By the time the 1920 Republican National Convention began in June , a Senate sub-committee had tallied the monies spent by the various candidates , with totals as follows : Wood $ 1.8 million ; Lowden $ 414,000 ; Johnson $ 194,000 ; and Harding $ 114,000 ; the committed delegate count at the opening gavel was : Wood124 ; Johnson112 ; Lowden72 ; Harding39 . Still , at the opening , less than one-half of the delegates were committed , and many expected the convention to nominate a compromise candidate like Pennsylvania Senator Philander C. Knox , Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge , or 1916 nominee Charles Evans Hughes . No candidate was able to corral a majority after nine ballots . After the convention adjourned for the day , Republican Senators and other leaders , who were divided and without a singular political boss , met in Room 404 of the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago . After a nightlong session , these party leaders tentatively concluded Harding was the best possible compromise candidate ; this meeting has often been described as having taken place in a " smoke-filled room . " The next day , on the tenth ballot , Harding was nominated for president . Delegates then selected Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge to be his vice-presidential running mate
1920 Republican National Convention
1920 Republican National Convention
Presidency of Warren G. Harding