voting for presidential electors and for local officials.]

In February, 1912, an appeal signed by seven Republican governors, all
of whom dwelt in States now likely to go Democratic, urged Roosevelt to
withdraw his pledge and become a candidate for the nomination. The
demand was concurred in by admirers who believed that only he could
bring about the new nationalism, by Progressives who distrusted
LaFollette's capacity to win, and by Republicans who wanted to win at
any price and saw only defeat through Taft. On February 24, Roosevelt
announced his willingness to accept the nomination, explained that his
previous refusal to accept another term had meant another consecutive
term, and entered upon a canvass for delegates to the Republican
National Convention.

The campaign before the primaries was made difficult because in most
States the Republican machinery was in the hands of politicians who
disliked Roosevelt, whether they cared for Taft or not. It began too
late for the voters to overturn the state and national committees, or to
register through the existing party machinery their new desire. It
brought out the defects in methods of nomination which direct primaries
were expected to remedy, and in some States public opinion was strong
enough to compel a hasty passage of primary laws to permit the overturn
of the convention system. The LaFollette candidacy was deprived of most
of its supporters, through the superior popularity of Roosevelt.

When the convention met at Chicago on June 18, 1912, there were some 411
Roosevelt delegates among the 1078, and more than 250 more who, though
instructed for Taft, were contested by Roosevelt delegations. When the
national committee overruled the claims of these, Roosevelt denounced
their action as "naked theft." He had definitely allied himself with the
wing of the party that opposed Taft. When the convention, presided over
by Elihu Root, and supported by nearly all the men whom Roosevelt had
brought into public prominence, finally renominated Taft and Sherman,
Roosevelt asserted that no honest man could vote for a ticket based upon
dishonor. The Roosevelt Republicans did not bolt the convention, but
when it adjourned they held a mass convention of their own, were
addressed by their candidate, and went home to organize a new
Progressive party.

The Democratic counsels were affected by the break-up of the Republican
party and the success of its conservative wing at Chicago. T