McKinley increasingly became a significant figure in national politics . In 1880 , he served a brief term as Ohio 's representative on the Republican National Committee . In 1884 , he was elected a delegate to that year 's Republican convention , where he served as chair of the Committee on Resolutions and won plaudits for his handling of the convention when called upon to preside . By 1886 , McKinley , Senator John Sherman , and Governor Joseph B. Foraker were considered the leaders of the Republican party in Ohio . Sherman , who had helped to found the Republican Party , ran three times for the Republican nomination for president in the 1880s , each time failing , while Foraker began a meteoric rise in Ohio politics early in the decade . Hanna , once he entered public affairs as a political manager and generous contributor , supported Sherman 's ambitions , as well as those of Foraker . The latter relationship broke off at the 1888 Republican National Convention , where McKinley , Foraker , and Hanna were all delegates supporting Sherman . Convinced Sherman could not win , Foraker threw his support to the unsuccessful Republican 1884 presidential nominee , Maine Senator James G. Blaine . When Blaine stated he was not a candidate , Foraker returned to Sherman , but the nomination went to former Indiana senator Benjamin Harrison , who was elected president . In the bitterness that followed the convention , Hanna abandoned Foraker , and for the rest of McKinley 's life , the Ohio Republican Party was divided into two factions , one aligned with McKinley , Sherman , and Hanna and the other with Foraker . Hanna came to admire McKinley and became a friend and close adviser to him . Although Hanna remained active in business and in promoting other Republicans , in the years after 1888 , he spent an increasing amount of time boosting McKinley 's political career
1888 Republican National Convention
1888 Republican National Convention
William McKinley