Editing William McKinley (section)

===Gerrymandering and defeat for re-election===
Recognizing McKinley's potential, the Democrats, whenever they controlled the Ohio legislature, sought to [[Gerrymandering|gerrymander]] or redistrict him out of office.{{sfn|Phillips|p=27}} In 1878, McKinley was redistricted to the [[Ohio's 16th congressional district|16th congressional district]]; he won anyway, causing Hayes to exult, "Oh, the good luck of McKinley! He was gerrymandered out and then beat the gerrymander! We enjoyed it as much as he did."{{sfn|Morgan|p=54}} After the 1882 election, McKinley was unseated on an election contest by a near party-line House vote.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=59–60}} Out of office, he was briefly depressed by the setback, but soon vowed to run again. The Democrats again redistricted Stark County for the 1884 election; McKinley was returned to Congress anyway.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=60–62}}

[[File:Judge cover September 1890 - On to Ohio.png|thumb|''[[Judge (magazine)|Judge]]'' magazine cover from September 1890, showing McKinley (left) having helped dispatch Speaker Reed's opponent in early-voting Maine, hurrying off with the victor to McKinley's "[[gerrymander|jerrymandered]]" Ohio district]]
For 1890, the Democrats gerrymandered McKinley one final time, placing Stark County in the same district as one of the strongest pro-Democrat counties, [[Holmes County, Ohio|Holmes]], populated by solidly Democratic [[Pennsylvania Dutch]]. Based on past results, Democrats thought the new boundaries should produce a Democratic majority of 2,000 to 3,000. The Republicans could not reverse the gerrymander, as legislative elections would not be held until 1891, but they could throw all their energies into the district. The McKinley Tariff was a main theme of the Democratic campaign nationwide, and there was considerable attention paid to McKinley's race. The Republican Party sent its leading orators to Canton, including Blaine (then [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]), Speaker Reed, and President Harrison. The Democrats countered with their best spokesmen on tariff issues.{{sfn|Jensen|pp=150–51}} McKinley tirelessly stumped his new district, reaching out to its 40,000 voters to explain that his tariff:

{{blockquote |
was framed for the people&nbsp;... as a defense to their industries, as a protection to the labor of their hands, as a safeguard to the happy homes of American workingmen, and as a security to their education, their wages, and their investments&nbsp;... It will bring to this country a prosperity unparalleled in our own history and unrivalled in the history of the world."{{sfn|McKinley|p=464}}
}}
[[File:William McKinley by Courtney Art Studio, 1896.jpg|left|thumb|McKinley in 1896]]
Democrats ran a strong candidate in former lieutenant governor [[John G. Warwick]]. To drive their point home, they hired young partisans to pretend to be peddlers, who went door to door offering 25-cent tinware to housewives for 50 cents, explaining the rise in prices was due to the McKinley Tariff. In the end, McKinley lost by 300 votes, but the Republicans won a statewide majority and claimed a moral victory.{{sfn|Jensen|pp=151–53}}