Prior to the elections, the former Chairman of the Constitutional AssemblyJānis Čakste; the organizer of the Latvian Riflemen Battalions, the former Minister of Agriculture Jānis Goldmanis and the Minister of Justice Jānis Pauļuks were all considered as possible candidates for the presidency. Kārlis Ulmanis had refused to run for office, but there were still rumors that the Social Democrats could run the famous poet Rainis as their candidate. In the end, only Čakste was nominated, and with 92 votes (the largest support for a candidate in the history of presidential elections), he became the first President of Latvia.[1]