Election of 1916: Woodrow Wilson's Promise to Stay Out of War

Candidates:
Democratic Party: Woodrow Wilson (New Jersey) and Thomas Marshall (Indiana)
Republican Party: Charles Evans Hughes (New York) and Charles Fairbanks (Indiana)
Socialist Party: Allan Benson (New York) and George Kirkpatrick (New Jersey)

Election Results:
Wilson and Marshall: 9.12 million popular votes, 277 electoral votes.
Hughes and Fairbanks: 8.54 million popular votes, 254 electoral votes.
Benson and Kirkpatrick: 589,000 popular votes, 0 electoral votes. 

Summary:
Woodrow Wilson, coming off the heels of a difficult presidential campaign, was successful in his first two years of passing his New Freedom agenda through a friendly Congress. However, the 1914 midterm elections showed the resurgence of the Republican Party after serious divisions lost the White House for William Taft. Wilson’s influence in Congress decreased, but his popularity remained high among the public because of his ability to pass progressive reforms. The one major issue that remained into November 1916 was whether the United States could maintain its policy of neutrality toward Europe. Wilson’s pledge to stay neutral was extremely popular among Americans and his pledge to help create an aid organization in Europe following the war (the larvae for the League of Nations) was endearing to progressives. Despite these questions, the Democrats renominated the Wilson-Marshall ticket with much acclaim at their nominating convention and looked forward to facing a reconstituted Republican Party in 1916.