sentences:  In 1856, incumbent mayor John T. Towers — a member of the controversial "Know-Nothing" American Party — declined to seek re-election.The Know-Nothings nominated one Silas H. Hill to succeed him as mayor; the city's Democrats, Republicans, and remaining Whigs banded together as the "Anti-Know-Nothing Party" and nominated Magruder.After one of the fiercest campaigns in the history of Washington, Magruder won the mayoral election by a mere 13 votes.