Alternate US History (1788 onwards)

[OSR STANDS WITH PALESTINE]

Is this dead?

[West_Midlander]

Is this dead?

No. It has been more than a month w/o an update but I'm planning to get back on it soon.

[West_Midlander]

Part I: First & Second Ladies
First Ladies of the United States
1789-1790: Sarah Franklin Bache (daughter, Franklin was widowed)
1790-1793: Elizabeth Wells (Samuel Adams' wife)
1793-1799: Martha Washington
1799-1805: Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter, Jefferson was widowed)
1805-1809: Anne Hill Carter Lee
1809-1821: Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter)
1821-1825: Mary Alsop King
1825-1825: Rachel Jackson
1825-1833: Floride Calhoun
Second Ladies of the United States
1789-1790: Elizabeth Wells (Samuel Adams)
1790-1793: None
1793-1799: Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter)
1799-1805: Dolley Madison
1805-1809: Anne Cary ("Nancy") Randolph (Gouverneur Morris I)
1809-1813: Dolley Madison
1813-1821: Lucretia Hart (Clay)
1821-1825: Mary Rutherfurd Clarkson (Jay's wife died, daughter in-law)
1825-1825: Floride Calhoun
1825-1829: Mary Alsop King
1829-1833: Angelica Singleton (Van Buren was widowed, his son's fiancée)

[TNcon4]

It's Back!

[West_Midlander]

Part II: First & Second Ladies
First Ladies of the United States
1833-1837: Anna Harrison
1837-1841: Angelica Van Buren (Van Buren's son's fiancée 1837-1838, his daughter in-law, 1838-)
1841-1849: Lucretia Hart (Clay)
1849-1851: Margaret Taylor
1851-1853: Abigail Fillmore
1853-1861: Jane Pierce
1861-1865: Mary Todd Lincoln
Second Ladies of the United States
1833-1837: Aimée Françoise Parent (Roman)
1837-1841: Adaline Chinn Johnson (Johnson's daughter)
1841-1842: Letitia Christian Tyler (died 1842)
1842-1844: None
1844-1849: Julia Gardiner Tyler (married Tyler in 1844)
1849-1851: Abigail Fillmore
1851-1853: Maria D. Mayo
1853-1856: None, Douglas' wife died before inauguration in 1853
1856-1861: Adele Cutts (Douglas' 2nd wife)
1861-1865: Jessie Benton Frémont
1865: Eliza McCardle Johnson

[West_Midlander]

Part III: First & Second Ladies
First Ladies of the United States
1865-1869: None, though Lydia Hamilton Smith (his domestic partner) served at Stevens' side in all but name/title.
1869-1873: Alice Hooper Sumner
1873-1877: Margaret Sarah Cecilia Stewart (John Sherman)
1877-1881: Esther E Dickerson Jewell
1881-1885: Mary Bleecker Seymour
1885-1893: Margaret Sarah Cecilia Stewart (John Sherman)
1893-1898: Virginia Elizabeth Mitchell (Bland)
1898-1900: Mary Baird Bryan
1900: Emma Duncan Crocker (Sewall)
Second Ladies of the United States
1865-1869: Alice Hooper Sumner
1869-1873: Harriet Stanwood (Blaine)
1873-1877: Lucy Webb Hayes
1871-1881: Adele Gratiot (Washburne)
1881-1885: Fannie Agnes Ward (Randall)
1885-1893: Harriet Foote Hawley
1893-1897: None
1897-1898: Mary Baird Bryan
1898-1900: Emma Duncan Crocker (Sewall)
1900: Frances Folsom Cleveland

Let me know if you see any errors in any part of this list. Thanks, and thanks for reading.

EDIT: Accidentally posted, I intended this to be the post to get us up to speed.

[West_Midlander]

Part IV First & Second Ladies
First Ladies of the United States
1900-1905: Millicent Hearst
1905-1909: Edith Roosevelt
1909-present: Millicent Hearst
Second Ladies of the United States
1900: Millicent Hearst
1900-1905: Mildred McLean Hazen (Dewey)
1905-1909: Cornelia Cole Fairbanks
1909-present: Araminta C. Kern
as of 1914

[West_Midlander]

A Presidency Aflame
In mid September, the embattled President made a major announcement in an attempt to save his declining approval rating with the midterms on the horizon. Hearst went on the radio and promised to Americans, "There will be no draft. We are a nation of free will, of free choice and I will not be forcing any of our young men to war if they do not wish to go. I sincerely hope, the newest generation of adults will sieze the opportunity to make their country proud and to defend the democratic ideal against militaristic, imperalistic powers. May God bless you all and your families.

Republicans fired back saying, "You got us into war, Mr. President. Do not make us lose your war by taking half measures." That statement was popular in Washington and among the leadership of the GOP but fared less well among the constituents of the nation. Heart's statements recovered the Democratic Party to roughly breaking even with her opponents, for the midterms. Heart's approval, at 30%, rose to 34% after those statements. His approval among his partisans improved into the mid 40s, not winning or losing his party by a large margin.

One term President and serial candidate for President, Theodore Roosevelt, hit the campaign trail for his party. Roosevelt stumped against the war, a position that virtually all parties had taken, at this point in time. Teddy Roosevelt hit New England briefly before campaigning heavily in the narrowly Hearst state of New York. Roosevelt swept through the Midwest, targeting large states like Illinois and Pennsylvania, and even the narrowly Democratic state of Ohio. Roosevelt would then finish the campaign by swinging through the rest of the Plains, Mountain-West and Pacific West. The Former President would campaign from late September, through October, and into November, rallying support for an 'anybody but Democrats' campaign even until election day. Roosevelt sought to punish Democrats for electing Hearst, and for nominating him thrice. He also wanted to make his former competitor suffer the pains of the presidency without a working majority.

