Republican Party presidential primaries

This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. President William Taft ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of former President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt won most of the states and received more than a half of popular vote. He even defeated Taft in his home state of Ohio. However Taft received more delegates than Roosevelt and thus was nominated during the convention. Roosevelt founded a new party, the Progressive Party and challenged Taft and Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson in the general election. Wilson won the election, gaining a large majority in the Electoral College and winning 42% of the popular vote, while Roosevelt won 27% and Taft 23%.