Before and during his presidency , Roosevelt built up a strong following within the Republican Party , but his re-nomination in 1904 was far from certain at the end of 1901 . Many expected Senator Mark Hanna , a confidante of former President McKinley , to win the party 's 1904 presidential nomination . Support for Hanna was especially strong among conservative businessmen who opposed many of Roosevelt 's policies , though Hanna lacked his own national organization , and even in his home state he was opposed by influential Senator Joseph Foraker . Hanna and another prominent party leader , Matthew Quay of Pennsylvania , both died in 1904 . Other potential rivals for the 1904 Republican presidential nomination , including Leslie Shaw and Charles W. Fairbanks , failed to galvanize support for their candidacies . At the 1904 Republican National Convention , Roosevelt secured his own nomination , but his preferred vice-presidential running mate , Robert R. Hitt , was not nominated . Senator Fairbanks , a favorite of conservatives , gained the vice-presidential nomination
1904 Republican National Convention
1904 Republican National Convention
Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt