[1] Following the reading of the official call of the convention and delivery of an opening prayer, John Sharp Williams of Mississippi was named the honorary chairman of the gathering,[1] emblematic of a return to power by the conservative Bourbon wing of the party.

[2] However, with the popularity of President Theodore Roosevelt, many of the most prominent Democrats, such as Cleveland and former Attorney General Richard Olney, refused to run.

[2] With the reform wing around Bryan and the ethnic political machine of Tammany Hall unable to agree upon a single alternative candidate, Parker was seen by many contemporary observers as a prohibitive favorite to win the nomination.

With Democratic prospects in the November election appearing bleak, most prominent politicians expressed no interest in the vice presidential nomination, or declined when asked to consider it.

[4] Davis received the nomination because party leaders believed that as a millionaire mine owner, railroad magnate, and banker he could be counted on to help finance the campaign.