1912 presidential election

The 1912 U.S. presidential election was notable because former President Theodore Roosevelt challenged the incumbent, President William Howard Taft, leading to a split in the Republican Party. Roosevelt ran as a Progressive ("Bull Moose") candidate, while Taft represented the regular Republicans. The Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, benefited from the divided opposition and won the election. This rare occurrence of a major party split allowed Wilson to secure the presidency with only about 42% of the popular vote, illustrating how intra-party divisions can impact election outcomes.