On the 44th ballot, the Democrats nominated Governor Cox for president, with his running mate Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt. As Cox was a newspaper owner and editor when not in politics, this placed two Ohio editors against each other for the presidency, and some complained there was no real political choice. Both Cox and Harding were economic conservatives, and were reluctant progressives at best.[97]

"How Does He Do It?"In this Clifford Berryman cartoon, Harding and Cox ponder another big story of 1920: Babe Ruth's record-setting home run pace.
Harding chose to conduct a front porch campaign, like McKinley in 1896.[98] Some years earlier, Harding had remodeled his front porch to resemble McKinley's, which his neighbors felt signified presidential ambitions.[99] The candidate remained at home in Marion, and gave addresses to visiting delegations. In the meantime, Cox and Roosevelt stumped the nation, giving hundreds of speeches. Coolidge, who spoke in the Northeast and then in the South, was not a significant factor in the election.[98]
In Marion, Harding ran his campaign. As a newspaperman himself, he fell into easy camaraderie with the press covering him, enjoying a relationship few presidents have equaled. 