"The Challenge Was to Appeal to Both Wings of the California Republicans"

"Johnson, who had a 'Yosemite Sam' temperament, refused all such entreaties, stating in a telegram to Hughes' campaign manager that 'the men surrounding Mr. Hughes in California and who have been in charge of his tour, are much more interested in my defeat than in Mr. Hughes' election.' As far as Johnson was concerned, Hughes had thrown in his lot with the conservatives; there would be no rapprochement. And that meant Johnson and his California progressives would not lift a finger to help Hughes carry the state in November."

In Politico, Jeff Greenfield looks back to the 1916 presidential election.