Arthur 's four-year term as Collector expired on December 10 , 1875 , and Conkling , then among the most powerful politicians in Washington , arranged his protégé 's reappointment by President Grant . By 1876 , Conkling was considering a run for the presidency himself , but the selection of reformer Rutherford B. Hayes by the 1876 Republican National Convention preempted the machine boss . Arthur and the machine gathered campaign funds with their usual zeal , but Conkling limited his own campaign activities to a few speeches . Hayes 's opponent , New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden , carried New York and won the popular vote nationwide , but after the resolution of several months of disputes over twenty electoral votes ( from the states of Florida , Louisiana , Oregon , and South Carolina ) , he lost the presidency
1876 Republican National Convention
1876 Republican National Convention
Chester A. Arthur