[West_Midlander]

A Busy Election Season
"We are not the President's Party," was the beginning of a major denouncement by the SIL on October 1st. The appeal to voters by the party's Senate leader on the steps of the Capitol began a major campaign against pro-war Democrats and Socialists, with most SIL members seeking to boot them from their ranks. Anti-war sentiment was still widespread. The President's longtime ally, Governor Eugene Debs (D-NY) distanced himself from anti-Hearst SIL members and Democrats. This was most of each party. In a surprise move, Hearst made another appeal to the public, he said, "If you voted for me, you are a Democrat. If you believe the United States should stand up for innocents wherever they are attacked, stand with me. Register and vote Democratic in 1914." With the President trying to push the Democratic platform toward war, some Democratic rumblings began. They spoke of a Peace Democrats schism. Another would end the Democrats as a major party, after the Center and the Conservatives left. Hearst's actions, though, had the potential to draw back conservative hardliners and jingoists into the party. It was an off-year election, perhaps these groups would turnout in a larger proportion compared to the moderately anti-war majority.

First Lady Millicent Hearst hit the campaign trail. She was not usually among Hearst's surrogates, at least long term, but beginning in mid-October until election day, she would grace the South and Northern cities campaigning for candidates and incumbents friendly to her husband. Hearst, a socialist at heart, and a Democrat for the sake of pragmatism and electability, would risk a chunk of his base, by turning on the SIL. The party he formed, the Independence Party, was in the alliance he had just denounced.

Quelling the rebellion for some time, Democratic congressional leaders said for members to vote their conscience, and if they must leave the party, withdraw their names for renomination or nomination and run as Independents (then switch to their desired party if elected). The Center rebranded themselves as Moderate-Peace in an attempt to draw peace voters.

[West_Midlander]

Congress on Election Day, 1914
The US Senate
49/96 for a majority
Progressive: 33
Democrats: 33
Republicans: 14
Independent: 6
Moderate-Peace: 4
Socialist-Independence-Labor: 6
The US House
218/435 for a majority
Progressive: 174
Democrats: 162
Republicans: 40
Independent: 24
Moderate-Peace: 20
Socialist-Independence-Labor: 15
The Conservatives disbanded, most headed back for the Democrats and a minority for the Moderates. FTR, all Conservatives would have to run as Independents now (or Conservative Party) since the primaries were over, but congressional leaders attempted to call on Democratic nominees (who were challengers against Conservatives-turned-Democrats) to drop out and endorse the former Conservatives, as they were incumbents. As the weeks until election day dragged on, the Socialist base eroded to fifth party instead of third in the House. And fourth instead of third in the Senate. Not a party, but the former Democratic Independents became the fourth largest group in each chamber by election day. Democrats tied the Progressives in the Senate and increased their share by six in the House but now any chance of cooperation with the SIL was over.

[West_Midlander]

The Elected Congress, 1914
The US Senate
49/96 for a majority
Democrats: 34 (+1)
Progressive: 30 (-3)
Republicans: 29 (+15)
Independent: 2 (-4)
Socialist-Independence-Labor: 1 (-5)
The US House
218/435 for a majority
Democrats: 157 (-5)
Progressive: 154 (-20)
Republicans: 103 (+63)
Independent: 10 (-14)
Moderate-Peace: 5 (-15)
Socialist-Independence-Labor: 4 (-9)
In the Senate, the SIL suffered major losses, with the leader losing his seat. The SIL was held responsible for enabling Hearst all those years. Several Hearst Democrats were defeated in the general election. The Democrats increased their holding by one but the party was even more heavily composed of anti-war members. The Moderates were blamed for the lack of a working government and lost all representation in the Senate. Some Democrats even campaigned on calling on Hearst to resign or impeachment. The Republicans became a major party again, holding one less seat than the Progressives. Apparently the American people had heard enough of Roosevelt given his many failed campaigns, and they sought to cut down his party a bit and to bolster his other rivals, the Republicans, his former party. The House results were similar to those in the Senate and with congressional leaders waging a major, 'pro-war or anti-war, you're welcome with the Democrats' campaign, they were able to just about break even.

[West_Midlander]

The New Congress, January 1915
The US Senate
49/96 for a majority
Democratic-Left: 37
Progressive: 30
Republicans: 29
The US House
218/435 for a majority
Democratic-Left: 178
Progressive: 154
Republicans: 103
The SIL House leader resigned after the election. Woodrow Wilson resigned his post as Moderate-Peace House leader and resigned from Congress and politics entirely. The Progressive House Speaker resigned in mid November. Seeing a lack of potential for a Peace third party, the Independents joined back into the Democrats. The huge losses in November also motivated them to avoid dividing the incumbent President's party. The 5 Moderates in the House decided to disband the party and to rejoin the Democrats.

The parties convened to address the war and the volatile political affairs that had occurred in fall and winter of 1914. The Democrats added non-interventionism and no draft to their platform and the Republicans and Progressives did the same. The SIL contacted the Democratic National Convention to discuss the conditions of a merger into their party. The SIL, holding many similar beliefs on foreign policy, to most Democrats, and aligning politically with leftist Democrats, wanted to merge and sway the Democratic platform with what declining influence they had. The Democratic-Left party was formed.

With the three major parties now despising each other, following the vigorous campaign of 1914, there is no majority in the Senate.

In the House Speakership election, the Republican minority leader garnered the support of anti-war Democrats and Progressives that were tired of Roosevelt. He was elected comfortably after several rounds of voting resulted in no winner. An anti-war Democrat was elected Deputy Speaker. The leadership of the Democrats and Republicans are anti-war moderates and the leadership in the Progressive Party is anti-war, firmly progressive, and pro-Roosevelt.

