Willkie became active in the Akron Democratic Party , becoming prominent enough while still with Firestone to introduce the Democratic presidential nominee , Ohio Governor James M. Cox , when he came to town during the 1920 campaign . He was a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention , and supported New York Governor Al Smith through the record 103 ballots , when the nomination fell to former West Virginia congressman John W. Davis . More important to Willkie , though , was a fight against the Ku Klux Klan , which had become powerful in much of the nation and in the Democratic Party , but he and other delegates were unsuccessful in their attempt to include a plank in the party platform condemning the Klan . He also backed a proposed plank in support of the League of Nations that ultimately failed . In 1925 , Willkie led a successful effort to oust Klan members on the Akron school board
1924 Democratic National Convention
1924 Democratic National Convention
Wendell Willkie