Still Bryan in 1908 and Wilson in 1912.Who’s the Dem nominee in this situation?
Well as Secretary of State of Teddy, is Likely that Root would have supported the Entente since the beginning of WW1, and it is likely that he and Teddy would have pressured Congress to declare war on Germany after the sinking of the Lusitania, thus the US would enter WW1 early skyrocketing his approval, even if WW1 ended before the election of 1916, Root could have been reelected, as he would have seen as the leader who ended WW1, similar to Truman after WW2.I think after 16 years of GOP control and twelve of Teddy (roughly), the GOP’s luck runs out.
Teddy’s run was as much a reaction against the party’s unpopularity by the early 1910s as it was his personal feud with Taft. Root was a talented bureaucrat but i have skepticism about his skills as a candidate; I have him as President in my own TL and he had some genuine vulnerabilities.
Let’s say he does win, though. He’d be shifting the GOP firmly to the right on every question but the income tax and would likely piss off progressives even more than Taft did. The GOP would likely get boat raced in 1914. It’s probably unlikely the US jumps into WW1 before 1916 unless the U-boat campaign is way worse, and Root would be hugely vulnerable to a Democratic campaign running explicitly to stay out of the war in 1916 and supported in such an endeavor by large German and Irish consituencies
With No Split vote in 1912 Root wins.I think after 16 years of GOP control and twelve of Teddy (roughly), the GOP’s luck runs out.
Teddy’s run was as much a reaction against the party’s unpopularity by the early 1910s as it was his personal feud with Taft. Root was a talented bureaucrat but i have skepticism about his skills as a candidate; I have him as President in my own TL and he had some genuine vulnerabilities.
Let’s say he does win, though. He’d be shifting the GOP firmly to the right on every question but the income tax and would likely piss off progressives even more than Taft did. The GOP would likely get boat raced in 1914. It’s probably unlikely the US jumps into WW1 before 1916 unless the U-boat campaign is way worse, and Root would be hugely vulnerable to a Democratic campaign running explicitly to stay out of the war in 1916 and supported in such an endeavor by large German and Irish consituencies
The sinking of the Lusitania and Teddy's support would be more than enough to pressure Congress to declare war on Germany.I definitely agree a President Root is even more overtly pro-Entente than Wilson in 1914-15; I don’t know that that’s enough to bring the US into war at that point