1912
Taft and Roosevelt combined had more votes than Wilson, but Wilson had the most votes of any one candidate.
1912 was the year of the Progressive or Bull Moosel party of Theodore Roosevelt. He beat the incumbent President Taft, but lost to the Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
The candidates in 1912 were the incumbent Republican,Wm. Howard Taft, the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson and ex-president, Theodore Roosevelt who ran as a third-party ( Bull-Moose) candidate. Roosevelt got more votes than Taft but not enough to beat Wilson.
It was called both the Progressive Party and the Bull Moose Party. He formed it in 1912 after he failed to get the Republican nomination for president. He beat the Republican candidate, William Howard Taft, but lost to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Added together Roosevelt and Taft had more than enough votes to win over Wilson.
Former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third party candidate against incumbent Republican President William H. Taft in 1912. Democrat Woodrow Wilson beat both of them (as should be expected when the votes on one side are split).
President Woodrow Wilson beat Taft in reelection.
President Woodrow Wilson (Democrat) was re-elected as President in the 1916 election, defeating Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes (Republican)Wilson won the popular vote 49.2% to 46.1 % and the electoral vote 277 to 254.
The Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs made four tries at the Office: In 1904 Theodore Roosevelt beat him, in 1908 William Taft won, in 1912 Woodrow Wilson obtained the Office and in 1920 Warren Harding became the President. Debs never won an Electoral Vote.
Theodore Roosevelt beat Alton Parker by a margin of 196 votes, 41.2% of all votes cast, in the U.S. presidential election of 1904.
The election of 1912 was important because of Roosevelt's challenges to Taft. Roosevelt felt as if Taft was too conservative and not progressive enough, and this marked a change in American history.
Taft ran for re-election, but when a bitter Theodore Roosevelt split the vote by forming the Progressive Bull Moose Party, it opened the door for the election of the Democrat candidate, Woodrow Wilson.
The best example of a spoiler was in 1912 when former Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third party candidate. He and Taft together got more than enough votes to beat the Democrat Wilson but by the splitting the votes they gave Wilson the win.