1880 United States presidential election — 24th quadrennial U.S. presidential election
Garfield's 1880 victory was the closest popular vote margin in U.S. presidential history, decided by just 1,898 votes out of millions cast.
Key Facts
- Popular vote margin
- 1,898 votes (0.11%)
- Electoral vote winner
- James A. Garfield (Republican)
- New York margin (tipping point)
- 21,033 votes (1.91%)
- Each major candidate's share
- Just over 48% of popular vote
- Consecutive GOP presidential wins
- 6th and last in a row
- Voter turnout
- One of the highest in U.S. history
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Incumbent President Rutherford B. Hayes declined to seek reelection, opening a contested Republican field. After the party's longest nominating convention, factionalized Republicans settled on Ohio Representative James A. Garfield. Democrats countered with Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, while the Greenback Party fielded Iowa Congressman James B. Weaver, signaling growing fragmentation of the two-party system.
On November 2, 1880, American voters went to the polls in the 24th presidential election. Garfield and Hancock each captured just over 48 percent of the popular vote, with the final margin standing at only 1,898 votes — the smallest ever recorded in a U.S. presidential popular vote. Garfield's advantage was more decisive in the Electoral College, where winning New York proved decisive. It was also the first election in which voters in every state cast ballots directly for presidential electors.
Garfield won the presidency and the Republican Party extended its string of consecutive presidential victories to six. However, Garfield was assassinated during his first year in office and was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur. Hancock's sweep of the South cemented Democratic dominance of that region for generations, while the narrow outcome highlighted the intensely competitive nature of the Gilded Age electorate.
Political Outcome
Republican James A. Garfield defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock by 1,898 popular votes and won the Electoral College decisively, becoming the 20th President of the United States.
Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) presidency
James A. Garfield (Republican) presidency, succeeded by Chester A. Arthur after assassination