|Bridgeport
|CT
|5,870
|4,625
|3,654
|1,511
|284
|15,944
|-
|Hartford
|CT
|7,481
|6,396
|2,467
|849
|258
|17,451
|-
|New Haven
|CT
|8,946
|7,291
|3,252
|1,696
|442
|21,627
|-
|Waterbury
|CT
|4,440
|3,261
|1,675
|787
|212
|10,375
|-
|Des Moines
|IA
|6,005
|3,669
|6,432
|
|
|
|-
|Chicago
|IL
|124,297
|71,030
|150,290
|53,743
|2,806
|402,166
|-
|Ft. Wayne
|IN
|4,892
|1,896
|2,793
|
|
|
|-
|Indianapolis
|IN
|18,306
|8,722
|9,693
|
|
|
|-
|New Orleans
|LA
|26,433
|904
|5,692
|
|
|
|-
|Boston
|MA
|43,065
|21,427
|21,533
|1,818
|428
|88,271
|-
|Cambridge
|MA
|6,667
|3,362
|3,403
|192
|68
|13,692
|-
|Fall River
|MA
|5,160
|4,224
|3,453
|219
|256
|13,312
|-
|Lowell
|MA
|5,459
|3,034
|3,783
|170
|82
|12,528
|-
|Lynn
|MA
|4,595
|4,144
|4,764
|583
|178
|14,264
|-
|New Bedford
|MA
|3,290
|4,177
|1,905
|626
|98
|10,096
|-
|Somerville
|MA
|4,062
|3,757
|4,072
|176
|78
|12,145
|-
|Springfield
|MA
|4,375
|5,167
|3,161
|555
|58
|13,316
|-
|Worcester
|MA
|6,049
|10,532
|4,818
|230
|140
|21,769
|-
|Baltimore
|MD
|48,030
|15,597
|33,679
|1,763
|253
|99,322
|-
|Portland
|ME
|4,242
|2,776
|3,305
|197
|58
|10,578
|-
|Kansas City
|MO
|26,954
|4,646
|20,894
|1,470
|465
|54,429
|-
|St. Louis
|MO
|58,845
|46,509
|24,746
|9,159
|1,068
|140,327
|-
|Manchester
|NH
|4,502
|4,022
|2,165
|520
|35
|11,244
|-
|Bayonne
|NJ
|3,717
|1,184
|2,552
|
|
|
|-
|Camden
|NJ
|6,895
|5,517
|4,707
|
|
|
|-
|Elizabeth
|NJ
|5,139
|1,900
|3,953
|
|
|
|-
|Jersey City
|NJ
|21,069
|4,070
|11,986
|
|
|
|-
|Newark
|NJ
|14,031
|10,780
|19,721
|
|
|
|-
|Paterson
|NJ
|7,437
|3,007
|7,223
|
|
|
|-
|Trenton
|NJ
|5,146
|3,898
|4,753
|
|
|
|-
|Buffalo
|NY
|26,192
|14,433
|20,769
|
|
|
|-
|New York City
|NY
|312,426
|126,582
|188,896
|33,239
|2,730
|663,873
|-
|Rochester
|NY
|13,430
|12,230
|11,102
|2,593
|636
|39,991
|-
|Yonkers
|NY
|5,533
|4,056
|4,536
|354
|49
|14,528
|-
|Cincinnati
|OH
|31,221
|30,588
|9,970
|6,520
|401
|78,700
|-
|Allentown
|PA
|4,627
|1,224
|3,475
|686
|59
|10,071
|-
|Erie
|PA
|3,407
|2,378
|1,898
|1,464
|140
|9,287
|-
|Philadelphia
|PA
|66,308
|91,944
|82,963
|9,784
|691
|251,690
|-
|Pittsburgh
|PA
|17,352
|14,658
|25,394
|8,498
|534
|66,436
|-
|Reading
|PA
|6,130
|1,657
|6,719
|2,800
|83
|17,389
|-
|Scranton
|PA
|6,193
|1,817
|7,971
|564
|214
|16,759
|-
|Wilkes-Barre
|PA
|2,905
|1,178
|3,951
|219
|47
|8,300
|-
|Salt Lake City
|UT
|7,488
|8,964
|6,587
|2,498
|
|
|-
|Norfolk
|VA
|3,539
|195
|451
|33
|10
|4,228
|-
|Richmond
|VA
|5,636
|405
|483
|91
|12
|6,627
|-
|Milwaukee
|WI
|24,501
|15,092
|5,127
|17,708
|511
|62,939
|}

==See also==
* [[1912 United States House of Representatives elections]]
* [[1912–13 United States Senate elections]]
* [[History of the United States (1865–1918)]]
* [[Progressive Era]]
* [[Bull Moose Party]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
* {{cite book|last1=Abramson |first1=Paul |last2=Aldrich |first2=John |last3=Rohde |first3=David |title=Change and Continuity in the 1992 Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |date=1995 |isbn=0871878399}}
