1880 United States presidential election in California

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1880 United States presidential election in California
First Bear Flag of California (1846).svg
  1876 November 2, 1880 1884  
  WinfieldScottHancock2 (cropped 3x4).jpg James Abram Garfield, photo portrait seated (cropped).jpg
Nominee Winfield S. Hancock James A. Garfield
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Pennsylvania Ohio
Running mate William H. English Chester A. Arthur
Electoral vote51
Popular vote80,442 [lower-alpha 1] 80,348 [lower-alpha 2]
Percentage48.954%48.897%

California Presidential Election Results 1880.svg
County Results

President before election

Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican

Elected President

James A. Garfield
Republican

The 1880 United States presidential election in California was held on November 2, 1880, as part of the 1880 United States presidential election. State voters chose six representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Contents

California narrowly voted for the Democratic nominee, United States Army officer Winfield Hancock, over the Republican nominee, Ohio representative James A. Garfield. The 94-vote margin was the smallest in any statewide presidential election since Henry Clay won Maryland by only four votes in 1832, and as of 2020 it stands as by percentage of the vote the eleventh-closest statewide presidential election result on record – although California would later see even closer results in 1892 and 1912. [lower-alpha 3]

At the time, voters in California voted for individual electors, with the top six candidates being elected. One of the electors on the Democratic ticket was David S. Terry, a controversial figure in California politics due to his killing of David C. Broderick in a duel in 1859. As a result, about five hundred Democratic voters scratched Terry's name off of their ballots. [1] Due to the closeness of the election, these lost votes caused Terry to receive fewer votes than the entire Republican ticket and thus a single Republican elector won the sixth-most votes to claim the last elector position. This was the first occasion in which California's electoral vote was split, rather than being awarded to a single candidate. This would subsequently occur in California three additional times in 1892, 1896, and 1912. [2]

This result constituted the first Democratic victory in California since 1856 [3] when the Republican Party had only recently formed. It has been argued that the unexpected Democratic win was due almost entirely to Garfield being viewed as weaker than Hancock on the hot-bed issue of controlling immigration from China – which both major parties promised to do and which the California electorate was overwhelmingly in favor of. [4]

As a result of Garfield's loss, he became the first Republican to win the presidency without carrying California. This would not occur again until 120 years later. This was the first time ever that California voted for the losing candidate, which only occurred four times in the next 100 years- in 1884, 1912, 1960, and 1976.

Results

General Election Results [5]
PartyPledged toElectorVotes
Democratic Party Winfield Scott HancockR. F. Del Valle80,442
Democratic Party Winfield Scott HancockBarclay Henley80,428
Democratic Party Winfield Scott HancockWilliam T. Wallace80,426
Democratic Party Winfield Scott HancockJ. C. Shorb80,420
Democratic Party Winfield Scott HancockW. B. C. Brown80,413
Republican Party James A. GarfieldHenry Edgerton80,348
Republican Party James A. GarfieldJohn F. Miller80,282
Republican Party James A. GarfieldJohn A. Bauer80,281
Republican Party James A. GarfieldThomas R. Bard80,253
Republican Party James A. GarfieldW. W. McKaig80,245
Republican Party James A. GarfieldCharles N. Fox80,229
Democratic Party Winfield Scott Hancock David S. Terry 79,885 [lower-alpha 4]
Greenback Party James B. WeaverJ. E. Clark3,394
Greenback Party James B. WeaverF. P. Dann3,381
Greenback Party James B. WeaverJames Kidney3,378
Greenback Party James B. WeaverGeogre T. Elliott3,369
Greenback Party James B. WeaverT. J. McQuiddy3,365
Greenback Party James B. WeaverJ. H. Redstone2,531
Greenback Party James B. WeaverB. K. Lowe830 [lower-alpha 5]
Prohibition Party Neal S. DowM. C. Winchester61
Prohibition Party Neal S. DowG. W. Caldwell56
Prohibition Party Neal S. DowW. O. Clark56
Prohibition Party Neal S. DowJohn Woods56
Prohibition Party Neal S. DowGeorge Bramall54
Prohibition Party Neal S. DowG. W. Webb49
Anti-Masonic Party John W. PhelpsLiba Finch6
Anti-Masonic Party John W. PhelpsM. A. Harrow6
Anti-Masonic Party John W. PhelpsL. B. Lathrop6
Anti-Masonic Party John W. PhelpsD. Morrill6
Anti-Masonic Party John W. PhelpsP. Beck5
Anti-Masonic Party John W. PhelpsR. Metcalf5
Write-in Scattering70
Votes cast [lower-alpha 6] 164,321


