WI: An alt 1912 US Presidental election

So I think I finally found a POD I can make a TL off of, but I have a slight problem. The POD is that TR runs during the 1908 election, and obviously beats William Jennings Bryan. However, what would happen in the 1912 election? Lets say Taft pushs for his appointment to be Chief Justice or whatever, instead of running in the election. Who would run for the Republican ticket for 1912? Same with the Democrats, if another Roosevelt administration would change the political landscape enough.

Cheers!
 
Opps, this is in the wrong forum! :eek:

I was thinking about La Follette, but I was curious if there was any other potential men since if I am not mistaken La Follette and Roosevelt didn't get along.
 
For the Democrats Governor Woodrow Wilson (assuming he does an equally good job ITTL of handling the politics) and Speaker of the House James Beauchamp "Champ" Clark are almost certainly the two frontrunners as per OTL.

For the Republicans Taft is still likely if he declines to join the Court and stays allied to Roosevelt. Otherwise Senator La Follette is a strong contender. Charles W. Fairbanks, Roosevelt's VP, might be the guy if Taft is gone despite getting passed over in Roosevelt's support OTL.

If Roosevelt looks around for a successor to himself with Taft on the Court then his 1912 running mate IOTL, Hiram Johnson, might well be groomed. He doesn't have enough experience for Secretary of State but in 1908 he has a very high profile, if Senator George Perkins is given a position in the Administration (or just retires early) and therefore steps down from the Senate instead of running for his last term then perhaps Johnson runs/wins for that Senate seat in 1908.

That would make him more likely a VP candidate in 1912, but perhaps Roosevelt takes a liking to him and throws his weight around in the Party.

ETA: If Roosevelt has another term and if the Republicans win in 1912 with a progressive then the whole landscape of the American party system will likely shift.
 
From what little I know about the 1912 Democratic Convention, I think Wilson would be the winner of it, unless Champ Clark has more skill during the convention.

So the Republican Convention could perhaps see a La Follette and Johnson ticket? If I'm not mistaken they weren't on the best of terms at the time, though I could be wrong.
 
From what little I know about the 1912 Democratic Convention, I think Wilson would be the winner of it, unless Champ Clark has more skill during the convention.

So the Republican Convention could perhaps see a La Follette and Johnson ticket? If I'm not mistaken they weren't on the best of terms at the time, though I could be wrong.

Champ Clark was the frontrunner but Bryan endorsed Wilson over Tammany Hall endorsing Clark/corruption fears. So unless Wilson does an equally good job in the ATL it's probably Clark if he does the same or better job as IOTL.

Can't have two progressives on the ticket in the Republican Party of the time. Plus Wisconsin/California isn't really balanced (each state has only 13 electoral votes, for instance). And like I said unless there's shifting around in 1912 Johnson is not even halfway through his term of Governor of California which was enough for VP of a third party but not enough for more.


Let's try this: what kind of person do you want elected in 1912? It'll (almost certainly) have to be a Republican unless you want Clark or Wilson so do you want a progressive, a conservative, someone middling, etc…? From that we can see if there's a suitable candidate that Roosevelt's additional term will effect.
 
Charles W. Fairbanks, Roosevelt's VP, might be the guy if Taft is gone despite getting passed over in Roosevelt's support OTL.

Will Fairbanks still be TR's VP? The GOP rarely repeated its ticket in those days.

If not, any thoughts on who? He will almost certainly be from the Midwest, and probably conservative, but that aside could be almost anyone.
 
LaFollette would, honestly, be the best option. Yes, there was certainly a good deal of animosity between RML and TR, but much of this sprang from the two of them both wanting to be top dog (I've often thought of doing a TL where LaFollette is chosen as McKinley's VP rather than Governor Roosevelt).
In the popular concious, however, LaFollette was the best choice to fill TR's shoes.
If the two of the could, effectively, be locked in a room together, they could come to some kind of agreement. That is, as long as TR apologizes for spilling tea on Belle LaFollette's dress [FN1]

[FN1] The first time LaFollette and Roosevelt met, the later accidently spilled a cup of hot tea onto LaFollette's wife. TR apologized, but, for what ever reason, LaFollette never really forgave the insult ...
 
On a side note, if you do manage to get a LaFollette Presidency, things are going to be very different. For one, he was never a supporter of the Fed Reserve (LaFollette, although a Republican, took a few ideas from Democratic populists. He was a strong believer in the idea of small business, and had very little good to say of the idea of coming to grips with big business).
Further, he is the one politician who would not, under almost any circumstance, get dragged into WWI. This is not to say the RML was a pacifist, and anyone who says so is a damned fool. But he felt that the European War was a diaster and America's best interest to turn inward. He might try to emulate TR and negotiate a peace. But I've always suspected that he would have gotten drug into Mexico instead, on the liberal side (if not the Poncho Villa side).
He also would have fought very hard for women's suffrage (which Wilsom, largely, gave lip service to until forced to act), lowering tarifs (many Progressives felt that high tarifs only helped American business by protecting them from competion and fostering monopolies), and might have even suggested a constitutinal amendment to liit the power of the Supreme Court (he certainly did during his '24 campaign for the Presidency, but I'm not sure if he was sufficiently fed up with the courts by that point yet)
 
Two easterners? Has there ever been such a ticket?

Oh right, I always forget Pennsylvania counts as Eastern as well as Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest in the western half.

Hmm. Shrug. Roosevelt didn't care about the Vice-Presidency, it's easiest just keeping Fairbanks.
 
Electric Monk, I indeed want a Progressive Republican candidate, and it seems La Follete seems to fit the bill. Just for kicks he and Roosevelt work out their differences and perhaps TR gives Mrs. La Follete a new dress. :)p)

I don't really care much about the Democractic candidate, since they wont be winning. ;)
 
Leonard Wood?
Had already made his reputation in the Spanish American War and as governor of Cuba after it. He was on good terms with Roosevelt and had a similar dynamic personality.
 
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