Vidal Gore — Eighteen Seventy [2328]

“But the man to watch,” according to Nordhoff, whom I found earlier this evening in the bar of the Gibson House, “is Oliver P. Morton.” This gentleman is a senator from Indiana, an enemy of Conkling and popular at the South. If Conkling and Blaine stop Bristow and then each other, Morton is expected to win. There are a number of other minor candidates, known rather glumly as “favourite sons”; these include the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania. — Vidal Gore, Eighteen Seventy, 2328

Note

The paragraph succinctly captures the current political intrigue and dynamics of the convention, highlighting key players and their alliances. The phrase ‘If Conkling and Blaine stop Bristow and then each other, Morton is expected to win’ serves as a compact encapsulation of the tension and strategies at play.