Why did Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson win the presidential election of 1912?

The Republican Party split in 1912 when former president Theodore Roosevelt ran against Republican incumbent William Howard Taft as the Progressive Party candidate. Their competition divided Republican voters, allowing Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the largest share of the vote and the presidency. Wilson did not win almost all of the popular vote, and Taft and Roosevelt were both Republicans, not Democrats.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.