The other main contender for the Republican nomination was James G. Blaine. Blaine, a senator from Maine who had also served in the United States House of Representatives, including holding the Speaker of the House position from 1869 to 1875, was in the competition to prevent Grant's nomination. Four years earlier Blaine had campaigned for the party's nomination; in the weeks prior to the 1876 convention, he was accused of committing fraudulent activities involving railroad stocks. The specifics of Blaine's involvement were detailed in the Mulligan letters. Blaine pleaded his own defense on the floor of the House of Representatives, and he read aloud selected, edited portions of the letters that were not incriminating. Despite his attempt to clear his name, Blaine was tarnished by the scandal throughout the rest of his political career. On the Sunday before balloting was to begin in Cincinnati, Ohio, Blaine collapsed at the steps of Washington Congregational Church. He was unconscious for two days, and as a result, he lost supporters who were doubtful over his health and whether he was capable of handling the presidency. Blaine was also ridiculed by opponents, who accused him of faking illness to gain sympathy; the "New York Sun" headlined "Blaine Feigns a Faint". On the first ballot of the 1876 convention, Blaine received 285 votes, while his political enemy, Roscoe Conkling, was in second place with only 99 votes. Blaine and Conkling had a long-standing political feud that started at a debate on the floor of the House of Representatives in 1866. After six more ballots resulted in no consensus, Conkling switched his support to Rutherford B. Hayes, who ultimately beat Blaine for the nomination.