[104]  Arthur and Conkling campaigned vigorously for the Stalwart ticket and, owing partly to a splintering of the Democratic vote, were victorious.[105] Arthur and the machine had rebuked Hayes and their intra-party rivals, but Arthur had only a few days to enjoy his triumph when, on January 12, 1880, his wife died suddenly while he was in Albany organizing the political agenda for the coming year.[106] Arthur felt devastated, and perhaps guilty, and never remarried.[107]

Election of 1880[edit]
Main article: 1880 United States presidential election
Garfield–Arthur campaign poster
Conkling and his fellow Stalwarts, including Arthur, wished to follow up their 1879 success at the 1880 Republican National Convention by securing the presidential nomination for their ally, ex-President Grant.[108] Their opponents in the Republican party, known as Half-Breeds, concentrated their efforts on James G. Blaine, a senator from Maine who was more amenable to civil service reform.[108] Neither candidate commanded a majority of delegates and, deadlocked after thirty-six ballots, the convention turned to a dark horse, James A. Garfield, an Ohio Congressman and Civil War general who was neither Stalwart nor Half-Breed.