Wendell Lewis Willkie (February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American corporate lawyer who was the Republican Party nominee for the 1940 presidential election, despite having never held a prior elected political office. A member of the GOP's liberal wing, Willkie campaigned against aspects of the New Deal he thought were wasteful or inefficient. He was also a firm internationalist, but in his pursuit of the isolationist vote, he waffled badly on the issue of World War II.