met the Democratic nominee for president that year, William Jennings Bryan, and they became close friends as well. From 1897 to 1901 he was city solicitor of Indianapolis. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of Indiana in 1900 and 1904. In 1904, he was asked to run by Parker, who by that time was on his way to becoming the Democratic nominee for president that year, to run for governor to try and boost the party in Indiana. However, it did not work, with both Parker and Kern losing the state in a landslide. After these defeats, he returned to his law practice, traveled to Europe, and spent six months at a sanatorium in Asheville, North Carolina, for reasons of health. In the 1908 election, he was the Democratic candidate for Vice President, the running mate to Bryan on his third try to the presidency. His friendship with Bryan, as well as the fact that he was from the electorally important region of the Midwest, helped secure his place on the ticket, even over his objection. Thomas Marshall was the one who nominated Kern for the second spot on the ticket. In the end, the Bryan/Kern ticket was defeated by William Howard Taft. Kern then sought election to the United States Senate from Indiana (the legislature then being Democratic-controlled), but was outmaneuvered by fellow Democrat Benjamin F. Shively. United States Senate Indiana's other Senate seat came up for election in 1910, and this time, the legislature elected Kern. He entered the Senate in 1911, one of ten new Democrats, most of them progressives. Joining Shively, Kern became a progressive Democrat and an opponent of monopolistic corporate power. He quickly became involved in an effort to shake up his party's conservative leadership. In 1912, he helped write the Democratic platform, which had progressive planks in favor of banking and tariff reform and direct popular election of senators. In the election of 1912, Woodrow Wilson was elected president, Democrats gained a majority in the House, and eleven more progressive Democrats entered the Senate. Kern's national stature as a progressive, his skill at conciliation, and his personal popularity resulted in his unanimous election as Chairman of the Democratic Caucus and de facto majority leader. He worked closely with Wilson and often met with him privately. He kept the peace and promoted unity that helped propel Wilson's initiatives through the Senate. They