[West_Midlander]

A Bombshell on Capitol Hill
Hearst was considering his lasting legacy. What of his allies would be left once his term expired? His comrades had been decimated in November and his remaining allies in the legislature were keeping him up to date on a steady rumor. The rumor was that the Democratic Deputy Speaker of the House was going to introduce articles of impeachment on abuse of power and other counts any day now. The prospect of finishing his term was getting dimmer by the day. On January 26th, 1915, President William Randolph Hearst tendered his resignation. He would make a full day of his son's birthday on the 27th and the family would depart for New York City in the evening. On the 27th, the Deputy Speaker, unaware of the President's resignation, introduced articles of impeachment to the chamber that morning. Vice President Kern took over the office of President of the United States. Hearst was recalled to Congress in February to testify on the allegations and he said he did not break any law but any rash action was decided by himself, without the knowledge of Vice President Kern or any other person. The Congress continued to go after the Former President until President Kern issued a full pardon of Hearst. Realizing Hearst's private final wishes, for the office, Kern nominated Governor Eugene Debs to the Vice Presidency. Debs reaffirmed he was a Democrat, a leftist, and a pacifist in his Vice Presidential hearing. He was confirmed to the office. After this, Kern resigned the office, feeling that holding the highest office in the land while covering for the Former President was too much to bear. Abating the base, President Debs nominated Champ Clark to the office of Vice President. He was confirmed overwhelmingly. Hearst, indebted to his loyal Vice President, gave him the controlling 51% of his newspaper and businesses. Kern would manage the companies and Hearst and his family would actualize his dream of returning to Canada. He would move to Southern Canada, a short distance from the New York border, and would retire from public office forever.

The First Lady, Millicent Veronica Hearst, left her office after serving more than fourteen years, nonconsecutive. Araminta C. Kern briefly became First Lady until being replaced by Kate Metzel (Debs' wife). Metzel briefly served as Second Lady of the United States before being succeded in that capacity by Genevieve Davis Bennett (Clark).

[West_Midlander]

A Second Year At War
Horace Harmon Lurton died in Summer of 1914. His seat on the Supreme Court was never filled as the Senate refused to confirm a Hearst-nominated replacement after he got the country into war. Thomas Walter Bickett, a left-leaning Democrat from North Carolina, was a lawyer and served through 1915 as the Attorney General of his state. He was nominated by Hearst in a move to abate party moderates. His nomination was not withdrawn by President Kern or President Debs and was confirmed to the court under Debs.

Debs, keeping his word on no draft began a massive recruitment campaign across the nation. By the end of 1915, some 550,000 young men would volunteer to the service. The US military, in its entirety, would now boast a sizeable 716,000 men. Debs began sending over a large presence to Europe. In mid March, a large force of Americans arrived in Northern France. American generals sent seasoned veterans to aid the allies while the recruits were trained until needed. Though these veterans were either getting into their older years or had never seen real combat, as the US had been at peace since the Spanish-American War. The country had had peace for nearly two decades.

At the Second Battle of Yypres, most of the American forces in France assisted the British and French. The unready Americans suffered huge losses (proportional to the number of their men in that battle). The first major spilling of American blood had begun for the war. It was an allied victory, but a mostly anti-war populous was outraged. Debs' approval ratings fell massively. Conservatives on both sides of the political aisle praised Debs for fighting a war, and stepping all into a combat that was not his own doing (re: involving the US in the war). Hardliners and the increasing pro-war minority said he was defending America's honor.
In May, Americans joined their British and French allies at the Second Battle of Artois. The Americans suffered serious casualties but not as many as in the previous battle. British military leaders declared the battle would not have been won without the Americans. A Pyrrhic victory was gained for the Allies in place of a likely inconclusive result otherwise. In the same month the passenger liner, the RMS Lusitania was blown up. The 1000-passenger ship had over 100 Americans on board. This and the Artois Battle brought public opinion to nearly split on the war issue. At the end of May, Italy joined the Allies.

June Polling
The Literary Digest
"What is your stance on The Great War?"
Against 44%
In Favor 40%
Undecided 16%
"Do you approve or disapprove of President Eugene Debs?"
Disapprove 46%
Approve 38%
Don't Know/Unsure/Never Heard Of 16%

Americans aided the British at the Battle of Loos and the French at the Second Battle of Champagne. With the American forces in Europe thinning and Debs reluctant to send over more men so soon, the Battle of Loos was a Pyrrhic German victory. The Second Battle of Champagne was a full German victory. Both battles began on September 25th and ended late into autumn. With the war issue becoming less one-sided among the public, party leaders, candidates, and especially the party committees began to ignore the war issue on the campaign trail to avoided dividing potential voters.

[West_Midlander]

November Polling
The Literary Digest
"What is your stance on The Great War?"
Against 44%
In Favor 43% (+3)
Undecided 13% (-3)
"Do you approve or disapprove of President Eugene Debs?"
Disapprove 49% (+3)
Approve 37% (-1)
Don't Know/Unsure/Never Heard Of 14% (-2)

With Debs' approval declining, he has announced that he will not pursue a full term in 1916. Internal polling for the Debs 1916 exploratory committee found that Debs would only garner about 6% of the popular vote in a Democratic presidential primary. That percentage was 10% in April and increased to 14% in June but had declined to the single digits by the fall. FTR, Debs and Kern kept on President Hearst's cabinet. This was out of respect for the Former President and because they were in the loop when Hearst nominated his cabinet. After Debs announced he would not election, Vice President Champ Clark announced he would pursue the Democratic nomination for President. President Debs declared, in December, that he was pursuing the Democratic nomination to serve another term as the Governor of New York. Debs' opponents exited the race and Debs became the presumptive gubernatorial nominee. In the heavily Democratic state, Debs is likely to win another term.

