<P> Woodrow Wilson Democratic </P> <P> Warren G. Harding Republican </P> <P> The United States presidential election of 1920 was the 34th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1920 . The Republicans nominated newspaper publisher and Senator Warren G. Harding from Ohio, while the Democrats chose newspaper publisher and Ohio Governor James M. Cox . Incumbent President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, in poor health, chose not to run for a third term . Former President Theodore Roosevelt had been the front - runner for the Republican nomination, but his health collapsed in 1918 . He died in January 1919 without leaving an obvious heir to his progressive legacy . With both Wilson and Roosevelt out of the running, the major parties turned to little - known dark horse candidates from the state of Ohio, one of the states with the largest number of electoral votes . As his running mate, Cox chose Franklin D. Roosevelt, a fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt who would be elected president himself in 1932 . </P> <P> Harding virtually ignored Cox in the race and essentially campaigned against Wilson by calling for a return to "normalcy ." With a spending advantage of almost 4 - to - 1, Harding won a landslide victory by winning 37 states, including the first Republican victories in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma (then the three states most recently admitted to the Union). </P>

Who was the democrat candidate for president in 1920