Theodore Roosevelt's Impact On The Presidency During the election of 1900, populist Democrat William Jennings Bryan and Republican William McKinley faced each other again. The two had previously competed against each other in 1896. McKinley named as his running mate Theodore Roosevelt, a man thoroughly involved in expanionism. A lot of events had taken place since the last election. American foregn policy had been so succesful in McKinely’s first term that the anti-imperialist Bryan had to drop the issue from his campaign speeches. Instead, he tried to emphasize the failures of Republican economic policies. But by the beginning of the 1900’s, prosperity had re