[West_Midlander]

The Primaries I
In January, Governor John Burke of North Dakota announced he would challenge the sitting Vice President for the nomination. A few days following the announcement, Judson Harmon announced he would not be running and endorsed Clark at a joint rally. Fmr. Rep. Woodrow Wilson, with his reputation ruined (as a loyal Democratic partisan) would face a nearly impossible challenge if he decided to run. He decided against it. Republican Senate Leader Charles Evans Hughes was the first to announce he would run for the Republican nomination, early in January. The moderate, Hughes, was challenged first from the left, by Senator John Weeks of Massachusetts. Fmr. Sen. Theodore E. Burton of Ohio announced he would run for the nomination. The biggest challenger to Hughes' lead came in late January when Fmr. VP. Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana declared his campaign. Senator Albert B. Cummins, a progressive Republican announced his campaign on February 1st. Cummins, a popular Iowa Senator, could carry much of the Progressive Party vote. When Theodore Roosevelt refused to run for the presidency again, no candidates entered the Progressive primaries. Senator Lawrence Yates Sherman of Illinois announced his campaign on February 5th and quickly became the voice of strictly anti-war Republicans. The famous business leader, Henry Ford, entered the campaign on February 14th and was seen as the third frontrunner. Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh of Pennsylvania announced a run for the presidency on an anti-labor platform. Ignoring the war on the campaign trail, Brumbaugh campaigned on wanting to turn back the long reign of 'radical leftists' Hearst, Kern, and Debs. Senator Robert La Follette announced he would run as another progressive Republican, ruining the chance for the Progressives to have an influential nominee. La Follette hoped to garner most of the progressive Republican vote in 1916. Progressives (Roosevelt+La Follette vote) comprised a majority of the party in 1912. Mr. Coleman DuPont declared his candidacy in late February, splitting the pro-business vote three ways between himself, Ford, and Brumbaugh. Governor Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Presidency on February 27th. On the 28th, Taft announced, "With such a large and diverse field of candidates, I will not be pursuing the Republican nomination for President of the United States. It's time for a younger generation of politicians to take the helm of the party."

The Progressive Party would have no contenders for the nomination in 1916 despite a Draft Roosevelt for the Progressives movement and a Draft Fighting Bob for the Progressive Party movement. The Progressive Party sat out the election. They would have to decide, in the summer, whether or not to endorse one of the party nominees, and that would depend on who won each primary. President Debs had to quell an attempted schism in the Democratic-Labor party. He called on Socialists of all political stripes to unite into the DL Party. Most former SIL members followed the President's wishes but some sought to write-in Debs in the general election. The President's faction mostly voted for Burke as a protest vote against the moderate presumptive nominee, Champ Clark.

March 6 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 59
Burke 28
The result as of now is somewhat expected. Clark has an enormous lead but the virtually unknown Burke has already won over nearly a third of the party. Most speculate this is due to protest votes by former SIL members in the Democratic-Labor Party.
Republican Primary
Hughes 32
La Follette 10
Fairbanks 9
Weeks 8
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 7
Sherman 6
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 0
Hughes has a huge lead as of the first poll. La Follette has increased his vote share since announcing and has taken the place as the main challenger to Hughes and the standard-bearer of the progressive wing of the party. Fairbanks is a close third, but underperforming on expectations. Weeks is doing well as is Brumbaugh and Cummins. Sherman and Burton are doing alright as well, the previous five mentioned are doing well considered very limited national name recognition. Ford is doing surprisingly bad and Lodge and DuPont are performing pitifully.

In the first national primary, Indiana, Fairbanks won an 89% landslide. La Follette, at 7% (second place), failed to reach the 10% delegate threshold. Clark won 79-21 in Indiana in the DL Primary.

[West_Midlander]

The Primaries II
Minnesota
DL Primary - Burke won a 76-24% landslide in the state neighboring his own. Burke took the majority of delegates 18-6 in the proportional contest.
GOP - Cummins won a 74% landslide in the state to the north of his home. He took home all 24 delegates as no one else garnered 10+% of the vote.
New Hampshire
DL - Clark came back for a huge 82-18 win and he split the delegates 7-1 with Burke.
GOP - Weeks won an 81-15 landslide against La Follette. Weeks won by more than expected, but again, he lives in neighboring Massachusetts. Weeks split the delegates with Fighting Bob 7-1.
March 20 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 61 (+2)
Burke 29 (+1)
Republican Primary
Hughes 32
La Follette 11 (+1)
Fairbanks 9
Weeks 9 (+1)
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 7
Sherman 6
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 0

[West_Midlander]

The Primaries III
Democratic-Labor Primary
ND - Clark won a crushing 75-25 landslide in Burke's home state of North Dakota splitting the small state's delegates 7-3.
Republican Primary
ND - La Follette won this rural state with 89% of the vote, sweeping the state's 10 delegates.
March 27 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 63 (+2)
Burke 29
Republican Primary
Hughes 32
La Follette 11
Fairbanks 9
Weeks 9
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 7
Sherman 6
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 1 (+1)
April 3 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 63
Burke 29
Republican Primary
Hughes 32
La Follette 11
Weeks 10 (+1)
Fairbanks 9
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 7
Sherman 6
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 1
Democratic-Labor Primary
MI - Clark won a landslide taking 24-6 delegates.
NY - Clark won another landslide in the delegate rich contest of New York. After the North Dakota loss, Burke's actual supporters became heavily demoralized but he carried on and party socialists continued to vote for him in protest of Clark's eventual nomination. Burke had lost a huge landslide in his own home state. He probably had no political future, so he would carry on as the voice of the opposition. He had nothing to lose. Perhaps he could run for the state legislature or serve in a President Clark's cabinet in an attempt by a hypothetical President Champ Clark to abate party farmer-populists and socialists.
WI - Clark won another landslide in Wisconsin. Due to the Democrats using proportional representation in their primary contests at least Burke could arrive at the convention with a large minority presence.
Republican Primary
MI - Henry Ford won a close 21-17% contest in his home state of Michigan. He split the delegates 17-13 with Senator Weeks.
NY - New York Senator Charles Evans Hughes won a huge 96% landslide in his home state. He carried all 87 delegates.
WI - Robert La Follette carried his home state by a large margin 59-36%. He took 16 delegates to Hughes' 10.
April 10 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 66 (+3)
Burke 28 (-1)
Republican Primary
Hughes 32
La Follette 10 (-1)
Fairbanks 10 (+1)
Weeks 9 (-1)
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 7
Sherman 6
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 1

