Bland was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1896 , though he expressed reluctance about running for president . His marriage to a Catholic woman engendered opposition from the anti-Catholic elements of the party . Bland received the most votes on the first three ballots of the 1896 Democratic National Convention , but not enough to win the necessary majority . William Jennings Bryan , who also favored bimetallism , won the Democratic nomination on the fifth ballot and went on to lose to Republican William McKinley in the 1896 presidential election . After the convention , Bland served in the House from 1897 to his death in 1899
1896 Democratic National Convention
1896 Democratic National Convention
Richard P. Bland