"In 1900, even after the British Churchill had been taken prisoner by the Boers and dramatically escaped, there was no question in this country as to which Churchill was *the* Winston Churchill.”--New York Times obituary, 1947
For many years in the US, if you said the words "Winston Churchill" the name that would immediately come to most people's minds would not be a British politician but a New Hampshire novelist. Winston Churchill (1871-1947) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill_(novelist) was in fact "the most popular Progessive novelist" (to quote Richard Hofstadter in *The Age of Reform*)--though his historical romances were even bigger sellers than his modern "problem novels." (See http://wwwfac.mcdaniel.edu/history/awc.html for more about Churchill.)
Churchill was elected to the New Hampshire legislature as a Republican in 1902. In 1906 he made a serious bid for the Republican nomination for governor of New Hampshire. (This got some notice not only in the US but also in the UK. The London *Sketch* had an article WATCH THE WINSTONS suggesting that one day one might become Prime Minister of Great Britain and the other President of the United States. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F03E0DB1231E733A2575AC0A96E9C946797D6CF&legacy=true) This article in the *New Outlook* indicates that he in fact came very close to winning the nomination:
***
"Mr. Churchill's Virtual Victory"
"The nomination of Mr.Charles M. Floyd as Republican candidate for the Governorship of New Hampshire was brought about by the not unexpected coalition against Mr. Winston Churchill of all the forces in support of the other candidates. When Mr. Churchill entered the field, early in July, three men had been canvassing for the nomination for about a year. While continuing to contend against one another, these three candidates for the nomination regarded Mr. Churchill's canvass as intrusive, and therefore they formed a common bond of hostility toward him. Mr. Churchill's platform, moreover, aroused the antagonism of the railroad machine which has dominated the politics of the State. It was inevitable that, if Mr. Churchill's candidacy should become formidable, the other candidates and the railroad machine would at the critical moment combine. Mr. Churchill's nomination therefore depended upon his ability to overcome such a combination. Even as late as August it was not believed by the forces hostile to Mr. Churchill that his candidacy would become formidable; it was even predicted at that time by the most astute of the machine managers that Mr. Churchill would not receive over twenty votes in the Convention. As a matter of fact, however, on the eighth ballot in the Convention he had just one less than fifteen times that number of votes, and was the leading candidate. He had entered the Convention with 157 votes and had gained steadily throughout the balloting. At this juncture the hostile forces combined on Mr. Floyd, and by the narrow margin of eight votes secured for him the nomination. Mr. Churchill, however, has not been defeated, for he was not fighting a personal battle, but was contending for a set of principles. His personal triumph was remarkable, for he had a lead over all the other candidates singly; but still more remarkable and significant was the fact that he committed all of his adversaries and the Republican party of the State to the principles for which he had contended.." https://books.google.com/books?pg=PA243&lpg=PA243&sig=DSNfEwMyV-GG186P6xDBnKtT_OM&id=brlZAAAAYAAJ
***
It is of course possible that even if nominated, Churchill would have been "knifed" in November by conservative, pro-railroad Republicans; but OTOH he could get the support of some progressive Democrats. So suppose he is not only nominated but elected in 1906. Could this have led to the presidency? According to http://wwwfac.mcdaniel.edu/history/awc.html "relationships with Roosevelt and Taft will spread his influence in Republican circles beyond New Hampshire in the coming years." And of course this will be still more true if he is elected governor. Maybe if TR and Taft insist he be Taft's running mate in 1908, the GOP convention will go along, even if they would prefer someone more conservative. Then of course all it takes is our standard Crazy Anarchist Assassin to make the American Winston Churchill POTUS. Or let's say that TR and Taft realize that their rivalry in 1912 is ruinous, and settle on Churchill as a compromise candidate acceptable to both of them?
(The other possible path to the presidency would be Churchill winning the New Hampshire goverorship in 1912 as Progressive party candidate. However, while he did respectably in that race, he did not come close to winning. The Democrat Samuel Felker won with 41.07 percent of the vote, the Republican Franklin Worcester came in second with 39.03 percent, and Churchill came in third with 17.29 percent. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=266679 And even if he had somehow won, the Progressive Party would not last long, and it would be hard for Churchill to make his way back to the Republican Party with any success. Anyway, after his loss in 1912, Churchill gave up on electoral politics.)
