Question

presidential election results, 1912
candidate/political party electoral votes popular votes states carried
woodrow wilson/democrat 435 6,294,327 40
theodor roosevelt/progressive 88 4,120,207 6
william h. taft/republican 8 3,486,343 2
eugene v. debs/socialist 0 900,370 0
source: us presidency project, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu
based on the information in the chart, how did the creation of the progressive party likely affect the 1912 presidential election results?
(a) it proved that a progressive party candidate could win in a national election.
(b) it contributed to a democratic party victory by splitting the republican party votes.
(c) it forced the democratic party to adopt issues that the progressive party supported.
(d) it created a situation where the progressive party won the popular vote but not the election.

Explanation:

Theodore Roosevelt, a former Republican, ran as a Progressive. His candidacy split the Republican - vote base. Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat, won with a significant number of electoral and popular votes. The Progressive Party's creation likely took votes away from the Republican William H. Taft, contributing to Wilson's victory.

Answer:

B. It contributed to a Democratic Party victory by splitting the Republican Party votes.