Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 3, 2016

William McKinley's campaign for US president was successful, defeating William Jennings Bryan, who was both the Democratic and Populist nominee, on November 3, 1896. McKinley, a former Governor of Ohio, refused to deal with eastern bosses such as Thomas Platt and Matthew Quay, who supported favorite son candidates to run against him for the Republican nomination. The large, efficient McKinley organization, run by his friend and political manager Mark Hanna, swept him to a first ballot victory at the 1896 Republican National Convention, with New Jersey's Garret Hobart as his running mate. McKinley intended to run mainly as a protectionist, but free silver became the issue of the day. After Bryan captured the Democratic nomination as a foe of the gold standard, Hanna raised and spent millions to convince voters that free silver would be harmful. McKinley stayed at home in Canton, Ohio, running a front porch campaign that reached millions through press coverage of his speeches, while Bryan toured the nation by rail. McKinley forged an electoral coalition of the well-to-do, urban dwellers, and prosperous farmers that kept the Republicans in power most of the time until 1932.