Since Roosevelt had promised not to run again and had chosen Taft as his successor for the presidency, the nomination was pretty straightforward. Roosevelt was very popular and Taft became the nominee with James Sherman as his vice president. He was opposed by William Jennings Bryan, who had unsuccessfully run against William McKinley in 1896 and 1900. The campaign was more about personality than issues. In fact, Roosevelt was so popular that both candidates tried to assert that they would be better at carrying out the former president's policies. In the end, Taft won with 52 percent of the popular vote and 66 percent of the electoral vote.