lost the Whig nomination to Ogden Hoffman on the third ballot. As the Whig Party rapidly disintegrated, Conkling took an active part in the formation of the Republican Party and came to consider himself an "original Republican." In 1856, he spoke throughout Oneida and Herkimer counties for John C. Frémont and William L. Dayton. Mayor of Utica In 1858, Republicans sought a candidate for Mayor of Utica, considered a slightly Democratic city. The party convention nominated Conkling on the first ballot. After a five-day campaign, Conkling defeated Democrat Charles S. Wilson on March 2, 1858, and took office on March 9. Although he did not run for re-election, Conkling remained mayor until his resignation on November 18, 1859 because the March 1859 election to choose his successor resulted in a tie. U.S. House of Representatives First term Almost immediately after his nomination for mayor, Conkling prepared to mount a run for Congress; incumbent Representative Orsamus B. Matteson had chosen to retire after his censure for corruption. Conkling's chief opponent was another Utica attorney, Charles H. Doolittle. Conkling said he hoped to be elected "because some men object to my nomination. So long as one man in the city opposes, I shall run on the Republican ticket." Conkling campaigned as a personal ally of Senator Seward, and Seward delivered a speech on Conkling’s behalf. Conkling won easily on the first ballot of the district convention; Doolittle was nominated by future Conkling ally Ward Hunt. Conkling's opponent in the general election was Judge P. Sheldon Root, had the endorsement of the incumbent Matteson, his former law partner. Root refused to debate Conkling; Conkling stumped the county on his own behalf. Conkling won the election by 2,793 out of slightly under 20,000 cast. He ran 200 votes ahead of Governor Edwin D. Morgan. Conkling’s first term as Representative was uneventful. He quietly opposed slavery and his speeches largely consisted of legal expositions. Throughout the protracted battle for Speaker which dominated the first session, Conkling supported John Sherman of Ohio. On the second day of the session, December 6, Conkling allegedly rose and stood guard to Thaddeus Stevens as he castigated Southern Representatives, amid fears that they would assault Stevens. (Representative Preston Brooks had beaten Charles Sumner unconscious only three years prior.) On April 17, 1860, Conkling delivered a long address attacking the Taney Court for its decisions in the Dred Scott case and