* {{cite book|last=Sherman |first=Richard |title=The Republican Party and Black America From McKinley to Hoover 1896-1933 |publisher=[[University of Virginia Press]] |date=1973 |isbn=0813904676}}

==Further reading==
{{External media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?183270-1/1912-wilson-roosevelt-taft-debs ''Booknotes'' interview with James Chace on ''1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft, and Debs'', August 29, 2004], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?182471-1/1912-wilson-roosevelt-taft-debs Presentation by Chace on ''1912'', May 12, 2004], [[C-SPAN]]}}
* Anders, O. Fritiof. "The Swedish-American Press in the Election of 1912" ''Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly'' (1963) 14#3 pp.&nbsp;103–126
* Broderick, Francis L. ''Progressivism at risk: Electing a president in 1912'' (Praeger, 1989).
* {{cite book| first=James| last=Chace| author-link=James Chace| year=2004| title=1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft, and Debs – The Election That Changed the Country| publisher=Simon and Schuster| location=New York| isbn=0-7432-0394-1| url=https://archive.org/details/1912wilsonroosev00chac}}
* {{cite book| last=Cooper| first=John Milton Jr. |author-link=John M. Cooper (historian)| title=The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt| year=1983 |publisher=Belknap Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-674-94751-7 }}
* Cowan, Geoffrey. ''Let the People Rule: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary'' (2016).
* Delahaye, Claire. "The New Nationalism and Progressive Issues: The Break with Taft and the 1912 Campaign," in Serge Ricard, ed., ''A Companion to Theodore Roosevelt'' (2011) pp.&nbsp;452–67. [https://www.questia.com/library/120083904/a-companion-to-theodore-roosevelt online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214050242/https://www.questia.com/library/120083904/a-companion-to-theodore-roosevelt |date=December 14, 2020 }}
* DeWitt, Benjamin P. [https://archive.org/details/progressivemovem00dewi ''The Progressive Movement: A Non-Partisan, Comprehensive Discussion of Current Tendencies in American Politics'']. (1915).
* Flehinger, Brett. ''The 1912 Election and the Power of Progressivism: A Brief History with Documents'' (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003).
* Gable, John A. ''The Bullmoose Years: Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party.'' (Kennikat Press, 1978).
* [[Lewis L. Gould|Gould, Lewis L.]] ''Four Hats in the Ring: The 1912 Election and the Birth of Modern American Politics'' (2009). {{JSTOR|j.ctv2rsfczd}}.
* [[Lewis L. Gould|Gould, Lewis L.]]   "Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Disputed Delegates in 1912: Texas as a Test Case." ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' 80.1 (1976): 33–56 {{JSTOR|30238426}}.
* Hahn, Harlan. "The Republican Party Convention of 1912 and the Role of Herbert S. Hadley in National Politics." ''Missouri Historical Review'' 59.4 (1965): 407–423. Taft was willing to compromise with Missouri governor [[Herbert S. Hadley]] as presidential nominee; TR said no.
