Let's say in the midst of the chaos pertaining to the 1876 election, a radical Klansman (closely associated with the Southern Democratic Party) assassinates Hayes a couple weeks after the appointment of the Electoral Commission established by Grant. What happens next? I'm assuming this would reinvigorate Reconstruction, and troops would remain in the South, but how long would it take to establish the new President (likely Wheeler, the Republican Vice Presidential candidate)? How would Democrats respond to this event? Would Tilden announce he is withdrawing his candidacy and supporting Wheeler, as a measure of national unity? If the Democrats try to force Tilden to be accepted as the President, how would their image be impacted?