In the Presidential election , Democratic Governor Grover Cleveland of New York defeated Republican former Secretary of State James G. Blaine . Though Cleveland won the popular vote by less than 1 % , he won by a fairly comfortable margin in the electoral college . Cleveland won the South and the critical state of New York , while Blaine took most of the rest of the country . This was the most recent example of an incumbent President being denied nomination by his party for another term , as Blaine defeated President Chester A. Arthur at the 1884 Republican National Convention . Cleveland took the Democratic nomination on the second ballot of the 1884 Democratic National Convention , defeating Delaware Senator Thomas F. Bayard and several other candidates . Cleveland 's win made him the first Democratic President to win election since the 1856 election
1884 Republican National Convention
1884 Republican National Convention
1884 United States elections