In 1889, Republicans nominated for Grubb for governor, hoping that the war hero could beat Leon Abbett, a popular former governor. During that year's convention, Grubb broke with tradition and addressed the gathering to thank them for his nomination. In his campaign, he called for ballot reform to break the power of the political machines. While Abbett was expected to easily beat the political novice, the election was close except in Hudson County where that county's machine did not take any chances. For example, more votes were counted in Jersey City's Irish wards than registered voters. Sixty-nine election workers were convicted of fraud and sent to prison. Abbett was still declared the winner even though his entire statewide margin came from Hudson, which sent a large delegation to the inauguration to remind the new Governor of that fact. In the hall, they even placed a banner that read "Hudson 13,515", referring to Abbett's margin from the county. When Abbett used his speech to call for ballot reform himself, a breeze caused the banner to fold and obscure the margin of victory. Senator Wertz was observed to exclaim "See!", as he pointed to the banner, "See how Abbett's majority shrinks as he advocates ballot reform."