[West_Midlander]

The Primaries IV
Democratic-Labor Primary
IL - Clark won a landslide in Illinois sweeping all the state's delegates.
Republican Primary
IL - Senator Lawrence Yates Sherman won in a landslide in his home state with 40% of the vote, doubling second place's count. La Follette was the runner up here and du Pont was in third. Fairbanks fell <1% short of the 10% delegate threshold. The delegate count for Illinois was 31-15-12.
April 17 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 67 (+1)
Burke 28
Republican Primary
Hughes 31 (-1)
La Follette 10
Fairbanks 10
Weeks 10 (+1)
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 6 (-1)
Sherman 5 (-1)
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 2 (+1)
Democratic-Labor Primary
MT - Clark won Montana 55.5% to 44.5% but the two split the delegates 4-4.
NE - Clark won big in Nebraska and the two left the state with nine and seven delegates each.
Republican Primary
MT - Cummins, a populist Midwest Senator, won a landslide in Montana sweeping the state's 10 delegates.
NE - Cummins garnered another impressive win, sweeping all 16 in Nebraska.
April 24 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 67
Burke 28
Republican Primary
Hughes 31
La Follette 10
Fairbanks 10
Weeks 10
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 7 (+1)
Sherman 5
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 2
Democratic Primary
IA - Vice President Clark won in a landslide in a major upset against Governor Burke. Clark garnered more than 4/5ths of the vote in this populist favored state.
MA - Clark continued to win Northern and urban Democrats at large, walking out of Massachusetts with a 30-6 delegate lead.
NJ - Continuing Massachusetts' trend, Clark won 77-23% in New Jersey.
OH - Clark won another landslide in Ohio.
Republican Primary
IA - Cummins won another landslide, this time in his home state. La Follette trailed massively but left the state with delegates. Cummins won the delegate count here 22-4.
MA - Senator Weeks defeated Fairbanks in a landslide in his home state, carrying over 55% of the vote. Weeks won the delegate race 30-6.
NJ - Charles Evans Hughes, the frontrunner, won all 28 delegates in the New Jersey primaries.
OH - Former Senator Burton won his home state 58-25 against Fairbanks. The delegates count was 33-15.
May 1 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 69 (+2)
Burke 28
Republican Primary
Hughes 32 (+1)
Fairbanks 11 (+1)
La Follette 10
Weeks 10
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 7
Burton 7
Sherman 5
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 2
Early in the race, Weeks and Cummins did better than expected but Cummins' base has mostly all voted at this point in time. Despite regional success, Cummins is having a hard time rising in the polls. Hughes remains an undisputed frontrunner but the battle for second place is being fought, with Fairbanks overtaking La Follette this week. La Follette continued to do well in states he did not win early in the race, but he got knocked out in the previous week, only carrying delegates from 1/4 states (Iowa) and the delegates he added to his total was a slim count of four. Most candidates at this point in time are eyeing the vice presidential slot. With each passing day it appears more and more likely that there will be a united Democratic convention and a contested Republican one.
Democratic-Labor Primary
CA - Clark won a landslide gaining 19 delegates to Burke's 7.
Republican Primary
CA - Hughes won an impressive victory in California. He won a landslide and will take home 17 delegates to Fairbanks' 5 and Weeks' 4. This is another morale crushing loss for La Follette. Weeks did decent here and Fairbanks seems to have earned his title as the main challenger to Hughes.

For your reference:

Popular Vote
Hearst 46.8%
Clark 26.9%
Wilson 26.3%
Delegates
Hearst 682/533 to win
Wilson 232
Clark 150
States Won
Hearst 32
Wilson 11
Clark 7

Although Clark was second place in states won and delegates in 1912 he placed second in the popular vote. Clark won his home state of Missouri as well as Ohio, Texas, and Maryland in the last primary. He has won in Ohio and we will have to see if he can replicate his wins in those other three states but he appears on an amazing track for the nomination.

Popular Vote
Roosevelt 49.3%
Taft 43.8%
La Follette 6.9%
Delegates
Taft 576/533 to win
Roosevelt 462
La Follette 26
States Won
Taft 33
Roosevelt 14
La Follette 1

If La Follette does not make it onto the ticket (P or VP) or if the ticket loses in 1916 then he could still come back for a run in a future primary. He won one state in 1912 and has already won two states in 1916 so far. He won 26 delegates in 1912 and has already won 46 in 1916 so far. He is on track to finish 2nd-4th place in the primary, about the same as when he finished third in 1912. He leads narrowly in one more state's polling so he may walk away with about three states won by convention day. La Follette, polling at 10.2%, is on track to outpace his 1912 campaign. His base seems to be slowly growing. In 1908, he recieved no delegates, no states and slightly less of the PV than he recieved in 1912. The trend holds overall, though when La Follette ran in the primary in 1904 he garnered one state, 3% of the vote and 26 delegates (WI was WTA like the rest of the states, that's how he got the same delegates as in 1912). In 1900, La Follette had run and garnered 2.8%, less than in 1904, and he won one state, Wisconsin and its 26 delegates. Understandably, La Follette's career lowpoint (for popularity) was when he ran against the party favorite and incumbent President Thedore Roosevelt in 1908.

