 Blaine took his case to the House floor , proclaiming his innocence and calling the investigation a partisan attack by Southern Democrats , revenge for his exclusion of Jefferson Davis from the amnesty bill of the previous year . By now the pressure had begun to affect Blaine 's health , and he collapsed while leaving church services on June 14 . Blaine 's ill health combined with the lack of evidence against him garnered him sympathy among Republicans , and when the Republican convention began in Cincinnati later that month , he was again seen as the front @-@ runner . 
