31: 2. Warren G. Harding: The Available Man and the Ohio Battlefield David Pietrusza 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents Warren G. Harding emerged as the Republican nominee in the 1920 election, a ye

2. Warren G. Harding: The Available Man and the Ohio Battlefield David Pietrusza 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents Warren G. Harding emerged as the Republican nominee in the 1920 election, a year Republicans anticipated winning. Harding was nobody's first choice, perhaps the fifth or sixth, positioning himself as "the available man" due to his moderate, non-alienating nature. A small-town Ohio publisher, Harding benefited from Ohio's status as the key battleground state; Democrats also nominated an Ohioan, Governor John Cox. Harding avoided the campaign spending issues that plagued his rivals. Notably, Harding's extensive infidelity was known to his wife, Florence, but did not become a public issue during the 1920 campaign, which she tolerated as part of their political partnership. 1922 TAFT, HARDING, ROBERT LINCOLN