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Democratic And Republican Conventions That Were Total Chaos

Mike Rothschild
Updated January 26, 2021 12 items

Contested conventions are as much a part of American politics as speeches and platforms. From the first party convention in 1830, replacing the previous methods of congressmen simply picking a candidate, chaotic and sometimes violent gatherings have been a constant.

Contested Republican conventions have led to brawls and virtual unknowns winning nominations, while contested Democratic conventions are the stuff of riots and historic blowouts. They've resulted in party splits, insurgent candidates, fights between supporters, and once, even a gigantic cross burning. 

Here are some of the most chaotic party nominating conventions in American history.

  • 1836 Anti-Masonic Convention - Nobody Hates Masons Enough

    1836 Anti-Masonic Convention - Nobody Hates Masons Enough

    Before the election of 1832, members of Congress simply met to decide a presidential nominee for their party. It wasn't until 1831 that a party convention was held to allow delegates to vote on the matter. The first party convention was held by the fledgling Anti-Masonic Party, which grew out of the disappearance and likely murder of anti-Masonic writer William Morgan. The movement against Freemasonry was so strong that the party had enough clout to mount a serious challenge for the presidency.

    The single-issue party met in Baltimore in September 1831 and nominated William Wirt for the presidency. Though Wirt tried to get out of the nomination, he wound up taking seven electoral votes in the election. In 1836, the Anti-Masons met again, but this time, in a divisive and chaotic affair, nobody could agree on a candidate who was quite Anti-Mason enough. The party soon collapsed, and its members were absorbed by the Whig Party.

  • 1839 Whig Convention - It Almost Ends with a Duel

    1839 Whig Convention - It Almost Ends with a Duel

    For their first national convention, the Whig Party met almost a year before the 1840 election, in Harrisburg, PA. Kentucky Senator Henry Clay led after the first four ballots, but due to a three-way split, didn't have a majority. On the fifth ballot, William Henry Harrison emerged victorious after delegates for both Clay and Winfield Scott switched votes.

    Clay and Scott were in New York waiting for the results to come in. When news of Harrison's victory was delivered, Clay became so incensed that he punched Scott, aggravating a war wound Scott had suffered. Scott responded by challenging Clay to a duel, but cooler heads prevailed and Clay apologized. Harrison would go on to win the election but die after only a month in office.

  • 1860 Democratic Conventions - Three Meetings, Two Nominees

    1860 Democratic Conventions - Three Meetings, Two Nominees

    The Democratic Convention of 1860 was held in likely the most pro-slavery city in the country, Charleston, and immediately began with a walkout from Southern delegates - they refused to even consider uniting the party on an anti-slavery platform. But the rules required the nominee to have a two-thirds majority of ALL delegates, rather than present delegates. So the vote slogged on for 57 rounds, with Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas (of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858) leading every time, but never with enough votes to actually win.

    The convention finally agreed to pack it in and meet in Baltimore six weeks later, where the exact same thing happened. This time, after just two ballots, a voice vote was taken and Douglas declared the winner.

    But it wasn't over for the Democrats. The southerners who bolted held their own convention in Baltimore and nominated John C. Breckenridge, who had been James Buchanan's VP. Breckenridge and Douglas split the Democratic vote in November, which helped Abraham Lincoln to win. The Civil War began just months later.

  • 1880 Republican Convention - The Garfield Compromise

    1880 Republican Convention - The Garfield Compromise

    With his administration marred by scandal and controversy, Rutherford B. Hayes announced in 1877 that he wouldn't run for a second term. This left the Republican party scrambling for a nominee. At the 1880 convention, former president Ulysses S. Grant battled with Maine Senator James G. Blaine and Ohio Senator John Sherman for the nomination. The first-day highlight was a brawl over credentials that didn't end until 2 a.m., and Blaine's name was pronounced incorrectly when he was presented, leading to a chorus of booing.

    The balloting went on for 36 grueling rounds with nobody emerging as a clear winner. It wasn't until ballot 34 that James Garfield, who had gone to the convention to support Sherman and had no delegates, was put forth as a serious candidate. Within two rounds, the majority of Blaine and Sherman delegates had switched to Garfield, wanting to end the deadlock. Garfield emerged with the nomination, even though he protested up until the end that he didn't want it, and won the election.

  • 1912 Republican Convention - The Party Spilts

    1912 Republican Convention - The Party Spilts

    In 1905, at his second inauguration, Theodore Roosevelt promised not to run for a third term. Instead, his longtime friend William Howard Taft won the election of 1908. But after returning to the US from a years-long overseas adventure, Roosevelt was persuaded to run for the Republican nomination in 1912. The problem is that Taft had no intention of not running.

    The two sparred in the press and in speeches, as Taft called Roosevelt a menace, and Roosevelt called Taft crooked and reactionary. Roosevelt easily won the primaries that year, but few states held them, and Taft easily won the majority of delegates in state party meetings. The 1912 Convention, then, was a running battle between the two.

    Roosevelt's supporters accused Taft of fraud, while screaming matches and fistfights broke out between the two sides. Finally, Roosevelt's side attempted to get 72 Taft delegates thrown out. The effort failed, and Roosevelt withdrew to start his own party. The general election saw Republican votes split between Roosevelt and Taft, allowing Woodrow Wilson to win.

  • 1920 Republican Convention - Harding Emerges from Nowhere

    1920 Republican Convention - Harding Emerges from Nowhere

    The 1920 Republican Convention began as a bitterly contested fight between 10 different candidates, including a number of notable names. Ohio senator Warren G. Harding had been an early front-runner, having stayed above the arguing. But he'd faded by the convention, with World War I hero Leonard Wood and Illinois governor Frank Lowden leading.

    After ten ballots, Harding emerged as the favorite, a compromise candidate who would please all factions of the party. Another dark horse emerged in Pennsylvania senator Philander Knox, but several other candidates elected not to release their delegates to Knox, and Harding won the nomination. It was seen as the quintessential "smoke-filled room" convention, with Harding essentially being selected by party elite, despite him not being well-liked.