On the other hand, Fairbanks last contested the presidency in 1904. He garnered 31.2% of the popular vote and now polls about one third of that in 1916. Fairbanks picked up his own state of Indiana, a gain from 1904 and he leads in two other states. He won five states, though, in 1904 including delegate rich Texas, Pennsylvania and Roosevelt's own home state of New York. It should also be noted that he performed that well against Roosevelt, at the height of his popularity, and as a Senator compared to being the Former Vice President in this contest 12 years later. Fairbanks seems a likely pick for running mate (a second time) but despite him holding second place many think his time for the presidency passed. Perhaps he could've defeated Hearst in 1908 or 1912 if he had run, but he hadn't.

[West_Midlander]

The Primaries IV
May 8 Poll - The Literary Digest
Republican Primary
Hughes 31 (-1)
Fairbanks 11
La Follette 10
Weeks 10
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 8 (+1)
Burton 7
Sherman 5
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 2
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 67 (-2)
Burke 27 (-1)
May 15 Poll - The Literary Digest
Republican Primary
Hughes 31
Fairbanks 11
La Follette 11 (+1)
Weeks 10
Brumbaugh 8
Cummins 8
Burton 7
Sherman 5
Ford 2
Lodge 2
DuPont 2
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 67
Burke 27
Republican Primary
OR - Hughes won in a landslide splitting the delegates with La Follette 8-2.
PA - Brumbaugh won a landslide in his home state and recieved all 76 delegates.
Democratic-Labor Primary
OR - Clark won a landslide in Oregon also splitting the delegate prize 8-2.
PA - Clark won another landslide in Pennsylvania splitting the delegates 59-17.
VT - Clark won Vermont by a nearly 2-1 margin and won the delegate count 5-3.
May 22 Poll - The Literary Digest
Republican Primary
Hughes 31
Fairbanks 11
La Follette 11
Weeks 11 (+1)
Brumbaugh 9 (+1)
Cummins 8
Burton 7
Sherman 5
DuPont 3 (+1)
Ford 2
Lodge 2
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 68 (+1)
Burke 27
Democratic-Labor Party
SD: In the state to the south of Burke's home Clark won and took most delegates 7-3.
May 29 Poll - The Literary Digest
Republican Primary
Hughes 31
La Follette 11
Weeks 11
Fairbanks 10 (-1)
Brumbaugh 9
Cummins 8
Burton 7
Sherman 5
DuPont 3
Ford 2
Lodge 2
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 68
Burke 26 (-1)
Fairbanks fell out of second place as Weeks, on the increase, battled La Follette for second place. Burke continued his downward trend in the polls. Hughes had a twenty point lead for the Republican primary.
June 5 Poll - The Literary Digest
Republican Primary
Hughes 31
La Follette 10 (-1)
Weeks 10 (-1)
Fairbanks 10
Brumbaugh 9
Cummins 8
Burton 7
Sherman 5
DuPont 3
Ford 2
Lodge 2
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 68
Burke 28 (+2)
Burke was able to recover slightly in the polls as no contests took place in the past week and he had a respite from crushing losses. La Follette and Weeks attacked one another to try to gain the edge in the previous week, leading to both falling in the polls.
Republican Primary
AL - La Follette won a narrow contest against Weeks and Cummins. The two runners up received five delegates each to La Follette's six.
AZ - Hughes won a landslide taking 4/6 delegates and La Follette and Cummins took one each.
AR - Weeks won a landslide taking 6/15 delegates. He was followed distantly by Cummins, Burton and Hughes. The three runners up took 3 delegates each.
CO - Fairbanks defeated La Follette and took 9-3 delegates.
CT - Fairbanks won by 0.5% and tied Burton's four delegates. Weeks and Hughes followed and gained three delegates.
DE - DuPont won a 5-1 delegate race against Cummins.
FL - Hughes took nearly two-thirds of the vote and carried all eight delegates.
GA - Weeks won the contest and six of seventeen delegates. Hughes and Burton won four each and La Follette got three.
ID - Hughes defeated La Follette 7-1 delegates.
KS - In his fourth win, Fighting Bob defeated Hughes 9-7 delegates and Fairbanks followed the two with four delegates.
KY - Fairbanks took home 11 delegates, Hughes took 9 and Sherman took 6.
LA - Weeks defeated Hughes 8-4 delegates.
ME - In a reversal of Louisiana's result, Hughes bested Weeks 7-3 delegates and Fighting Bob took third place with two delegates.
MD - Weeks narrowly won, besting Hughes 7-6. Fighting Bob took three.
MS - Hughes won and took five delegates, Weeks took three as did Fairbanks. La Follette finished last again (among delegates earned) with one (though candidates that didn't attain enough PV for delegates are not mentioned in each state result).
MO - Hughes won big winning 21 delegates, Weeks took 8 and Fairbanks, 7.
NV - Hughes bested La Follette again 5-1 delegates.
NM - Weeks won 3-2-1 delegates, following by Hughes and La Follette.
NC - Hughes beat La Follette again, this time 17-4.
OK - Weeks won with nine delegates and Hughes followed with eight. La Follette took three.
RI - Hughes took three/quarters of the vote and swept all ten.
SC - In a very close race, Hughes won followed by Weeks and La Follette. The trio got three delegates each and Brumbaugh recieved two.
SD - Cummins recieved 70% of the vote and all ten delegates.
TN - Hughes won a landslide defeated Weeks and Burton 13-5-3 delegates.
TX - It was another three way race for the top in this state. Weeks, Fairbanks and Cummins took six delegates each. Burton and Sherman took four each.
UT - La Follette was defeated by Charles Hughes again, 7 delegates to 1.
VT - Hughes defeated Fighting Bob 7-1 here as well.
VA - Hughes defeated Weeks and Fairbanks 7-5-3 delegates.
WA - Hughes bested La Follette 11-3 delegates.
WV - Weeks won over Burton, La Follette and Fairbanks, 6-4-4-2 delegates.
WY - Hughes won 5-1 against Weeks here.

