[79] Harding, who like the other candidates was in Chicago supervising his campaign, had finished sixth in the final public opinion poll, behind the three main candidates as well as former Justice Hughes and Herbert Hoover, and only slightly ahead of Coolidge.[82][83]
After the convention dealt with other matters, the nominations for president opened on the morning of Friday, June 11. Harding had asked Willis to place his name in nomination, and the former governor responded with a speech popular among the delegates, both for its folksiness and for its brevity in the intense Chicago heat.[84] Reporter Mark Sullivan, who was present, called it a splendid combination of "oratory, grand opera, and hog calling". Willis confided, leaning over the podium railing, "Say, boys—and girls too—why not name Warren Harding?"[85] The laughter and applause that followed created a warm feeling for Harding.