Calvin Coolidge was a Republican politician who served as mayor, lieutenant governor, governor of Massachusetts and vice president before being elected president in 1924. As president, Coolidge followed a pro-business agenda with minimal government interference. He believed the government works best which governs least. Coolidge was renominated in 1924 and won re-election against Democrats John Davis and Robert La Follette's Progressive Party. His policies favored big business and farms struggled with surpluses. In 1928, Republican Herbert Hoover defeated Democrat Al Smith in a close election.