The Presidential Election 1916

Woodrow Wilson’s progressive approach to his first term had made him popular, and he was easily renominated by the Democrats to run in the 1916 election. Despite his opposition to Taft and formation of the separate Progressive Party in 1912, Roosevelt had put his name forward for Republican candidacy, but his popularity within the party had waned and Charles Evans Hughes was nominated instead. The focus of the election was the war in Europe. The Democrats played upon Wilson’s successful foreign policy, adopting the slogan ‘He kept us out of war’. The Republican campaign criticized Wilson, both personally and professionally. The election was extremely close, but Wilson managed to win with just 49.4 per cent of the popular vote and 277 electoral votes. American entered World War I in 1917.