Question

Why did Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson win the presidential election of 1912?

Wilson won the conservative Northern vote.
Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote.
Wilson won almost all the popular vote.
Taft and Roosevelt split the Democratic vote.

Answer 1

The reason Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson won the presidential election of 1912 is that Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote. Option B is correct.

The United States presidential election of 1912 was the 32nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1912. In that presidential elections, Roosevelt won 88 electoral votes, while Taft carried just two states, taking 8 electoral votes. Democratic Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey unseated incumbent Republican President William Howard Taft and claimed victory over former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Answer 2

The correct answer is: Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican Vote

Woodrow Wilson was able to win the elections because The Republican party was divided by Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft.

Even though Theodore Roosevelt ran for the Progressive Party also named the Bull Moose Party, he had won before for the Republican Party so that led to a division on the Republican votes between him and his candidate William H.Taft, leading to an advantage for Wilson that allowed him to win the elections of 1912 because he only received 42 percent of the popular vote. Roosevelt got 27 percent and Taft 23 so if either candidate hadn't run Wilson wouldn't be able to win the election.