1908 United States Presidential Election

1904 Presidential Election - 1912 Presidential Election

1908 United States Presidential Election

## Background

The **1908 United States Presidential Election** was the 31st quadrennial Presidential election, and was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1908. Although President Bampfylde's tenure was initially successful, having passed the Fair Labor Act of 1903 and beginning prohibition, it soon took a turn in the latter half of his presidency as a debt crisis began to emerge as a result of abolishing the alcohol tax, as well as a book named "The Jungle" being released that stoked fears about the meat industry's sanitary conditions. A combination of factors led to Republicans making massive gains in the 1906 midterm elections, setting the stage for the 1908 Presidential Election.

## Candidates

**DEMOCRAT PARTY -**

Declared:

-James F. W. Bampfylde, President of the United States (1905-)

**REPUBLICAN PARTY -**

Declared:

-Theodore Roosevelt, Governor of New York (1899-1903) and 1904 Republican Vice Presidential Nominee

-Elmer Burkett, Senator of Nebraska (1905-) - Became Nominee

Potential:

-Prometheus Von Spaar, 1904 Presidential Candidate

Declined:

## Primaries

**-Dem Primary**

James F. W. BampfyldeDespite the Democrat's major losses in the 1906 midterm elections, President James Bampfylde was largely unopposed among his own party in his bid for re-election. As such, he was unanimously nominated at his party's convention for the Presidency.
**-GOP Primary**

Elmer J. BurkettInitially, former New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt was the unopposed front runner for the party's nomination. However, he unexpectedly dropped out following personal quarries, resulting in the GOP delegates having to quickly coalesce around someone else, in which case they unanimously nominated minor candidate Elmer Jacob Burkett, a relatively unknown Senator from Nebraska. Elmer Burkett described himself as an anti-establishment, nationalist Republican. Having little name recognition, Burkett had to bolster himself among party members, and so he chose Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon as his running mate at the convention.

## Results

Elmer J. BurkettJames F. W. BampfyldeUnlike the election before this, this election was very divisive and bitterly contested. Senator Burkett took to a far more attacking and direct strategy, blaming Bampfylde for his inaction on issues such as the meat industry, trusts, and the current debt crisis. President Bampfylde retaliated in kind, claiming that Senator Burkett wishes to revive the "failed Republican establishment". The Republican Senate Majority Leader, and 1904 Republican Presidential nominee, Harry Biden V, endorsed President Bampfylde and publicly campaigned for him, denouncing the Nebraska Senator as divisive. In the Presidential debate, Burkett and Bampfylde interrupted each other quite a lot, continuing the dirty theme of the campaign. Ultimately, Burkett managed to defeat Bampfylde by winning back the entirety of the plains states and critical swing states such as Indiana and New Jersey, despite losing New York, the first Republican to do so since Edward Bates in 1868. This was also the first election where an elected President lost re-election since Harry Biring lost the 1816 election, almost a hundred years ago.