The 1880 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 2, 1880, as part of the 1880 United States presidential election. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Nevada was won by General Winfield Scott Hancock (D–Pennsylvania), running with former Representative William Hayden English, with 52.40% of the popular vote, against Representative James A. Garfield (R-Ohio), running with the 10th chairman of the New York State Republican Executive Committee Chester A. Arthur, with 47.60% of the vote. This was the first time Nevada voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, with Hancock's victory being generally attributed 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 Nevada electorate was overwhelmingly in favor of.Gold, Martin; Forbidden Citizens: Chinese Exclusion and the U.S. Congress: A Legislative History; p. 141
This is the first occasion where a Republican won without the state since it was admitted to into the union. This was the first election in which a Democratic candidate carried Douglas County, Storey County, Washoe County, and White Pine County; they would not back a Democrat again until 1896.
Results + General Election ResultsNevada State Archives, Abstract of Votes Cast at the General Election in Nevada, November 2d, 1880Party Pledged to Elector Votes Democratic Party Winfield Scott Hancock W. E. F. Deal9,613 Democratic Party Winfield Scott Hancock John H. Dennis9,611 Democratic Party Winfield Scott Hancock J. C. McTarnahan9,609 Republican Party James A. Garfield O. H. Gray8,732 Republican Party James A. Garfield E. A. Morton8,732 Republican Party James A. Garfield R. H. Taylor8,725Votes cast 18,345
Results by county Winfield Scott HancockDemocratic James Abram GarfieldRepublican Margin Total votes cast County # % # % # %Churchill9954.70%8245.30%179.39%181Douglas27552.68%24747.32%285.36%522Elko88553.09%78246.91%1036.18%1,667Esmeralda67052.47%60747.53%634.93%1,277Eureka89146.48%1,02653.52%-135-7.04%1,917Humboldt59861.65%37238.35%22623.30%970Lander57652.80%51547.20%615.59%1,091Lincoln41961.98%25738.02%16223.96%676Lyon29545.38%35554.62%-60-9.23%650Nye41855.22%33944.78%7910.44%757Ormsby45242.01%62457.99%-172-15.99%1,076Storey2,76653.82%2,37346.18%3937.65%5,139Washoe82852.31%75547.69%734.61%1,583White Pine44152.56%39847.44%435.13%839Totals9,61352.40%8,73247.60%8814.80%18,345
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Douglas Storey Washoe White Pine
See also United States presidential elections in Nevada
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