The race was by no means a sure thing for Trudeau, and a number of potent candidates remained in the contest. Finance Minister Mitchell Sharp was one of the highest-profile cabinet ministers and represented the same liberal wing of the party as Trudeau. His campaign was badly hurt, however, when on February 19 the government was unexpectedly defeated on a tax bill, almost forcing a snap election. Pearson was out of the country, and as senior minister and finance minister getting the bill passed was Sharp's responsibility. After this debacle Sharp was prevented from campaigning through much of March by having to deal with a collapse in the world gold market. Though he campaigned intensively in the last few days, internal polling found that Sharp had fewer than 150 delegates and was unlikely to even be able to play kingmaker. The day before the convention, Sharp dropped out of the race and endorsed Trudeau. Sharp brought other ministers with him into the Trudeau camp, including Jean Chrétien, and at least a hundred delegates. The endorsement of the respected elder statesman also reassured many who liked Trudeau but were worried about his radical image.