[West_Midlander]

The Primaries V
-- Republican Primaries ended in the week preceding June 12th --
June 12 Poll - The Literary Digest
Democratic-Labor Primary
Clark 69 (+1)
Burke 27 (-1)
Democratic-Labor Primaries
AL, AZ, AR, CO - Clark won all delegates from these states.
FTR, Burke is still in the race, garnering <20% in the states so far.
CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, KS - Clark took all delegates.
This is a PI scenario for 1916, my thoughts would be, in a move to crush Burke's candidacy the DL National Convention (DLNC) changed the rules so that the remaining contests would be all be effectively winner take all so Clark would have limited opposition at the convention. As for the scenario, some of the states voting on June 12 are listed as proportional representation and some as first past the post (winner-take-all) though all so far have been WTA. Through Idaho Burke garnered a percentage in the low 20s or below. In Kansas Burke recieved 36%.
KY, LA, ME - Clark won all delegates.
MD - Burke won 100% of the vote. I assume Clark must've filed late for the Maryland contests and remained off the ballot.
MS, MO, NV, NM, NC, OK, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY - Burke received more 100% "wins."

[West_Midlander]

The Conventions I
Republican National Convention
Sorted by delegates won
Hughes 31.8% / 333 delegates / 20 states
Weeks 10.8% / 141 delegates / 10 states
Fairbanks 10.5% / 105 delegates / 4 states
La Follette 10.5% / 98 delegates / 4 states
Cummins 7.7% / 96 delegates / 5 states
Brumbaugh 9.2% / 78 delegates / 1 state
Burton 6.8% / 55 delegates / 1 state
Sherman 5.4% / 41 delegates / 1 state
DuPont 3.0% / 17 delegates / 1 state
Ford 2.2% / 17 delegates / 1 state
Lodge 2.2% / 0 delegates / 0 states
With Lodge receiving no delegates in a major upset, he will attend the convention to perhaps issue an endorsement and he has been invited to speak as have the other candidates. Due to his status in the party he was invited to speak at the convention hall despite the lack of a delegation in favor of his candidacy whatsoever. Every candidate won their home state except Lodge. Lodge lost his home state to a fellow Massachusetts Senator. Lodge came in fourth place and recieved 7% against Weeks' winning 55%. With such a divided party the nominee will probably have to run alongside a former opponent and field many opponents for the cabinet or other government positions to mend the party. He will have to promise to appoint his former colleagues to positions in his hypothetical administration, else those opposition primary voters might defect or stay home.
Note: In South Carolina, Hughes garnered 15.9% of the state vote. In Texas, Weeks had just 16.8% of the vote. In Arkansas, Weeks had 26.8% of the vote. Weeks has 24.4% of the vote in Georgia. In West Virginia, Weeks had 29.5% of the vote. In Kansas, La Follette won with 24.9% of the vote. In Alabama, La Follette got 21.4% of the vote.
State & Margins

Won by Hughes
Won by Weeks
Won by Cummins
Won by La Follette
Won by other candidates
Other states and PV range recieved
Colorado - Fairbanks >60%
Indiana - Fairbanks >80%
Kentucky - Fairbanks - >30%
Connecticut - Fairbanks - >20%
The one-state-winners each won a favorite son contest, their own home states
Pennsylvania - Brumbaugh - >70%
Ohio - Burton - >50%
Illinois - Sherman - >40%
Delaware - du Pont - >60%
Michigan - Ford - >20%
1st Round - Presidential Nomination - Republican Party
491 to win
Hughes 31.8% / 333 delegates / 20 states
Weeks 10.8% / 141 delegates / 10 states
Fairbanks 10.5% / 105 delegates / 4 states
La Follette 10.5% / 98 delegates / 4 states
Cummins 7.7% / 96 delegates / 5 states
Brumbaugh 9.2% / 78 delegates / 1 state
Burton 6.8% / 55 delegates / 1 state
Sherman 5.4% / 41 delegates / 1 state
DuPont 3.0% / 17 delegates / 1 state
Ford 2.2% / 17 delegates / 1 state
2nd Round - Presidential Nomination - Republican Party
491 to win
Hughes 31.8% / 333 delegates / 20 states
Weeks 10.8% / 141 delegates / 10 states
Fairbanks 10.5% / 105 delegates / 4 states
La Follette 10.5% / 98 delegates / 4 states
Cummins 7.7% / 96 delegates / 5 states
Brumbaugh 9.2% / 78 delegates / 1 state
Sherman 5.4% / 75 delegates / 1 state
Burton 6.8% / 55 delegates / 1 state
DuPont and Ford were eliminated. Both endorsed Sherman.
3rd Round - Presidential Nomination - Republican Party
491 to win
Hughes 31.8% / 333 delegates / 20 states
Fairbanks 10.5% / 313 delegates / 4 states
Weeks 10.8% / 141 delegates / 10 states
La Follette 10.5% / 98 delegates / 4 states
Cummins 7.7% / 96 delegates / 5 states
Brumbaugh and Burton withdrew and both endorsed Fairbanks. Sherman was eliminated and endorsed Fairbanks.
4th Round - Presidential Nomination - Republican Party
491 to win
Hughes 31.8% / 333 delegates / 20 states
Fairbanks 10.5% / 313 delegates / 4 states
La Follette 10.5% / 194 delegates / 4 states
Weeks 10.8% / 141 delegates / 10 states
Cummins was eliminated and endorsed La Follette.
5th Round - Presidential Nomination - Republican Party
491 to win
✔ Hughes 31.8% / 668 delegates / 20 states
Fairbanks 10.5% / 313 delegates / 4 states
Weeks was eliminated and endorsed Hughes. La Follette withdrew and endorsed Hughes declaring, "It is time to unify our party!" Hughes was nominated and after several days of consideration would eventually select Burton as his running mate. Hughes had to balance the major decision that could make or break the ticket, "Who to pick as running mate?" He also had to select a running mate quickly to provide a united ticket to the party and voters well before the election. Of course, he didn't know he would certainly be nominated but he could've been cautiously optimistic before the convention. Though he couldn't really ask opponents to serve as his running mate, such a proposition might've offended worse performing candidates and turned them to the opposition. It ended up being close through the fourth round.