Results by county

County Winfield Scott Hancock [6]
Democratic
James Abram Garfield [6]
Republican
James Baird Weaver [6]
Greenback
Neal S. Dow [6]
Prohibition
John W. Phelps [6]
Anti-Masonic
Scattering [6]
Write-in
MarginTotal votes cast [lower-alpha 7]
# %# %# %# %# %# %# %
Alameda 3,89439.35%5,89759.58%810.82%00.00%00.00%250.25%-2,003-20.24%9,897
Alpine 4138.32%6661.68%00.00%00.00%00.00%00.00%-25-23.36%107
Amador 1,41151.12%1,34548.73%40.14%00.00%00.00%00.00%662.39%2,760
Butte 1,83250.25%1,81449.75%00.00%00.00%00.00%00.00%180.49%3,646
Calaveras 1,13749.18%1,15750.04%180.78%00.00%00.00%00.00%-20-0.87%2,312
Colusa 1,60764.49%88235.39%30.12%00.00%00.00%00.00%72529.09%2,492
Contra Costa 1,01043.69%1,30256.31%00.00%00.00%00.00%00.00%-292-12.63%2,312
Del Norte 29752.85%26346.80%20.36%00.00%00.00%00.00%346.05%562
El Dorado 1,52051.30%1,41947.89%240.81%00.00%00.00%00.00%1013.41%2,963
Fresno 1,13364.60%61334.95%80.46%00.00%00.00%00.00%52029.65%1,754
Humboldt 73525.51%1,42049.29%72525.16%10.03%00.00%00.00%-685-23.78%2,881
Inyo 27446.05%32153.95%00.00%00.00%00.00%00.00%-47-7.90%595
Kern 66158.44%46340.94%70.62%00.00%00.00%00.00%19817.51%1,131
Lake 67759.33%45439.79%100.88%00.00%00.00%00.00%22319.54%1,141
Lassen 30143.50%32346.68%649.25%20.29%00.00%20.29%-22-3.18%692
Los Angeles 2,85346.90%2,91447.90%3065.03%100.16%00.00%00.00%-61-1.00%6,083
Marin 56141.71%76156.58%231.71%00.00%00.00%00.00%-200-14.87%1,345
Mariposa 59858.06%43241.94%00.00%00.00%00.00%00.00%16616.12%1,030
Mendocino 1,31357.34%96942.31%40.17%10.04%00.00%30.13%34415.02%2,290
Merced 73658.60%51641.08%40.32%00.00%00.00%00.00%22017.52%1,256
Modoc 49054.08%41045.25%00.00%60.66%00.00%00.00%808.83%906
Mono 82146.36%91351.55%221.24%80.45%00.00%80.45%-92-5.19%1,772
Monterey 1,20548.16%1,26050.36%371.48%00.00%00.00%00.00%-55-2.20%2,502
Napa 1,08246.84%1,19951.90%261.13%30.13%00.00%00.00%-117-5.06%2,310
Nevada 2,02947.27%2,24152.21%220.51%00.00%00.00%00.00%-212-4.94%4,292
Placer 1,41645.43%1,64352.71%581.86%00.00%00.00%00.00%-227-7.28%3,117
Plumas 64547.99%69851.93%10.07%00.00%00.00%00.00%-53-3.94%1,344
Sacramento 2,81741.66%3,79456.11%1502.22%00.00%00.00%10.01%-977-14.45%6,762
San Benito 64659.81%42939.72%40.37%00.00%10.09%00.00%21720.09%1,080
San Bernardino 71147.81%73049.09%463.09%00.00%00.00%00.00%-19-1.28%1,487
San Diego 54641.74%74356.80%191.45%00.00%00.00%00.00%-197-15.06%1,308
San Francisco 21,47152.06%19,08046.27%6721.63%00.00%00.00%160.04%2,3915.80%41,239
San Joaquin 2,40948.32%2,56851.51%70.14%00.00%10.02%00.00%-159-3.19%4,985
San Luis Obispo 72941.99%83047.81%1719.85%60.35%00.00%00.00%-101-5.82%1,736
San Mateo 72048.32%76051.01%100.67%00.00%00.00%00.00%-40-2.68%1,490
Santa Barbara 71737.38%90747.29%29315.28%00.00%00.00%10.05%-190-9.91%1,918
Santa Clara 2,82146.67%3,11351.50%1051.74%00.00%00.00%60.10%-292-4.83%6,045
Santa Cruz 1,10244.96%1,23650.43%1104.49%20.08%00.00%10.04%-134-5.47%2,451
Shasta 87749.97%86849.46%100.57%00.00%00.00%00.00%90.51%1,755
Sierra 55935.65%99763.58%120.77%00.00%00.00%00.00%-438-27.93%1,568
Siskiyou 90052.36%80046.54%181.05%10.06%00.00%00.00%1005.82%1,719
Solano 1,95949.70%1,96349.80%130.33%00.00%00.00%70.18%-4-0.10%3,942
Sonoma 2,62852.14%2,29045.44%1112.20%110.22%00.00%00.00%3386.71%5,040
Stanislaus 1,16160.69%75239.31%00.00%00.00%00.00%00.00%40921.38%1,913
Sutter 59149.33%60250.25%00.00%50.42%00.00%00.00%-11-0.92%1,198
Tehama 95452.33%86847.61%10.05%00.00%00.00%00.00%864.72%1,823
Trinity 45749.14%46449.89%90.97%00.00%00.00%00.00%-7-0.75%930
Tulare 1,30655.13%91738.71%1466.16%00.00%00.00%00.00%38916.42%2,369
Tuolumne 1,00151.65%92247.57%150.77%00.00%00.00%00.00%794.08%1,938
Ventura 52246.40%59953.24%40.36%00.00%00.00%00.00%-77-6.84%1,125
Yolo 1,37451.83%1,25647.38%120.45%50.19%40.15%00.00%1184.45%2,651
Yuba 1,18550.28%1,16549.43%70.30%00.00%00.00%00.00%200.85%2,357
Total80,44248.954%80,34848.897%3,3942.07%610.04%60.00%700.04%940.057%164,321

