1920 Republican Party presidential primaries

From March 9 to June 5, 1920, voters of the Republican Party elected delegates to the 1920 Republican National Convention for the purpose of choosing the party's nominee for president in the 1920 election.

The delegates were largely contested between Governor Hiram Johnson of California, a progressive who had been the running mate of Theodore Roosevelt eight years prior; General Leonard Wood, one of Roosevelt's closest friends; and Frank O. Lowden, the Governor of Illinois.

After a series of primary elections and caucuses, no candidate had emerged with a clear majority of the delegates. At the 1920 Republican National Convention, held from June 8 to June 12, in Chicago, Illinois,^[1] the delegations of the leading candidates deadlocked and Warren G. Harding was nominated as a dark horse candidate, although he had only won a few delegates entering the convention.

Background[edit]

1912 and 1916 elections[edit]

In 1912, the Republican Party was split. Former President Theodore Roosevelt challenged incumbent William Howard Taft for the nomination and, when it was denied at the 1912 Republican National Convention, bolted to form the Progressive Party. With Republicans (who had won eight of the previous eleven presidential elections) split, Woodrow Wilson won the race with a plurality of the popular vote and a large majority in the electoral college.

In 1916, the Republican Party nominated Associate Justice of the United States Charles Evans Hughes, a respected jurist and former Governor of New York, as one who could appeal to both Progressives and Republicans alike. Though Hughes was able to avoid disaster when Roosevelt declined to run on the Progressive ticket, he fell narrowly short of defeating President Wilson, who significantly improved on his vote from 1912. The campaign was dominated by two wars: the Mexican Revolution and World War I. Responding to Republican calls for military preparedness,^[2] Wilson used the slogan "He kept us out of war" to emphasize the maintenance of U.S. neutrality.^[3]

Former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from New York

Charles Evans Hughes

John J. Pershing from Missouri

General of the Armies

26th Theodore Roosevelt from New York (died January 6, 1919)

President of the United States

Post-primary maneuvering[edit]

Kenyon Committee report[edit]

On the eve of the convention, no man had secured enough support for the nomination. However, Wood and Lowden suffered a major blow when the Senate investigation into campaign expenditures was published. The subcommittee chaired by William S. Kenyon revealed massive spending by both Wood and Lowden's campaigns, including two canceled checks from Lowden to Missouri delegates that could not be explained.^[75] Johnson was indirectly damaged by the investigation as well, since Wood and Lowden supporters blamed him for instigating it; the enmity between the front-runners appeared to ensure none could secure the others' support.^[75]

1920 Democratic Party presidential primaries

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