1914 United States Senate election in Ohio
[1] Harding was initially not interested in a campaign for U.S. Senate, having been dissuaded by the divisive factionalism between the conservative and progressive wings of the Republican party which materialized during the 1912 elections.In spite of the unsuccessful draft effort, Florence Harding herself convinced her husband to mount a campaign following the death of her father, Amos Kling.Rather than campaigning directly against, and attempting to overtly differentiate himself from, Foraker and Cole, Harding notably employed a strategy of maintaining old, and forging new, alliances within the Republican party, to the chagrin of both of his opponents.[2] In the general election campaign, Harding faced Democratic nominee Timothy Hogan, Progressive candidate Arthur Garford, and Socialist E.K."[6] Again favoring a conciliatory public stance, Harding also downplayed World War I as a campaign issue, which had begun in earnest months prior to the election, due to Ohio's significant German immigrant population.