Incumbent Democratic President Grover Cleveland did not seek election to a second consecutive term , leaving the Democratic nomination open . Bryan , an attorney and former Congressman , galvanized support with his Cross of Gold speech , which called for a reform of the monetary system and attacked business leaders as the cause of ongoing economic depression . The 1896 Democratic National Convention repudiated the Cleveland administration and nominated Bryan on the fifth presidential ballot . Bryan then won the nomination of the Populist Party , which had won several states in 1892 and shared many of Bryan 's policies . In opposition to Bryan , some conservative Bourbon Democrats formed the National Democratic Party and nominated Senator John M. Palmer . McKinley prevailed by a wide margin on the first ballot of the 1896 Republican National Convention
1896 Democratic National Convention
1896 Democratic National Convention
1896 United States presidential election