In January, caucuses were held in local districts to pick delegates to state conventions. The state conventions would then select a number of these delegates to represent the state at the national convention. Prior to the convention, there was a great deal of machine politics conducted by the candidates. John Sherman utilized Treasury Department employees who owed their jobs to him to meet up at local caucuses across the South to guarantee loyal state delegations. State-level bosses, like Roscoe Conkling, used the state conventions to pick delegates that were politically allied to a particular candidate. In the state delegate-selection convention at Utica, New York, Grant's supporters carried only a 217–180 majority over Blaine supporters, but Conkling passed a resolution declaring that, "the Republicans of New York believe the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant as Presidential candidate of urgent importance, and the delegates this day assembled are called upon and instructed to use their earnest and united efforts to secure his nomination.