* Istre, Logan S. "[https://www.proquest.com/docview/2482682358?sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals Bench over Ballot: The Fight for Judicial Supremacy and the New Constitutional Politics, 1910–1916.]" ''The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era'' 20, no. 1 (2021): 2-23. doi:10.1017/S1537781420000079.
* {{cite book |title=The American Socialist Movement, 1897–1912 |last=Kipnis |first=Ira |year=1952 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York }}
* Kraig, Robert Alexander. "The 1912 Election and the Rhetorical Foundations of the Liberal State." ''Rhetoric and Public Affairs'' (2000): 363–395. {{JSTOR|41940243}}.
* {{cite book| last=Link| first=Arthur S.|author-link=Arthur S. Link| title=Wilson: Volume 1, The Road to the White House| year=1956}}
* Milkis, Sidney M., and Daniel J. Tichenor. "'Direct Democracy' and Social Justice: The Progressive Party Campaign of 1912." ''Studies in American Political Development'' 8#2 (1994): 282–340. {{doi|10.1017/S0898588X00001267}}.
* Milkis, Sidney M. ''Theodore Roosevelt, the Progressive Party, and the Transformation of American Democracy.'' Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2009.
* {{cite book| first=H. Wayne| last=Morgan| year=1962| title=Eugene V. Debs: Socialist for President| publisher=Syracuse University Press| url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=7935245| access-date=September 17, 2017| archive-date=February 1, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201032242/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=7935245| url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book| last=Mowry| first=George E.| author-link = George E. Mowry| title=Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement |year=1946 |location=Madison |publisher=Wisconsin University Press }} [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.87002 online]
* Mowry, George E. "The Election of 1912" in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Fred L Israel, eds., ''History of American Presidential Elections: 1789–1968'' (1971) 3: 2135–2427. [https://archive.org/details/historyofamerica0003unse_m6b2 online]
* Mowry, George E. ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America.'' (Harper and Row, 1962) [https://archive.org/details/eraoftheodoreroo0000mowr online].
* Ness, Immanuel, and James Ciment, eds. ''The Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America'' (3 vol. 2000).
* O'Mara, Margaret. ''Pivotal Tuesdays: Four Elections That Shaped the Twentieth Century'' (2015), compares 1912, 1932, 1968, 1992 in terms of social, economic, and political history
* Painter, Carl, "The Progressive Party In Indiana," ''[[Indiana Magazine of History]]'', 16#3 (1920), pp.&nbsp;173–283. {{JSTOR|27785944}}.
* [[Pinchot, Amos]]. [https://archive.org/details/historyofprogres00pinc ''History of the Progressive Party, 1912–1916'']. Introduction by Helene Maxwell Hooker. (New York University Press, 1958).
* Sarasohn, David. ''The Party of Reform: Democrats in the Progressive Era'' (UP of Mississippi, 1989), pp.&nbsp;119–154.
* Schambra, William. "The Election of 1912 and the Origins of Constitutional Conservatism." in ''Toward an American Conservatism'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). 95–119.
* Selmi, Patrick. "Jane Addams and the Progressive Party Campaign for President in 1912." ''Journal of Progressive Human Services'' 22.2 (2011): 160–190. {{doi|10.1080/10428232.2010.540705}}.
* Startt, James D. "Wilson's Election Campaign of 1912 and the Press." in ''Woodrow Wilson and the Press: Prelude to the Presidency'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) pp.&nbsp;197–228.
* Unger, Nancy C. ''Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer'' (U of North Carolina Press, 2003) pp.&nbsp;200–220.
* Unger, Nancy C. "The 'Political Suicide' of Robert M. La Follette: Public Disaster, Private Catharsis" ''Psychohistory Review'' 21#2 (1993) pp.&nbsp;187–220 [https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=history online] on his disastrous speech of February 2, 1912.
