Murray had served in the Union Army during the American Civil War as colonel of the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment.

The newly appointed anti-Mormon territorial governor openly supported the Liberal Party of Utah.

Thus, the 1880 territory-wide election for a congressional delegate unexpectedly proved the closest that the Liberal Party got to sending a representative to Washington, D.C.

The protest listed a dozen claims, chiefly that Cannon, born in Liverpool, England, was an un-naturalized alien.

The entire ordeal brought unfavorable national attention to Utah regarding the "Mormon Question" (polygamy).