One Dirty Election: 1884

James Garfield was assassinated six months into office. His successor, Chester Arthur, proved a reformer. As a result, the Republican party bosses decided to get rid of him. They needed someone less honest and more easily controlled. They denied Arthur the nomination and threw it to James Blaine.
Senator Blaine had a distinguished career and was a leader of the "half-breeds." The Half-Breeds were moderate Republicans that opposed the ultra conservative Stalwarts. On the other hand, he opposed some Radical Republican efforts to reform the South. This does not necessarily mean Blaine was honest. Evidenced surfaced that Blaine was more than willing to help people for the right price. The Democrats seized on the issue. Their battle cry was "Blaine! Blaine! The Continental Liar from the State of Maine!"
Blaine made an inviting target for the Democrats. Their nominee was not clean either. Grover Cleveland was an able governor of New York and won the nomination after Samuel Tilden withdrew due to ill health. The Democrats attempted to paint Cleveland as a paragon of virtue, but it turned out he was paying child support to a woman that had a child out of wedlock. Maria Halpin was involved with several men at the time. In the 1884 version of the Anna Nicole saga, Cleveland decided to take responsibility as all the other men were married. It is not clear if the child was his or any of the other dozen men she was involved with. The GOP slogan became, "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa?"
The election was very close. Reform minded Republicans known as "Mugwups" supported Cleveland against the corrupt Blaine. The final result was a Cleveland victory 48.5% to 48.2%. The people decided someone with a bastard child was preferable to someone that took bribes. The Democratic answer to "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa?" was "Gone to the White House! Ha! Ha! Ha!"