In 1873 , Davis was defeated for reelection by Democrat Richard Coke ( 42,633 votes to 85,549 votes ) in an election marked by irregularities . Davis contested the results and refused to leave his office on the ground floor of the Capitol . Democratic lawmakers and Governor-elect Coke reportedly had to climb ladders to the Capitol 's second story where the legislature convened . When President Grant refused to send troops to the defeated governor 's rescue , Davis reluctantly left the capital in January 1874 . He locked the door to the governor 's office and took the key , forcing Coke 's supporters to break in with an axe . John Henninger Reagan helped to oust him after he tried to stay in office beyond the end of his term . Following his defeat , Davis was nominated to be collector of customs at Galveston but declined the appointment because he disliked U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes . He ran for governor again in 1880 but was soundly defeated . His name was placed in nomination for Vice President of the United States at the 1880 Republican National Convention , which met in Chicago and chose James A. Garfield as the standard-bearer . Had Davis succeeded , he might have wound up in the White House , as did Chester A. Arthur , the man who received the vice presidential nomination that year . Davis lost an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1882
1880 Republican National Convention
1880 Republican National Convention
Edmund J. Davis