U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt elected to full term, defeating Alton B. Parker 120 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 8 1904)


Video: 'The American Presidential Election of 1904'

(Tuesday, November 8, 1904, during the 1904 presidential campaign) — Republican U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt of New York was elected to a full term today, defeating Democratic challenger Alton B. Parker, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.

Roosevelt and his running mate, Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana, received 56.42% of the national popular vote. Parker and his running mate, former Senator Henry G. Davis from West Virginia (at 80, he was the oldest major party candidate ever nominated for national office), received 37.59%.


Video: 'The Election 0f 1904 Explained'

The Republican ticket was officially elected on Jan. 9, 1905, when the nation’s presidential electors met and cast 336 Electoral votes for Roosevelt-Fairbanks and 140 votes for Parker-Davis.

The electors’ votes would be tabulated and certified on Feb. 8, 1905, during a joint session of Congress.

Roosevelt’s victory made him the first president who ascended to the presidency upon the death of his predecessor (William McKinley, who was assassinated in September 1901) to win a full term in his own right.

Roosevelt and Fairbanks would be inaugurated on March 4, 1905 (the beginning of Roosevelt’s second term as president and Fairbanks’ first term as VP).