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democrat to Republican

Notes

  1. Many sources give the Hancock vote as 80,426, which is the number of votes received by the first Democratic elector listed, but this figure is not the highest number of votes received by the Democratic ticket
  2. Many sources give the Garfield vote as 80,282, which is the number of votes received by the first Republican elector listed, but this figure is not the highest number of votes received by the Republican ticket
  3. Other closer results have been Florida in 2000 (closest), Maryland in 1904 (although voters voted for individual electors), Maryland in 1832, New Mexico in 2000, Kentucky in 1896 and Kentucky in 1952, Hawaii in 1960 and in New Hampshire in 1916.
  4. The state's official source gives 79,858 but this appears to be a misprint. Newspapers of the time all reported this figure as 79,885 and the county figures add up to the latter total.
  5. Appears to have replaced J. H. Redstone on some Greenback ballots
  6. Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
  7. Based on the highest elector on each ticket

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References

  1. "The Napa Daily Register". California Digital Newspaper Collection. The Napa Daily Register. November 8, 1880. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  2. "DIVIDED ELECTORAL VOTES" . Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. November 11, 1912. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  3. Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; Presidential General Election Results Comparison – California
  4. Gold, Martin; Forbidden Citizens: Chinese Exclusion and the U.S. Congress: A Legislative History; p. 141 ISBN   1587332353
  5. State and County Governments, 1881 Executive, Judicial, and Legislative Departments State of California. Sacramento, California: State Printing Office. p. 15. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Original Manuscript Returns, California State Archives