In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt left the Republican Party and ran for president as the Progressive Party candidate.1 His running mate was the governor of California, Hiram Johnson.2 California was one of the six states Roosevelt won.3 The state was decided by 174 votes, about 0.03 percent of the total.4 A table compiled by Teaching American History gives Roosevelt 41.83 percent of the California vote, Woodrow Wilson 41.81 percent and William Howard Taft about 1 percent.5
Californians at the time voted for electors directly, and 11 electors pledged to Roosevelt and two pledged to Wilson were elected.6 So California's 13 electoral votes were split, 11 for Roosevelt and 2 for Wilson.7
Nationally, Wilson won 41.9 percent of the popular vote to 27.4 percent for Roosevelt and 23.1 percent for Taft.8 Wilson received 435 electoral votes, Roosevelt 88 and Taft 8.9
Republican Party candidate Taft, and Vice Presidential running mate James S. Sherman, received 8 electoral votes each, but Sherman died just before the election. After the election, before the meeting of the electors, Nicholas Butler was selected to receive the electoral votes from Utah and Vermont that would have gone to Sherman.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 1912, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
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Each numbered entry quotes the words that support that sentence, as they appear on the linked page.
- Back to sentence 1
Roosevelt and his supporters abandoned the G.O.P. and reconvened in Chicago two weeks later to form the Progressive Party.
millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/campaigns-and-elections - Back to sentence 2
They then nominated TR as their presidential candidate with Governor Hiram Johnson of California as his running mate.
millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/campaigns-and-elections - Back to sentence 3
Roosevelt won in six states—California, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington.
millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/campaigns-and-elections - Back to sentence 4
California, with its then split-award of votes, was decided by 174 votes (.03% of the total there).
teachingamericanhistory.org/resources/electoral-map-and-data-for-1912 - Back to sentence 5
State Electoral Votes Wilson Roosevelt Taft Alabama 12 12 (70%) (19%) (8%)
teachingamericanhistory.org/resources/electoral-map-and-data-for-1912 California 13 2 (41.81%) 11 (41.83%) (1%)
teachingamericanhistory.org/resources/electoral-map-and-data-for-1912 - Back to sentence 6
California: Voters chose electors directly, with 11 pledged to Roosevelt (P) and two to Wilson (D) winning.
270towin.com/1912-election/index.html - Back to sentence 7
California, with 13 total Electoral Votes, split its total between Roosevelt and Wilson, 11 and 2, respectively.
teachingamericanhistory.org/resources/electoral-map-and-data-for-1912 - Back to sentence 8
Wilson captured 41.9 percent of the vote to Roosevelt's 27.4 percent and Taft's 23.1 percent.
millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/campaigns-and-elections - Back to sentence 9
Despite the divided popular vote, Wilson compiled 435 electoral votes compared to Roosevelt's 88 and Taft's 8.
millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/campaigns-and-elections
Sources checked on October 3, 2026
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