After his narrow defeat against Cleveland in 1884 Blaine became the front-runner for 1888, but decided to remove his name from contention.[85] After Blaine wrote several letters denying any interest in the nomination, his supporters divided among other candidates, with Senator John Sherman of Ohio as the leader among them.[86] Others, including Chauncey Depew of New York, Russell Alger of Michigan, and Harrison's old nemesis Walter Q. Gresham—now a federal appellate court judge in Chicago—also sought the delegates' support at the 1888 Republican National Convention.[86] Harrison "marshaled his troops" to stop Gresham from gaining control of the Indiana delegation while simultaneously presenting himself "as an attractive alternative to Blaine."[85] Blaine did not publicly endorse any of the candidates, but on March 1, 1888, he privately wrote that "the one man remaining who in my judgment can make the best one is Benjamin Harrison."[71] Later at the National Convention, which took place in June, Blaine "threw his support to Harrison in the hope of uniting the party" against President Cleveland; nonetheless, the nomination fight that followed was "hotly contested."[80]
The convention opened on June 19 at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois.