2. Stealing the nomination from President Chester A. Arthur at an acrimonious nominating convention in 1884, James G. Blaine subsequently lost the election to Democratic Party candidate Grover Cleveland
A charismatic speaker and early supporter of Abraham Lincoln, James Gillespie Blaine represented Maine in the House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as its Speaker for six years between 1869 and 1875. Serving also in the Senate for a single term from 1876 to 1881, as well as Secretary of State under three separate presidents across two periods, Blaine unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in both 1876 and 1880. Becoming the last individual to successfully overcome a sitting president for their party’s nomination, in 1884 Blaine won on the fourth ballot at a fractious nominating convention to dethrone the incumbent President Chester A. Arthur.
Despite entering the election in good standing, Blaine’s image quickly became tarred by accusations of corruption in connection to his prior business involvement with the railroads. Suffering the abandonment of a group of reformist Republicans – the Mugwumps – the dissatisfied collective was comprised chiefly of supporters of President Arthur embittered by their champion’s defeat in the primaries and the ill-grace of Blaine and his supporters in its aftermath. Unable or unwilling to seek to appease the unhappy faction, the group threw their weight behind Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland and Blaine lost the election by 219 to 182 electoral votes.