Bull Moose History

Origins

The Bull Moose Party was founded after the controversial Republican Primary during the 1912 Presidential election. Despite former twice-elected President Theodore Roosevelt having won a majority of the votes (51.5%), the RNC ignored the results and instead re-nominated the incumbent President and prior protege of Roosevelt; William Howard Taft. Outraged, Roosevelt and many of the progressive Republicans would storm off to form what was officially called "The Progressive Party", but was broadly refered to as The Bull Moose Party. The nickname was coined by Theodore Roosevelt, because he would often boast about he felt as fit as a bull moose.

"It takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." - Theodore Roosevelt during his Milwaukee speech shortly after surviving a bullet wound to the chest

1912 Campaign

The campaign that the fledgling Bull Moose Party only had 3 months to conduct a campaign after the RNC's decision to nominate President Taft. The campaign had a large focus on political reform, rooting out political corruption, expanding worker rights, and advocating for women's suffrage. This campaign was uniquely grassroots for the time, which heavily relied upon the hard work of volunteers, reform activists, with Theodore Roosevelt constantly touring the entire country to garner support, and a decentralized political structure across the entire country, all while only on a budget of $600,000.

1912 Presidential election political cartoon

1912 Election Results

The Bull Moose Party would outperform the Republican Party's nominee (the only time a 3rd party has ever done for a presidential election), but the Bull Moose's nominee Theodore Roosevelt would ultimately go down in defeat against the Democratic Party's nominee, Woodrow Wilson. However, in spite of the 1912 loss for the Presidency, Bull Moose backed candidates won 18 congressional House of Representative seats, 6 Governorships, and hundreds of local offices and state legislature seats spread across the country.

What We Can Learn

That a National 3rd party at this moment is not a realistic option. However, the Bull Moose Party in the past has demonstrated that local and state level 3rd parties have a real opportunity to succeed, especially with how many local and state offices go uncontested. In the 2024 elections, approximately 40% of all local and state elected offices in Tennessee had no challenger to the sitting incumbent. The Tennessee Bull Moose has a realistic opportunity to support candidates that will oust these complacent elected officials and replace them with candidates who have the best interests of their constituents and Tennesseeans broadly.

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