Prior to the 1912 United States presidential election , Wheeler publicly debated the former California governor James N. Gillett on the question of which Republican nominee deserved the backing of his party , to be decided at the primary elections . Wheeler spoke for Theodore Roosevelt while Gillett argued for incumbent William Howard Taft . Wheeler said Taft was " blind to the signs of the times " , the candidate of " men satisfied with the old political methods . " In the event , Taft won the primary but Roosevelt ran anyway as a third party candidate , splitting the Republican vote to allow Woodrow Wilson to gain the presidency . In 1920 , Wheeler traveled to Chicago to serve as alternate delegate for California at the Republican National Convention . The California delegation put Wheeler on the podium to give a rousing speech for the nomination of California-born candidate Hiram Johnson who had been Roosevelt 's running mate in 1912
Republican National Convention
1920 Republican National Convention
Charles Stetson Wheeler