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All 356 electoral votes of the Electoral College 179 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The United States Presidential Election of 1908, the 31st US presidential election, took place on November 3, 1908. President Charles W. Fairbanks defeated Democratic candidate William Randolph Hearst to win reelection to a second term.
Background[]
President Charles W. Fairbanks spent his first term leading the country through its best period of prosperity since before the Civil War. Conservatism made a strong rebound after the progressive revolution of 1896-1901. This election, then, was never very contentious. Fairbanks was a popular president with a strong economy, and the chances of beating him seemed rather weak.
Democratic Nomination[]
The 1908 Democratic National Convention was held from June 21-25 in Denver. Not many major Democrats lined up to fight for this nomination, as they did not think the chances of victory were great. The progressive wing of the party had temporarily retaken control for this election, mostly in opposition to the conservative President Fairbanks. William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper publisher, U.S. Representative, and 1904 vice presidential candidate, seemed to be the progressive front-runner. He won the nomination comfortably.
David R. Francis, former Governor of Missouri and cabinet member under President Gray, won the vice presidential nomination without much controversy.
National American Nomination[]
The 1908 National American Convention was held from July 10-13 in Chicago. President Charles W. Fairbanks was renominated without opposition. The true contest lied in the vice presidential nomination, where many candidates of both conservative and progressive backgrounds vied for the spot.
The party establishment was torn between nominating a conservative running mate, to solidify the dominance of conservatism, or nominating a progressive candidate to placate that wing of the party. Major progressive candidates included Representative Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Senator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin. Other candidates were Joseph G. Cannon, James S. Sherman, and former presidential candidate Joseph B. Foraker. While Roosevelt won some delegates over with charisma, he was seen as too ambitious and also as a political loser after he lost his campaign for governor of New York. It was La Follette, then, that was tapped as Fairbanks' running mate.
The Campaign[]
Fairbanks did not campaign very heavily, expecting an easy victory. Hearst, on the other hand, spoke as much as he could, trying to present himself as vigorous and active. He often directly compared himself to the late William Jennings Bryan, saying that he was the heir to his movement. La Follette did a lot of campaigning for the National American side, mostly trying to win over progressive votes in the West.
Results and Aftermath[]
As expected by everyone, Fairbanks won a landslide victory. He went on to continue his prosperous time as president while numerous candidates prepared to run in 1912, which would be one of the most contested and pivotal elections in US history.
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