Governor John Kasich: The Former GOP Presidential Candidate Who Came Much Closer Than Most Will Ever Realize
We’ll never know for sure how close Ohio Governor John Kasich came to winning the GOP nomination for president. Most will remember him as an unmitigated failure. But he had a good plan that had worked for someone else in 1920. If only Kasich could have made it to a contested convention anything could have happened. In this history tale, substitute Republican for Democrat, Trump for McAdoo, Cruz for Palmer, Kasich for Cox, and it gets downright eerie.
In 1920, James M. Cox had proven himself as the successful governor of Ohio, and he proudly called himself a "mild progressive." Surveying the national political scene, Jimmy thought he spied a path to the Democratic nomination for president. Perhaps, if the frontrunners devoured each other, the chips would fall his way.
Everyone’s Second Choice: James Cox
The two frontrunners were the progressive William Gibbs McAdoo, former Treasury Secretary and President Woodrow Wilson’s son-in-law, and the conservative red hunting Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. As the nominating convention approached, both men could count on the support of an impressive number of delegates though far short of the two-thirds needed for the nomination.
President Wilson’s Son-In Law: William Gibbs McAdoo
Palmer and McAdoo, both inextricably linked to the President, divided the party regulars still loyal to his Administration. Those looking for an outsider, someone completely unconnected to the unpopular Wilson and the League of Nations imbroglio, increasingly turned to Governor Cox. Jimmy was available.
Curiously, the Cox campaign remained low key and many wondered about his paltry financial commitment and lack of travel. But Jimmy was perfectly happy to be everyone’s second choice. When the warring McAdoo and Palmer forces exhausted each other and failed to unite, the convention would turn to him... the moderate with few enemies.
The convention opened on June 28,1920 at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco and, after the debate on the platform and speech after speech, it was five days before the casting of the ballots could begin. On the first roll call, 24 candidates received votes. The top three were McAdoo/266, Palmer/256, and Cox/134. The two-thirds magic number needed for nomination was 729. On the second ballot the field of 24 shrank to 18. McAdoo picked up 23 votes, Cox gained 25, and Palmer moved up by 8. In session for over eleven hours and exhausted, the delegates voted to adjourn and get some shut-eye.
Red Hunter: A. Mitchell Palmer
Ohio National Committeeman Ed Moore, Cox’s floor manager, ingested prodigious amounts of caffeine and stayed awake. With McAdoo progressive and Palmer conservative the delegates remained loathe to switch from one to the other. Operating out of sight under the speakers’ platform, Moore doggedly secured second place commitments from as many McAdoo and Palmer delegates as he could.
On the next day, the balloting began at 9:45 a.m. and continued nonstop until 5:50 p.m. by which time sixteen ballots had been concluded. Cox moved into second place past Palmer on the seventh ballot, McAdoo reached a peak of 386 votes on the ninth ballot, and then Cox passed him on the 12th ballot. The delegates recessed for dinner (and drinks as San Francisco seemed to be completely ignoring the Eighteenth Amendment) with Cox leading with 454 votes, more than 100 ahead of McAdoo. A couple of hours later, with quite a few of the delegates a bit tipsy, they cast six more ballots and adjourned at midnight. Cox held on to his lead with 430 votes, McAdoo trailed with 372, and Palmer remained in third with 166. The next day, Sunday, was the Sabbath, and the delegates departed for a full day's recess to really enjoy the town.
On Monday, Cox slipped to second with 377 votes as McAdoo rose to 399. Palmer gained a bit but then dropped. Jokers cracked: God had created the earth in six days but the Democrats could not seem to agree on a nominee. After the 30th ballot, a fed up Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi proposed a resolution to scrap the two-thirds rule and drop the candidate with the lowest number of votes on each succeeding ballot. Harrison, who had clearly lost his temper, was roundly rejected. The delegates would slog on.
The Monday evening session began with the 37th roll call. Palmer dropped precipitously and was cooked. After the 38th ballot, Palmer the “Fighting Quaker” finally threw in the towel. On the 39th ballot, all of Palmer’s support vanished. McAdoo and Cox both benefited but Cox gained the most. On the 41st ballot, Cox and McAdoo were still only 40 votes apart, but like the proverbial turtle Jimmy steadily crept forward. Ed Moore coaxed and cajoled furiously. By the 44th ballot, Cox had 699 votes, just 27 short of the required two-thirds. For McAdoo, the jig was up. His supporters knew the Cox votes would hold and he would soon get the additional ones he needed. A McAdoo supporter yelled for Cox be nominated unanimously and it was done. James M. Cox officially became the Democrats' nominee for president. Delegates applauded and cheered and the band played, but they were absolutely bone-tired and they knew their party had split wide open.
Just as Cox had hoped, the chips did fall his way. The two front runners despised each other and refused to compromise. Eventually, all sides agreed to coalesce around someone acceptable as a second choice, the man from outside the unpopular Democratic establishment, the unthreatening moderate, the governor from the critical swing state of Ohio: James Middleton Cox.
Cox and Running Mate Franklin Roosevelt: They Never Had A Chance
In November, with the Democratic party divided and the public in general fed up with establishment politicians, Republican Senator Warren G. Harding (also of Ohio) garnered 16,143,407 popular votes (60.32% and 404 electors) to Cox’s 9,139,661 (34.15% and 127 electors). For Jimmy, it wasn’t pretty. In an apathetic national turnout of 54%, the Cox defeat was of historic proportions. Most agreed that after the bitterly contested convention, he never had a chance.
Peter Bales teaches American history and government at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York