The Republican Ticket
Senator Charles Evans Hughes of New York
& Former Senator Theodore Burton of Ohio


Burton left the Senate in 1915 (did not run for reelection) in order to run for President in 1916.

[West_Midlander]

The Conventions II
Democratic-Labor National Convention
Sorted by delegates won
533 to win
Clark 49.4% / 622 delegates / 31 states
Burke 50.6% / 442 delegates / 17 states
Clark won the vast majority of Democratic-Labor delegates and states. In a major upset, Burke won the popular vote and ran up his total to a substantial minority of 442. 83% of the delegates needed to win the nomination and 42% of overall delegates fell into the Burke camp. President Eugene V. Debs was the Democratic-Labor convention keynote speaker in order to abate the majority faction, the Burkites, into accepting a Clark nomination. A small portion of delegates stormed out of the convention after Debs endorsed the "Democratic-Labor nominee for President of the United States." Clark was nominated on the first round of voting and he selected Thomas R. Marshall as his running mate. Burke rejected an offer to run on the ticket with Clark. If Clark wins the general election, Burke has publicly been promised the Secretary of State position in an attempt to draw Burkites toward the DL nominee. Clarkites at the convention voted down a Burke-introduced measure to change the party's name to DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. The platform would also be shifted to include elements of the remaining Farmer and Populist parties. This would've been a move to compete for the Progressive Party vote since the party seemed likely to exit the convention without a major nominee. With no action taken, the Republicans, with Roosevelt's blessing, seemed on the cusp of an electoral landslide, assuming they could absorb the Progressive Party in this election.
The States

The following states were won by Burke with 100% of the vote: Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In the final week, due to the Burke-only states, he increased his vote share by 23% while Clark declined by 19%. 290 delegates switched between the candidates with the projected count having been 912-152. Clark is represented by blue on the map and Burke by red. Both candidates lost their home states. Clark preferred Marshall for the vice presidential nomination as opposed to Burke in part because Marshall's state of Indiana was won by Burke while Clark won North Dakota.

The Democratic Ticket
Vice President Champ Clark of Missouri
& Governor Thomas Riley Marshall of Indiana

[West_Midlander]

The Conventions III
Progressive National Convention
The Progressive Party convened and nominated Former President Roosevelt. Viewing a huge loss in November as inevitable the party hoped to survive by attracting the staunchly pro-Roosevelt vote. The Progressives held no primaries in 1916. Progressive National Convention members nominated Roosevelt in a landslide. They chose popular progressive Republican Robert La Follette as their vice presidential nominee. Both La Follette and Roosevelt discouraged supporters from voting for the Progressive ticket and encouraged voting Republican.
The Progressive Ticket
Former President Theodore Roosevelt Jr. of New York
& Senator Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. of Wisconsin

The Socialist-Independent-Labor party had been dissolved but a few minor socialist, pro-women, and pro-labor parties convened and agreed to nominate President Debs for President. The Draft Debs movement would seek ballot access in the states through various parties, depending on which affiliated party had the strongest support in that state. Debs' supporters in general accepted that he viewed his tenure in the White House as expiring and that he wanted to return to the New York governorship. Some of the affiliate parties were upstart groups only formed after Debs announced he would not run. Many hoped he would change his mind, and if too late to win the Democratic-Labor primaries, he would be accepted into the small, grassroots coalition that was built in his favor.
The Draft Debs Ticket
President Eugene Victor Debs of Indiana
& Governor Ella Reeve Bloor of New Jersey

Both Bloor and Debs rejected the proposal and suggested supporting the Democratic-Labor party in November. During the primaries as a result of Debs' insistence on unity the Draft Debs movement agreed to not contest political office below the presidency. They would instead support favorable candidates through the DL primaries in the hopes that they could get allies elected albeit under the Democratic-Labor label.

[West_Midlander]

The Solid South, Broken
Despite the electoral landslide of 1916 for the Republican Party, the results were not so clear cut for the United States Congress. Many Progressives voted for Roosevelt but then continued down the ballot voting for Democrats. Debs and his allies, many of them farmer-populists, crisscrossed the country campaigning for Senate Democrats. Most all Debs write-in voters stood with the Democratic Party downballot, many Burke supporters were among them. Some in Burke's camp had even defected to Hughes but defended the party in Congress, voting blue downballot.
United States presidential election, 1916

Party - Ticket - Home States - PV - EVs - States Won
Republican - Hughes/Burton - NY/OH - 52.2% - 429 EVs - 39 states
Democratic-Labor - Clark/Marshall - MO/IN - 37.4% - 102 EVs - 9 states
Progressive - Roosevelt/La Follette (not running) - NY/WI - 7.2% - 0 EVs - 0 states
Various - Debs/Bloor (not running) - NY/NJ - 3.2% - 0 EVs - 0 states
Home state(s) in bold denotes the ticket won there

Congressional results coming soon