In 1924 the Committee of 48, custodians of the Progressive party label, united with the Socialist Party, the railroad unions, and the American Federation of Labor behind the independent candidacy of Robert M. La Follette. Remembering the divisive 1912 strategy, they did not oppose progressive candidates from the two major parties. La Follette ran on a plank that was largely antimonopoly. As the American economy improved, however, the Republicans minimized the scandals of Warren Harding's administration, and La Follette was short of funds and smeared as an unpatriotic, red demagogue. As a result, the Republican candidate, Calvin Coolidge, won a landslide victory; La Follette and his running mate, Burton K. Wheeler, polled 4.8 million votes.