Born in Alto , Indiana , Kern practiced law in Kokomo , Indiana , after graduating from the University of Michigan Law School . He won election to the Indiana Senate before serving as the city solicitor of Indianapolis . After running unsuccessfully for the position of Governor of Indiana , Kern was selected as the vice presidential nominee at the 1908 Democratic National Convention . The Democratic ticket of William Jennings Bryan and Kern was defeated by the Republican ticket of William Howard Taft and James S. Sherman
1908 Democratic National Convention
1908 Democratic National Convention
John W. Kern