* Warner, Robert M. "Chase S. Osborn and the Presidential Campaign of 1912." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 46.1 (1959): 19–45. {{JSTOR|1892386}}.
* {{cite book| last=Wilensky| first=Norman N.| title=Conservatives in the Progressive Era: The Taft Republicans of 1912| year=1965 |location=Gainesville |publisher=University of Florida Press }}

=== Primary sources ===
* Bryan, William Jennings. ''A Tale of Two Conventions: Being an Account of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions of June, 1912, with an Outline of the Progressive National Convention of August in the Same Year'' (Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1912). [https://books.google.com/books?id=c80oAAAAYAAJ&dq=1912+NATIONAL+CONVENTION&pg=IA3 online]
* Chester, Edward W. ''A guide to political platforms'' (1977) [https://archive.org/details/guidetopolitical0000ches online]
* Pinchot, Amos. [https://archive.org/details/whatsmatterwitha00pinc ''What's the Matter with America: The Meaning of the Progressive Movement and the Rise of the New Party''] (Amos Pinchot, 1912).
* ''Republican campaign text-book 1912'' (1912) [https://archive.org/details/republicancampa00repu online]
* Roosevelt, Theodore. ''Theodore Roosevelt's Confession of Faith Before the Progressive National Convention, August 6, 1912'' (Progressive Party, 1912) [https://books.google.com/books?id=yrQZAAAAYAAJ&dq=1912+NATIONAL+CONVENTION&pg=PA1 online].
* Roosevelt, Theodore. ''Bull Moose on the Stump: The 1912 Campaign Speeches of Theodore Roosevelt'' Ed. by Lewis L. Gould. (UP of Kansas, 2008).
* {{cite book| last=Wilson| first=Woodrow| title=A Crossroads of Freedom, the 1912 Campaign Speeches| editor=John Wells Davidson |year=1956}} [https://archive.org/details/crossroadsoffree0000wils online]
* Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. ''National party platforms, 1840–1964'' (1965) [https://archive.org/details/nationalpartypla00port online 1840–1956]

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/elections/election1912.html Presidential Election of 1912: A Resource Guide] from the Library of Congress
* [http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/toonsbytopic1912election.html editorial cartoons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215010223/http://theodore-roosevelt.com/toonsbytopic1912election.html |date=February 15, 2020 }}
* [http://www.ssa.gov/history/trspeech.html Sound recording of TR speech]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180613185010/http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1912.htm 1912 popular vote by counties]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080517135635/http://www.multied.com/elections/1912State.html 1912 State-by-state Popular vote]
* [http://www.american-presidents.org/2006/08/election-of-1912.html The Election of 1912] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920181127/http://www.american-presidents.org/2006/08/election-of-1912.html |date=September 20, 2013 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215750/http://www.countingthevotes.com/1912/ Election of 1912 in Counting the Votes]
* [https://archive.org/details/theoroos1912 Theodore Roosevelt Speech Edison Recordings Campaign – 1912], audio recording
* [https://archive.org/details/willtaft1912  William Taft Edison Recordings Campaign – 1912], audio recording
* [https://archive.org/details/woodwils1912  Woodrow Wilson Edison Campaign Recordings – 1912] audio recording

{{1912 United States elections}}
{{1912 United States presidential election}}
{{State Results of the 1912 U.S. presidential election}}
{{USPresidentialElections}}
{{US Third Party Election}}
{{Socialist Party of America}}
{{Woodrow Wilson}}
{{William Howard Taft}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1912 United States presidential election| ]]
[[Category:Theodore Roosevelt]]
[[Category:Woodrow Wilson]]
[[Category:William Howard Taft]]
[[Category:Eugene V. Debs]]
[[Category:Thomas R. Marshall]]
[[Category:James S. Sherman]]
[[Category:Presidency of Woodrow Wilson]]
[[Category:Presidency of William Howard Taft]]
[[Category:November 1912 in the United States]]