1880 United States presidential election in California
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Elections in California |
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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.
California narrowly voted for the Democratic nominee, United States Army officer Winfield Hancock, over the Republican nominee, Ohio representative James A. Garfield. The 144-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.[a] One electoral vote was awarded to Garfield. This was the first occasion in which California's electoral vote was split, rather than being awarded to a single candidate. This would only subsequently occur in California three additional times (1892, 1896, and 1912.[1]
This result constituted the first Democratic victory in California since 1856[2] when the Republican Party had only recently formed. The Democrats wouldn't carry the state again until 1892. The unexpected Democratic win was due almost entirely to the fact that Garfield was 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.[3]
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.
Results[]
1880 United States presidential election in California[4] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
Democratic | Winfield Hancock | 80,426 | 48.98% | 5 | |
Republican | James A. Garfield | 80,282 | 48.89% | 1 | |
Greenback | James Weaver | 3,381 | 2.06% | 0 | |
No party | Write-ins | 70 | 0.04% | 0 | |
Prohibition | Neal S. Dow | 54 | 0.03% | 0 | |
Anti-Masonic | John W. Phelps | 5 | 0.00% | 0 | |
Invalid or blank votes | — | ||||
Totals | 167,218 | 100.00% | 6 | ||
Voter turnout | — |
Results by county[]
County | Winfield Scott Hancock[5] Democratic |
James Abram Garfield[5] Republican |
James Baird Weaver[6] Greenback |
Various candidates[6] Other parties |
Margin | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | |
Fresno | 64.60% | 1,133 | 34.95% | 613 | 0.46% | 8 | 29.65% | 520 | ||
Colusa | 64.49% | 1,607 | 35.39% | 882 | 0.12% | 3 | 29.09% | 725 | ||
Stanislaus | 60.69% | 1,161 | 39.31% | 752 | 0.00% | 0 | 21.38% | 409 | ||
San Benito | 59.81% | 646 | 39.72% | 429 | 0.37% | 4 | 0.09% | 1 | 20.09% | 217 |
Lake | 59.33% | 677 | 39.79% | 454 | 0.88% | 10 | 19.54% | 223 | ||
Merced | 58.60% | 736 | 41.08% | 516 | 0.32% | 4 | 17.52% | 220 | ||
Kern | 58.44% | 661 | 40.94% | 463 | 0.62% | 7 | 17.51% | 198 | ||
Tulare | 55.13% | 1,306 | 38.71% | 917 | 6.16% | 146 | 16.42% | 389 | ||
Mariposa | 58.06% | 598 | 41.94% | 432 | 0.00% | 0 | 16.12% | 166 | ||
Mendocino | 57.34% | 1,313 | 42.31% | 969 | 0.17% | 4 | 0.17% | 4 | 15.02% | 344 |
Modoc | 54.08% | 490 | 45.25% | 410 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.66% | 6 | 8.83% | 80 |
Sonoma | 52.14% | 2,628 | 45.44% | 2,290 | 2.20% | 111 | 0.22% | 11 | 6.71% | 338 |
Del Norte | 52.85% | 297 | 46.80% | 263 | 0.36% | 2 | 6.05% | 34 | ||
Siskiyou | 52.36% | 900 | 46.54% | 800 | 1.05% | 18 | 0.06% | 1 | 5.82% | 100 |
San Francisco | 52.06% | 21,471 | 46.27% | 19,080 | 1.63% | 672 | 0.04% | 16 | 5.80% | 2,391 |
Tehama | 52.33% | 954 | 47.61% | 868 | 0.05% | 1 | 4.72% | 86 | ||
Yolo | 51.83% | 1,374 | 47.38% | 1,256 | 0.64% | 17 | 0.15% | 4 | 4.45% | 118 |
Tuolumne | 51.65% | 1,001 | 47.57% | 922 | 0.77% | 15 | 4.08% | 79 | ||
El Dorado | 51.30% | 1,520 | 47.89% | 1,419 | 0.81% | 24 | 3.41% | 101 | ||
Amador | 51.12% | 1,411 | 48.73% | 1,345 | 0.14% | 4 | 2.39% | 66 | ||
