ABSTRACT
T h e Democrats also met in Chicago and nominated the reform governor of New York, Grover Cleveland. His rise had been meteor ic . A native of western New York, the hardworking Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo in 1881 ; the following year he won the governorship of New York; just two years later he became his party's presidential nominee . In sharp contrast to Blaine , the 47-year-old Cleveland lacked both charisma and extensive political experience; he had never even visited Washington before. But the party trusted this rising star because he was honest and a reform leader. Democra ts called him "Grover the G o o d " and placed its hopes for nat ional victory on his burly shoulders (he weighed 260 pounds) . Second place on the ticket went to Senator T h o m a s Hendricks of Indiana, who had been Samuel Ti lden's running mate in 1876. T h e Democrats were aided by a group of Republicans, the Mugwumps (from the Algonquin Indian word for " C h i e f " ) who sided with the Democra ts in this elect ion. T h e M u g w u m p s were an elite group compris ing many socially prominent
Americans ; their ranks included such former Liberal Republicans as Senator Carl Schurz of Missour i as well as intellectuals like M a r k Twain. T h e Mugwumps denounced patronage and corruption in politics and could not stomach Blaine, whom they charged was tainted by scandal.
