Joesph Enyeart on the web

And then a Progressive was nominated for the Republicans in 1916 and Roosevelt was the front-runner for the 1920 Republican nomination until a pulmonary embolism killed him in 1919. Keeping Taft out of office in 1912 meant that Taft's policies would not take root in the Republican party. Roosevelt saw the Republican Party slipping away from him, so he did something to bring it back. By 1916, a Progressive was back as the Republican nominee (who lost to President Woodrow Wilson), and Roosevelt was primed to win back the Republican nomination, the soul of the Republican Party, and the Presidency in 1920. But sadly, Roosevelt's death allowed Taft regain control of the Republican Party, and Taftian Republicans dominated the party well into the early 1930s. The Teddy Roosevelt Progressives were cast out, with no party to call their own, and eventually joined the Democrats in the 1930s with the New Deal. The rest is history. But this is a good illustration of what needs to be done when you disagree with your normal party's policies. If you continue voting for the party, they will continue with the policies that you disagree with. If you split off from the party, you weaken the current policies of the party, and you allow the chance for the policies and politicians you favor to regain control of the party. So while the Republicans lost in 1912, this was the best outcome for Roosevelt supporters. It gave the Roosevelt Progressives 7 more years of being the soul of the Republican Party, and it likely would have given them the Presidency again in 1920 if Roosevelt wasn't cut down by a pulmonary embolism in 1919. I see every election as a battle for the soul of my major party. If I agree with the party's direction, then I vote for them. If I don't agree with their direction, then I vote for the third party that represents the direction I'd like my party to go. My major party needs to earn my vote. I will never give it to them just for the sake of the other party losing. I'd rather my major party lose and regroup than win and continue terrible policies. Both parties today are cesspools of broken promises and failed/unpopular policies. I attribute that to most people voting for the "lesser of two evils" instead of playing the long game and battling for the soul of their party.