Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the presidential primary
The story of the four-month campaign that changed American politics forever. In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt came out of retirement to challenge his close friend and handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, for the Republican Party nomination. Roosevelt was so confident he would win the nomination that he proposed presidential primaries in each state to let "the people rule." And Roosevelt prevailed in nine out of thirteen state primaries. But Republican party bosses proved too powerful and denied Roosevelt the nomination. A third party, the Bull Moose Party was Roosevelt's answer to this new situation. And in the end, Roosevelt's solution split the Republican party and Democrat Woodrow Wilson became president in 1912.