For many years in the US, if you said the words "Winston Churchill" the name that would immediately come to most people's minds would not be a British politician but a New Hampshire novelist. Winston Churchill (1871-1947) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill_(novelist) was in fact "the most popular Progessive novelist" (to quote Richard Hofstadter in *The Age of Reform*)--though his historical romances were even bigger sellers than his modern "problem novels." (See http://wwwfac.mcdaniel.edu/history/awc.html for more about Churchill.)
Churchill was elected to the New Hampshire legislature as a Republican in 1902. In 1906 he made a serious bid for the Republican nomination for governor of New Hampshire. (This got some notice not only in the US but also in the UK. The London *Sketch* had an article WATCH THE WINSTONS suggesting that one day one might become Prime Minister of Great Britain and the other President of the United States. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F03E0DB1231E733A2575AC0A96E9C946797D6CF&legacy=true) This article in the *New Outlook* indicates that he in fact came very close to winning the nomination:
***
"Mr. Churchill's Virtual Victory"
"The nomination of Mr.Charles M. Floyd as Republican candidate for the Governorship of New Hampshire was brought about by the not unexpected coalition against Mr. Winston Churchill of all the forces in support of the other candidates. When Mr. Churchill entered the field, early in July, three men had been canvassing for the nomination for about a year. While continuing to contend against one another, these three candidates for the nomination regarded Mr. Churchill's canvass as intrusive, and therefore they formed a common bond of hostility toward him. Mr. Churchill's platform, moreover, aroused the antagonism of the railroad machine which has dominated the politics of the State. It was inevitable that, if Mr. Churchill's candidacy should become formidable, the other candidates and the railroad machine would at the critical moment combine. Mr. Churchill's nomination therefore depended upon his ability to overcome such a combination. Even as late as August it was not believed by the forces hostile to Mr. Churchill that his candidacy would become formidable; it was even predicted at that time by the most astute of the machine managers that Mr. Churchill would not receive over twenty votes in the Convention. As a matter of fact, however, on the eighth ballot in the Convention he had just one less than fifteen times that number of votes, and was the leading candidate. He had entered the Convention with 157 votes and had gained steadily throughout the balloting. At this juncture the hostile forces combined on Mr. Floyd, and by the narrow margin of eight votes secured for him the nomination. Mr. Churchill, however, has not been defeated, for he was not fighting a personal battle, but was contending for a set of principles. His personal triumph was remarkable, for he had a lead over all the other candidates singly; but still more remarkable and significant was the fact that he committed all of his adversaries and the Republican party of the State to the principles for which he had contended.." https://books.google.com/books?pg=PA243&lpg=PA243&sig=DSNfEwMyV-GG186P6xDBnKtT_OM&id=brlZAAAAYAAJ
***
It is of course possible that even if nominated, Churchill would have been "knifed" in November by conservative, pro-railroad Republicans; but OTOH he could get the support of some progressive Democrats. So suppose he is not only nominated but elected in 1906. Could this have led to the presidency? According to http://wwwfac.mcdaniel.edu/history/awc.html "relationships with Roosevelt and Taft will spread his influence in Republican circles beyond New Hampshire in the coming years." And of course this will be still more true if he is elected governor. Maybe if TR and Taft insist he be Taft's running mate in 1908, the GOP convention will go along, even if they would prefer someone more conservative. Then of course all it takes is our standard Crazy Anarchist Assassin to make the American Winston Churchill POTUS. Or let's say that TR and Taft realize that their rivalry in 1912 is ruinous, and settle on Churchill as a compromise candidate acceptable to both of them?
(The other possible path to the presidency would be Churchill winning the New Hampshire goverorship in 1912 as Progressive party candidate. However, while he did respectably in that race, he did not come close to winning. The Democrat Samuel Felker won with 41.07 percent of the vote, the Republican Franklin Worcester came in second with 39.03 percent, and Churchill came in third with 17.29 percent. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=266679 And even if he had somehow won, the Progressive Party would not last long, and it would be hard for Churchill to make his way back to the Republican Party with any success. Anyway, after his loss in 1912, Churchill gave up on electoral politics.)
Last edited: