When Vice President Garret Hobart died in November 1899, speculation began over who would replace him on the Republican national ticket in 1900. Governor Theodore Roosevelt was a popular choice (and ultimately the nominee), but was publicly and privately ambivalent about accepting the position. Several other names were put forward, including Secretary of War Elihu Root, Navy Secretary John D. Long, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, and Senator William Allison of Iowa.