Yuba | 50.28% | 1,185 | 49.43% | 1,165 | 0.30% | 7 | 0.85% | 20 | ||
Shasta | 49.97% | 877 | 49.46% | 868 | 0.57% | 10 | 0.51% | 9 | ||
Butte | 50.25% | 1,832 | 49.75% | 1,814 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.49% | 18 | ||
Solano | 49.70% | 1,959 | 49.80% | 1,963 | 0.33% | 13 | 0.18% | 7 | -0.10% | -4 |
Trinity | 49.14% | 457 | 49.89% | 464 | 0.97% | 9 | -0.75% | -7 | ||
Calaveras | 49.18% | 1,137 | 50.04% | 1,157 | 0.78% | 18 | -0.87% | -20 | ||
Sutter | 49.33% | 591 | 50.25% | 602 | 0.08% | 1 | 0.33% | 4 | -0.92% | -11 |
Los Angeles | 46.90% | 2,853 | 47.90% | 2,914 | 5.03% | 306 | 0.16% | 10 | -1.00% | -61 |
San Bernardino | 47.81% | 711 | 49.09% | 730 | 3.09% | 46 | -1.28% | -19 | ||
Monterey | 48.16% | 1,205 | 50.36% | 1,260 | 1.48% | 37 | -2.20% | -55 | ||
San Mateo | 48.32% | 720 | 51.01% | 760 | 0.67% | 10 | -2.68% | -40 | ||
Lassen | 43.50% | 301 | 46.68% | 323 | 9.54% | 66 | 0.29% | 2 | -3.18% | -22 |
San Joaquin | 48.32% | 2,409 | 51.51% | 2,568 | 0.14% | 7 | 0.02% | 1 | -3.19% | -159 |
Plumas | 47.99% | 645 | 51.93% | 698 | 0.07% | 1 | -3.94% | -53 | ||
Santa Clara | 46.67% | 2,821 | 51.50% | 3,113 | 1.74% | 105 | 0.10% | 6 | -4.83% | -292 |
Nevada | 47.27% | 2,029 | 52.21% | 2,241 | 0.51% | 22 | -4.94% | -212 | ||
Napa | 46.84% | 1,082 | 51.90% | 1,199 | 1.13% | 26 | 0.13% | 3 | -5.06% | -117 |
Mono | 46.36% | 821 | 51.55% | 913 | 1.19% | 21 | 0.90% | 16 | -5.19% | -92 |
Santa Cruz | 44.96% | 1,102 | 50.43% | 1,236 | 4.49% | 110 | 0.12% | 3 | -5.47% | -134 |
San Luis Obispo | 41.99% | 729 | 47.81% | 830 | 9.85% | 171 | 0.35% | 6 | -5.82% | -101 |
Ventura | 46.40% | 522 | 53.24% | 599 | 0.36% | 4 | -6.84% | -77 | ||
Placer | 45.43% | 1,416 | 52.71% | 1,643 | 1.86% | 58 | -7.28% | -227 | ||
Inyo | 46.05% | 274 | 53.95% | 321 | 0.00% | 0 | -7.90% | -47 | ||
Santa Barbara | 37.38% | 717 | 47.29% | 907 | 15.28% | 293 | 0.05% | 1 | -9.91% | -190 |
Contra Costa | 43.69% | 1,010 | 56.31% | 1,302 | 0.00% | 0 | -12.63% | -292 | ||
Sacramento | 41.66% | 2,817 | 56.11% | 3,794 | 2.22% | 150 | 0.01% | 1 | -14.45% | -977 |
Marin | 41.71% | 561 | 56.58% | 761 | 1.71% | 23 | -14.87% | -200 | ||
San Diego | 41.74% | 546 | 56.80% | 743 | 1.45% | 19 | -15.06% | -197 | ||
Alameda | 39.34% | 3,894 | 59.59% | 5,899 | 0.82% | 81 | 0.25% | 25 | -20.25% | -2,005 |
Alpine | 38.32% | 41 | 61.68% | 66 | 0.00% | 0 | -23.36% | -25 | ||
Humboldt | 24.91% | 735 | 50.49% | 1,490 | 24.57% | 725 | 0.03% | 1 | -25.58% | -755 |
Sierra | 35.65% | 559 | 63.58% | 997 | 0.77% | 12 | -27.93% | -438 |
Notes[]
- ^ 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.
References[]
- ^ "DIVIDED ELECTORAL VOTES". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. 11 Nov 1912. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; Presidential General Election Results Comparison – California
- ^ Gold, Martin; Forbidden Citizens: Chinese Exclusion and the U.S. Congress: A Legislative History; p. 141 ISBN 1587332353
- ^ "1880 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
- ^ a b Géoelections; Presidential election of 1880 Popular Vote (.xlsx file for €15)
- ^ a b Géoelections; Presidential election of 1880 Popular Vote for James B. Weaver (.xlsx file for €15)
- California election stubs
- 1880 United States presidential election by state
- United States presidential elections in California
- 1880 California elections