In the prelude to the 1896 state elections, North Carolina's Republicans were deeply divided over ideology and how to approach Fusionism. One faction, the radical Fusionists led by Russell, favored cooperation and combined electoral tickets with the Populists at all levels of government—including the presidential election—and backed free silver. The opposing faction, the "Old Guard", repudiated free silver and wanted to front a straight Republican electoral ticket. The Old Guard was led by three Piedmont Republicans: Oliver H. Dockery, Alfred Eugene Holton, and Thomas Settle. Black Republicans were also divided. A conservative faction, led by Henry P. Cheatham and John C. Dancy, favored a straight Republican ticket and opposed Russell for insulting blacks in previous years by supporting lily-white ideas. They also distrusted the Populists, fearing that relying on them would disenchant upper middle class and wealthy whites who had hitherto been the chief protectors of blacks' civil rights. They furthermore figured that Democrats would divide a prospective Fusionist coalition by employing race-baiting tactics, thus dooming their electoral chances. The black Fusionists, led by James H. Young and George Henry White, disfavored the passive role the conservatives thought politics held for blacks and were pleased with the electoral reforms passed by the Fusionist coalition in the state legislature, fearing disenfranchisement if the Democrats retook of the body. Russell and Dockery emerged as the early major contenders for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
