The most infamous example was at the 1924 Democratic National Convention , where the divisions between Wets and Drys on Prohibition ( and other issues ) led to 102 ballots of deadlock between frontrunners Alfred E. Smith and William G. McAdoo before dark horse John W. Davis was chosen as a compromise candidate on the 103rd ballot . Adlai Stevenson ( of the 1952 Democratic Party ) and Dwight Eisenhower ( of the 1952 Republican Party ) were the most recent " brokered convention " presidential nominees , of their respective parties . Eisenhower had 595 delegates out of 1,206 in the first roll call . However , the convention did not record that as official even though it was an actual vote
1924 Democratic National Convention
1924 Democratic National Convention
Brokered convention