1904 Republican National Convention
The 1904 Republican National Convention was held in the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on June 21 to June 23, 1904.
Convention
The popular President Theodore Roosevelt had easily ensured himself of the nomination; a threat had come from the Old Guard favourite Ohio Senator Mark Hanna, the loyal kingmaker in Republican politics, but he died early in 1904, which ended any opposition to Roosevelt within the Republican Party.
There were also very informal talks with future president William Howard Taft about trying for the nomination, but Taft refused these motions as evidenced by a letter to Henry Hoyt, the Solicitor General, in 1903.
Roosevelt was nominated by 994 votes to none, while the only other serious opponent to Roosevelt, Indiana Senator Charles W. Fairbanks, was nominated for vice president by acclaimation.
Vice presidential candidates[edit]
As Theodore Roosevelt had ascended to the presidency following the death of William McKinley on September 14, 1901, he served the remainder of McKinley's term without a vice president as the 25th Amendment had not yet been passed. This also left the convention with the task of choosing a running mate for Roosevelt.
Entering the convention, Senator Charles Fairbanks of Indiana was considered the likely favorite for the vice presidential nomination, but the Roosevelt administration favored Illinois Representative Robert R. Hitt or Secretary of War William Howard Taft of Ohio;[1] Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon of Illinois also had support among the delegates, but Cannon had no desire to leave his position in the House.[1] After the administration decided not to launch a fight over the nomination of Fairbanks, he was nominated by acclamation.[2]