In the 1908 presidential election, Crane expressed early support for William Howard Taft, but later came to oppose Taft, believing him a weak candidate. This placed him in opposition to fellow Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, a strong Taft supporter, in a struggle for control of the state delegation to the national convention. Crane preferred to leave the delegates without formal instruction as to how they should vote, while Lodge preferred that they be required to pledge for Taft. Crane won Lodge's support for an uncommitted delegation in exchange for the election of John Davis Long, a Taft supporter, as an at-large delegate. Crane ultimately reconciled with both Taft and Lodge. He became one of Taft's closest advisors after his election and worked to secure Lodge's reelection in 1911.