 Though he was damaged by the Mulligan letters , Blaine entered the convention as the favorite . Five other men were also considered serious candidates : Benjamin Bristow , the Kentucky @-@ born Treasury Secretary ; Roscoe Conkling , Blaine 's old enemy and now a Senator from New York ; Senator Oliver P. Morton of Indiana ; Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio ; and Governor John F. Hartranft of Pennsylvania . Blaine 's was nominated by Illinois orator Robert G. Ingersoll in what became a famous speech : 
