Weaver privately supported Bryan 's quest for the Democratic nomination in 1896 , which their convention awarded him on the fifth ballot . When the Populist convention gathered the next month in Chicago , they divided between endorsing the silverite Democrat and preserving their new party 's independence . Weaver backed the former course , holding the issues the party stood for to be of more importance than the party itself . A majority of delegates agreed , but without the enthusiasm that had marked their convention of four years earlier . At the same time , Weaver joined with anti-fusionists to keep the Populist platform from deviating from the party 's ideological principles . Against the fusion candidate stood Republican William McKinley of Ohio , a hard-money conservative . Bryan succeeded in uniting the South and West , Weaver 's longtime dream , but with the more populous North solidly behind McKinley , Bryan lost the election
their convention
1896 Democratic National Convention
James B. Weaver