faction in the minority. The new Democratic caucus was more Southern and Western than in previous Congresses, and contained many new members who were unfamiliar with Randall. This led many to propose selecting a Speaker more in line with their own views, rather than returning Randall to the office. Randall's attempt to canvass the incoming representatives was further hampered by an attack of the gout. In the end, John G. Carlisle of Kentucky, an advocate of tariff reform, bested Randall in a poll of the Democratic caucus by a vote of 104 to 53. Carlisle selected William Ralls Morrison, another tariff reformer, to lead the Ways and Means committee, but allowed Randall to take charge of Appropriations. Morrison's committee produced a bill proposing tariff reductions of 20%; Randall opposed the idea from the start, as did the Republicans. Another bout of illness kept Randall away from Congress at a crucial time in April 1884, and the tariff bill passed a procedural hurdle by just two votes. Two days later, Randall's Appropriations committee reported several funding bills with his support. Many Democrats who had voted for Morrison's tariff were thereby reminded that Randall had the power to defeat spending that was important to them; when the final vote came, enough switched sides to join with Republicans in defeating the reform 156 to 151. Presidential election of 1884 As in 1880, the contest for the Democratic nomination for president in 1884 began under the shadow of Tilden. Declining health forced Tilden's withdrawal by June 1884, and Randall felt free to pursue his own chance at the presidency. He gathered some of the Pennsylvania delegates to his cause, but by the time the convention assembled in July, most of the former Tilden adherents had gathered around New York governor Grover Cleveland. Early in the convention, Randall met with Daniel Manning, Cleveland's campaign manager, and soon thereafter Randall's delegates were instructed to cast their votes for Cleveland. As his biographer, House, wrote, the "actual bargain struck between Randall and Manning is not known, but... events would seem to show that Randall was promised control of federal patronage in Pennsylvania." Cleveland's campaign made extensive use of Randall, as he made speeches for Cleveland in New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, New York, and Connecticut, mainly in places where potential voters needed to be reassured that the Democrats did not want to lower the tariff so much