Hunt came into the Vice-Presidency due to the Senate disliking the other choice more, and came into the Presidency because the man he served under died. Tarred as even more illegitimate John Quincy Adams in his day he had a difficult beginning, but fought not the less. Many knew little of this western hick as he came in, despite some years in the Senate where he was a quiet but solid member on the Interior Committee, some claimed that he couldn't even spell his middle names properly or that his glasses were fake.
Despite these attacks he took a lead that the ailing La Follette couldn't, grabbing Congress by the horns: in his 1923 and 1924 State of the Union addresses he attacked Congress over high taxation on farmers and wage-earners, tax loopholes for Wall Street and the millionaires who backed them. He called them hypocrites for voting on pay raises while vetoing minimum wage bills or old age pension bills (something he pointed out that he'd had supported as Senator). The Republicans criticized him as a lout with no knowledge of an economy outside of a small western state. They attacked his illegitimacy and accent, and they went all out in 1924.
The issue is they went all in for one region: the Northeast. New York and Pennsylvania held 100 EVs (out of 624), that and the New England States held 149 (almost half for the 312 needed). Those, some hardcore Republican states, and Utah voted for them, but most of the country was ignored by the Presidential team. Utah voted for the Republicans out of a pervasive distrust of Hunt, after decades of rumors of his anti-Mormon bias (ranging from teasing comments to reporters to ordering raids on suspected Polygamists while Governor). There was also the issue of his Catholic, and wet, VP: Senator Al Smith. Prohibitionists hated the man, being one of the most fervent opponents of their alcohol policy (ironically as State Speaker he was good friends with the Prohibitionists in the legislature, and worked on Tax and moral policies with them).
And while the Prohibitionists still continued their policy of not running a right-wing spoiler, the Socialists decided to do something similar. When their 690 delegates assembled in Chicago, only 312 bothered to appear, after a week a quorum was established with 366. Very few people felt comfortable showing up, with such a small amount of candidates they voted not to contest 1924 and instead endorse Hunt with a vote of 344-21-1 (21 not voting out of protest). As a result many states either had Hunt appear twice as a Populist and a Socialists, or just not have the Socialists on the ballot.
While the Populists failed in taking any Northeaster states, they took many districts and even knocked out Speaker Hall. The Socialists recovered, but that was limited, some defecting to the Populists, other times losing to the Populists who had before not challenged them. Hunt had done the impossible, won Congress, won legitimacy from an incompetent opposition, and prepared to start his "real" first term. Representative La Guardia, long time opponent to Hall and vocal New York Populist supporter, became the new Speaker. The Senate came back into a left-wing coalition (only a few more Social Democrats holding out).
1890 Lodge Bill Timeline:
1892 Presidential and Congressional elections
1894 Congress/1896 general elections
1898 Congress/1900 general election
1902 Congress/1904 general elections
*John Calhoun Bell biography
1906 Congressional elections
1908 General Elections
1910 Congress/1912 general election
1914 House elections
1916 General Elections
1918 House elections
1920 Presidential Election
1920 House and Senate elections
1922 House elections
