then dispatched the militia and state police to seize the horse tracks and fighting arenas in the state. Conflict with the General Assembly As the 1894 mid-term elections neared, Republicans were able to secure blame for the poor economic situation on the Democrats, and swept into power in the statehouse, taking strong majorities in both houses. The legislative districts created in 1890 were a subject of intense debate at the time; the legislature during the term of Governor Isaac P. Gray had created several gerrymander districts that favored Democrats. Republicans had contested the districting in the courts, who ruled the state must be redistricted. The Democrats had done so in 1893, but the Republicans overrode their redistricting upon taking power, and created their own plan which effectively reversed the situation and created pro-Republican gerrymander districts. The Republicans continued in their effort to repudiate the decade of Democratic control and passed a controversial bill that revoked all the legislation passed by the previous Democratic-controlled General Assembly and restored the governor's power to appoint people to office. The bill was passed on the final day of the legislative session, knowing that if the governor did not veto it before adjournment, it would become law. It arrived on Matthews's desk just minutes before adjournment; he promptly vetoed it and ran with his secretaries to try to return it to the assembly before it adjourned. He found the doors locked and called for help from fellow Democrats to beat down the door to the House of Representatives. A newspaper recorded that "Democrats and Republicans fought like beasts of forest" as the governor struggled to deliver the vetoed bill to the speaker. Republicans successfully beat back the Democrats just as the speaker declared an adjournment. Fighting continued for a half-hour after the adjournment before the Democrats withdrew. Matthews took the issue to the Indiana Supreme Court, who ruled in favor of the Assembly, effectively rolling back a decade of Democratic legislation. Before his term as governor ended, Matthews was nominated by David Turpie to run for president at the 1896 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago. Matthews was a leading candidate until the sixth ballot when his supporters switched to William Jennings Bryan after Bryan delivered an impassioned speech. Matthews left office and returned to his farm. He continued making occasional public appearances and delivering speeches. While delivering a speech in Montgomery County, he suffered