How would 1912 been if William Jennings Bryan got the nomination

[morgankingsley]

Could fourth time truly be the charm? Discuss with maps

[Huey Long is a Republican]

depends. Does Roosevelt get the GOP Nomination or does he still run Bull Moose?

If Roosevelt is Nominated:

If Roosevelt runs Bull Moose:

[morgankingsley]

There is no way on planet earth Bryan would lose under a split ticket, especially since Bryan got more votes than Wilson ever did. Roosevelt might hit 200 electoral votes, but that's it. I would go as far as to say that under a split ticket, any democrat would win that year. However that being said, the first map I can agree with though. What about a Taft only map?

[morgankingsley]

Let's not forget, Alton Parker in 1904 got more votes than either Roosevelt or Taft did in 1912, by one million for Roosevelt and 1.5 for Taft. If Bryan can get Parker amount of votes, he is good.

[Lechasseur]

There is no way on planet earth Bryan would lose under a split ticket, especially since Bryan got more votes than Wilson ever did. Roosevelt might hit 200 electoral votes, but that's it. I would go as far as to say that under a split ticket, any democrat would win that year. However that being said, the first map I can agree with though. What about a Taft only map?

This

[David T]

1912 was the one year Bryan, if nominated, could have won.  With the TR-Taft split, all he would need would be the core Democratic vote.  He might even pick up some OTL Debs votes.

Bryan's problem was similar to Henry Clay's--it was precisely in those years when his party was most likely to win (like 1840 and 1848) that it would not nominate him...

[OSR stands with Israel]

I don’t think TR runs if Bryan is the dem nominee so Taft wins

[David T]

I don’t think TR runs if Bryan is the dem nominee so Taft wins

First of all, the Democratic convention was held after the Republican one, so it was already clear that TR would be running as a third party candidate.  Second, there is no reason to think that TR would change his mind because the Democrats nominated Bryan.  In OTL, some supporters urged TR not to run once the Democrats had nominated Wilson (whose nomination was rightly or wrongly seen as a "progressive" victory against the "conservative" Clark).  No, TR replied--even if Wilson was himself a progressive, as the Democratic candidate he would be dependent on  big city machines  and the Solid South, and could therefore not be an effective progressive president.   He would probably say the same thing about Bryan.  Besides, TR was in favor of regulating the trusts rather than breaking them up--and in that sense was in fundamental disagreement with Bryan and Brandeis and La Follette.  "The fact is that many of the men who have called themselves Progressives, and who certainly believe that they are Progressives, represent in reality in this matter not progress at all but a kind of sincere rural toryism. These men believe that it is possible by strengthening the Anti-Trust Law to restore business to the competitive conditions of the middle of the last century. Any such effort is foredoomed to end in failure, and, if successful, would be mischievous to the last degree.." https://books.google.com/books?id=P101DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT417

[morgankingsley]

Lets not forget Taft was a unpopular president so he might lose even in a one to one race

[morgankingsley]

I would argue he could have won in 1896 if the republicans nominated anybody but McKinley

[David T]

One thing to remember:  while Bryan would no doubt lose some relatively conservative Democrats who voted for Wilson in OTL (and with the GOP split, he could afford to lose some) he could partly make it up by getting some OTL Debs voters.  Debs' vote went up from 2.83% in 1908 to 5.99% in 1912, indicating that there were perhaps some "radical" voters who  found Taft, Wilson, and TR insufficiently radical in 1912 but might not feel that way about Bryan.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Bryan wins, although perhaps by not as much as Wilson. He does worse with conservative voters, so Taft beats Roosevelt for second.