Although he lost his bids to become a member of the U.S. Congress and to serve as New York State Governor , Aldridge was a well-known Republican party boss in Rochester and greater New York . During the Republican administration of Governor Charles Seymour Whitman , he was a member of Whitman 's " Kitchen Cabinet " and was part of a triumvirate , known as the " Big Three " that once ruled the state with Thomas C. Platt ( a U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative ) and Francis Hendricks ( a New York State Assemblyman , Senator and Mayor of Syracuse ) . The triumvirate later became the " Big Four " of Republican state politics with only Aldridge remaining alongside U.S. Representative William L. Ward , Fred Greiner ( veteran of Erie County ) , and James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. of Western New York . In 1888 , he became a member of the New York Republican State Committee and soon thereafter was placed on the Executive Committee which he served on until his death . Aldridge was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1896 , 1900 , 1904 , 1908 , 1912 , 1916 and 1920 where he put forth the name of his friend , Warren G. Harding , who was later elected President
Republican National Conventions of 1896
1896 Republican National Convention
George W. Aldridge