Video: 'The American Presidential Election of 1912'

(Tuesday, November 5, 1912, during the 1912 presidential campaign) — Democratic Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey was elected the 28th president of the United States today, defeating former President Theodore Roosevelt of New York, who left the GOP in 1912 to run as the nominee of the Progressive Party, and Republican incumbent President William Howard Taft of Ohio.

The split between Roosevelt and Taft Republicans opened the door for a Democratic victory, with Wilson and his running mate, Governor Thomas Marshall of Indiana, receiving 41.8 percent of the popular vote.

Roosevelt and his running mate, Governor Hiram Johnson of California, received 27.4 percent. Taft and his running mate, Columbia University President Nicholas Murray Butler of New York, received 23.2 percent. Socialist presidential nominee Eugene V. Debs of Indiana and his running mate, Emil Seidel of Wisconsin, received 6.0 percent.

Video: 'The Election of 1912 Explained'

The Democratic ticket was officially elected on Jan. 13, 1913, when members of the Electoral College met and cast 435 votes for Wilson and Marshall, 88 votes for Roosevelt and Johnson, and 8 votes for Taft and Butler.

This was the last U.S. presidential election in which a candidate who was not either a Republican or Democrat came in second place in the popular vote and/or the Electoral College.

The electors’ votes were tabulated and certified on Feb. 12, 1913, during a joint session of Congress. Wilson and Marshall were inaugurated on March 4, 1913.