Page "William Howard Taft" Paragraph 49

Roosevelt and his group of disgruntled party delegates and members bolted from the party to create the Progressive Party ( or " Bull Moose ") ticket, splitting the Republican vote in the 1912 election.

Taft thought that, despite probable defeat, the party had been preserved as " the defender of conservative government and conservative institutions.

" He also felt that the expected defeat would remind the party of the need for self-discipline in the face of populist rancor.

Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat, was elected with 41 % of the popular vote ; Roosevelt got 27 %, and Taft garnered 25 %.

Taft won a mere eight electoral votes, in Utah and Vermont, making it the worst defeat in American history of an incumbent President seeking reelection.