After Teddy Roosevelt pledged to the American people that he would not seek a third term as President in 1908, his hand-picked successor and the incumbent President William Howard Taft, took over to continue Republican control of the White House. Taft now seeks a second term and will do so on his own merits, having steered his own course rather than simply continuing all of Roosevelt's policies. Roosevelt, angered by what he sees as Taft's abandonment of his legacy and believing he is the only man for the job, plans to challenge Taft for the Republican nomination. The split between the progressive and conservative wings of the GOP looms large. The Democrats, meanwhile, seek their own candidate to challenge Taft. The field is wide open, since William Jennings Bryan will not run again, as he has done three times before. The questions of the day are progressive reforms, from eugenics to workers' compensation to antitrust.
But that's the stage in real life. It's up to you to re-enact history, or to change it. Will Roosevelt challenge Taft, and form a third party if he loses? Will Taft even seek a second term? Will the Democrats go with a fresh face, or will The Great Commoner ride again? And what about third parties? The Socialist and Prohibition Parties could play an important role.
Third Party Rules
There are no restrictions on Socialist or Prohibition candidates. There may or may not be people who choose to run under those party banners, but if somebody wants to run, they will exist, unlike other third parties. A Progressive Party may only be formed if we have a Teddy Roosevelt, he loses the Republican primary, and wants to run third party. If there is no Roosevelt, if he wins the Republican nomination, or if he chooses not to run, there will be no Progressive Party. No "Fighting Bob" or Hiram Johnson Progressive run, they are just not big enough names.
Winning the Nomination
Each state will have delegates equal to their electoral vote. We will have several states choose their delegates through primaries. These states are, for both Republicans and Democrats, North Dakota, South Dakota, New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Oregon, Maryland, and Ohio. The others will be up for grabs at the convention. I will update maps with winners of primaries and those candidates who seem to have a lock on one or another state's delegates. Some states will remain uncommitted until the convention. Candidates from a state without a primary will have an automatic lock on those delegates. You are encouraged to wheel and deal with other candidates to gain support or block another candidate, and you may tailor your policies to appeal to one state or another. It will require a majority of delegates to be elected for the sake of simplicity (sorry, no two-thirds rule for the Democrats).
One other Republican-specific note: Taft is the leader of the party and controls the patronage. Since the Republican Party in the South is mostly members who have federal jobs and other such things, Taft will start with those states committed to him.
Winning the Election
You must win a majority of the electoral vote to be elected. If nobody reaches a majority, it will go to the House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, and the Democrat will likely be elected President.
You are not limited to the big names and you may choose any political figure from the time period who was eligible to be President. But here is a list of high profile potential candidates at the time. Bigger names will get more support than little known people.
Candidate App
- Code: Select all
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Party:[/b]
[b]Current or former office held:[/b]
[b]Home state (if your candidate happens to be in the military then you may leave this blank):[/b]
ROSTER
Champ Clark (D-MO): Greater Arab State
Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY): Dentali
T. Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ): Open, looking for a replacement
William C. Forbes (R-MA): The Koreans
IC thread link: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=460724
Special thanks to Arlenton for getting these types of threads started.
