He ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1920, and he was considered a long shot until after the convention began. The leading candidates could not gain the needed majority, and the convention deadlocked. He won in a landslide over Democrat James M. Cox and the then-imprisoned Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs and became the first sitting senator to be elected president. Harding sought and gained the 1910 Republican gubernatorial nomination. At that time, the party was deeply divided between progressive and conservative wings, and could not defeat the united Democrats; he lost the election to incumbent Judson Harmon. Harding voted for most war legislation, including the Espionage Act of 1917, which restricted civil liberties, though he opposed the excess profits tax as anti-business. In May 1918, Harding, less enthusiastic about Wilson, opposed a bill to expand the president's powers.
incumbent Judson Harmon. Judson Harmon.
incumbent Judson Harmon. Judson Harmon.