Election of 1876
Wheeler was a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention, which had just nominated Rutherford B. Hayes on the seventh ballot.
The convention was recessed for dinner, and as a favor to Roscoe Conkling, the party bosses announced that they would let the New York delegation pick the candidate for Vice President. As the delegation was discussing the matter they were unable to agree on a candidate. "What about Wheeler?" someone asked sarcastically. Soon everyone was having a hearty laugh, including Wheeler, and the next morning he was, much to everyone's surprise, nominated by acclamation. He won the nomination with 366 votes to the 89 for his nearest rival Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, who later served on the Electoral Commission.
Governor Hayes, when he heard of Wheeler's nomination, wrote to his wife Lucy: "I am ashamed to say: Who is Wheeler?" Hayes and Wheeler never served in the House of Representatives at the same time, so Hayes was unfamiliar with his running mate.
Read more about this topic: William A. Wheeler
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