MIDWESTERN G.O.P. LEADER: 3RD PARTY TICKET MEANS CERTAIN DEFEAT FOR DEMOCRATS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On July 29, 1924, G. Gould Lincoln of the Evening Star reports that a Midwestern Republican leader is of the opinion that "the La Follette-Wheeler third (party) ticket is doing well and will continue...to make certain the defeat of the Democratic ticket by hundreds of thousands, probably millions of voters, in favor of the (Robert M.) La Follette candidacy."
JFK+50 NOTE
James A. Shideler describes the Election of 1924 as the second major challenge to the two party system following the Bull Moose (Progressive) Party of 1912 which split the Republicans & resulted in the election of Woodrow Wilson.
The Progressives of 1924 only ran a national ticket which supported government ownership of railroads & utilities, cheap credit for farmers & laws to favor organized labor.
The La Follette-Wheeler ticket was strong in the West winning 16.6% of the popular vote. It only carried one state, however, Wisconsin. The party dissolved in 1927.
SOURCES
"La Follette Helps G.O.P. As 1912 Split Did Wilson," by G. Gould Lincoln, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 29, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"The La Follette Progressive Party Campaign of 1924," by James H. Shideler, Wisconsin Magazine of History, www.jstor.org/
