1876
The 1876 U.S. presidential election was won by Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) with 185 of 369 electoral votes, defeating Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic). Electoral-vote margin: 1 (185 to 184). Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote to Samuel J. Tilden by 3.0 percentage points. Turnout was 82.6%. The cycle falls in the Gilded Age era of American electoral history.
Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.
A disputed result reshapes Reconstruction
The most disputed election in US history until 2000, with Democrat Samuel Tilden winning the popular vote and initially appearing to win the Electoral College. Twenty electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon were contested, with both parties submitting competing slates of electors. A special Electoral Commission voted 8-7 along party lines to award all disputed votes to Hayes. The resulting 'Compromise of 1877' ended Reconstruction as Hayes withdrew federal troops from the South.
Reconstruction's end; Southern redemption; electoral integrity; railroad corruption
Most disputed election ever; Hayes won despite losing popular vote; ended Reconstruction
This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.
The electoral votes of four states were disputed. Congress referred the matter to the Electoral Commission, which it established for the sole purpose of determining the winner of the election. The Electoral Commission gave the decision to Rutherford B. Hayes.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 1876, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
States · 38 reporting
State results · 1876
- South Carolina Hayes by 889 · 0.5 pts
- Ohio Hayes by 7,516 · 1.1 pts
- Indiana Tilden by 5,515 · 1.3 pts
- California Hayes by 2,769 · 1.8 pts
- Florida Hayes by 922 · 2.0 pts
Scroll the table sideways for every column.
| State | Electoral votes | Samuel J. Tilden Dem | Rutherford B. Hayes Rep | Also named | Margin | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama1 | 10 EV | 102,0021 59.9% | 68,2301 40.1% | None | 33,772 19.8 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Arkansas2 | 6 EV | 58,0712 59.9% | 38,6692 39.9% | None | 19,402 20.0 pts | Tilden Dem |
| California3 | 6 EV | 75,8453 49.1% | 78,6143 50.9% | None | 2,769 1.8 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Colorado4 | 3 EV | Electors were chosen by the legislature. | ||||
| Connecticut5 | 6 EV | 61,9345 50.7% | 59,0345 48.3% | None | 2,900 2.4 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Delaware6 | 3 EV | 13,3816 55.4% | 10,7526 44.6% | None | 2,629 10.9 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Florida7,8 | 4 EV | 22,927 49.0% | 23,849 51.0% | None | 922 2.0 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Georgia9 | 11 EV | 130,0889 72.1% | 50,4469 27.9% | None | 79,642 44.1 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Illinois10 | 21 EV | 258,60110 46.7% | 278,23210 50.2% | Peter Cooper 17,233 · 3.1%10 | 19,631 3.5 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Indiana11 | 15 EV | 213,52611 49.5% | 208,01111 48.3% | Peter Cooper 9,533 · 2.2%11 | 5,515 1.3 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Iowa12 | 11 EV | 112,09912 38.2% | 171,32712 58.4% | Peter Cooper 9,901 · 3.4%12 | 59,228 20.2 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Kansas13 | 5 EV | 37,90213 30.5% | 78,32213 63.1% | Peter Cooper 7,776 · 6.3%13 | 40,420 32.6 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Kentucky14 | 12 EV | 159,69014 61.5% | 97,15614 37.4% | None | 62,534 24.1 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Louisiana15,16 | 8 EV | 70,508 48.4% | 75,315 51.6% | None | 4,807 3.3 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Maine17 | 7 EV | 49,82317 42.7% | 66,30017 56.8% | None | 16,477 14.1 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Maryland18 | 8 EV | 91,78018 56.0% | 71,98118 43.9% | None | 19,799 12.1 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Massachusetts19 | 13 EV | 108,77719 41.9% | 150,06319 57.8% | None | 41,286 15.9 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Michigan20 | 11 EV | 141,09520 44.4% | 166,53420 52.5% | Peter Cooper 9,060 · 2.9%20 | 25,439 8.0 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Minnesota21 | 5 EV | 48,79921 39.3% | 72,96221 58.8% | Peter Cooper 2,311 · 1.9%21 | 24,163 19.5 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Mississippi22 | 8 EV | 112,17322 68.1% | 52,60522 31.9% | None | 59,568 36.2 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Missouri23 | 15 EV | 203,07723 57.7% | 145,02923 41.2% | None | 58,048 16.5 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Nebraska24 | 3 EV | 17,55424 32.9% | 31,91624 59.8% | Peter Cooper 2,320 · 4.3%24 Green Clay Smith 1,599 · 3.0%24 | 14,362 26.9 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Nevada25 | 3 EV | 9,30825 47.3% | 10,38325 52.7% | None | 1,075 5.5 pts | Hayes Rep |
| New Hampshire26 | 5 EV | 38,50926 48.1% | 41,53926 51.8% | None | 3,030 3.8 pts | Hayes Rep |
| New Jersey27 | 9 EV | 115,96227 52.7% | 103,51727 47.0% | None | 12,445 5.7 pts | Tilden Dem |
| New York28 | 35 EV | 521,94928 51.4% | 489,20728 48.2% | None | 32,742 3.2 pts | Tilden Dem |
| North Carolina29 | 10 EV | 125,42729 53.6% | 108,41729 46.4% | None | 17,010 7.3 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Ohio30 | 22 EV | 323,18230 49.1% | 330,69830 50.2% | None | 7,516 1.1 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Oregon31 | 3 EV | 14,14931 47.4% | 15,20631 50.9% | Peter Cooper 510 · 1.7%31 | 1,057 3.5 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Pennsylvania32 | 29 EV | 366,15832 48.3% | 384,12232 50.6% | None | 17,964 2.4 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Rhode Island33 | 4 EV | 10,71233 40.2% | 15,78733 59.3% | None | 5,075 19.1 pts | Hayes Rep |
| South Carolina34,35 | 7 EV | 90,897 49.8% | 91,786 50.2% | None | 889 0.5 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Tennessee36 | 12 EV | 133,16636 59.8% | 89,56636 40.2% | None | 43,600 19.6 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Texas37 | 8 EV | 104,75537 70.0% | 44,80037 30.0% | None | 59,955 40.1 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Vermont38 | 5 EV | 20,25438 31.5% | 44,09238 68.5% | None | 23,838 37.0 pts | Hayes Rep |
| Virginia39 | 11 EV | 130,67039 57.8% | 95,55839 42.2% | None | 35,112 15.5 pts | Tilden Dem |
| West Virginia40 | 5 EV | 56,45540 56.2% | 42,69840 42.5% | Peter Cooper 1,373 · 1.4%40 | 13,757 13.7 pts | Tilden Dem |
| Wisconsin41 | 10 EV | 123,92741 48.4% | 130,66841 51.0% | None | 6,741 2.6 pts | Hayes Rep |
Shares are of each state’s total vote for president. “Not named”: the figures do not give that candidate a line of their own in that state — for example under 1% of the vote, not on the ballot there, or counted on an unnamed line (see the state’s note). Margin is the leader’s lead over the second-placed candidate.
Notes on the figures
- Alabama The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Arkansas The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- California The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Colorado The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
- Connecticut The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Delaware The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Florida These are the returns certified by Florida's canvassing board; the result was disputed and decided by the Electoral Commission.
- Florida This state's 1876 return was disputed and the site follows the returns certified by the state's canvassing board (see docs/data/votes-historic.md). The Tribune Almanac 1878, p. 60, prints Hayes 23,849 and Tilden 22,923 without saying which return it reports, so its figures are not used for this state.
- Georgia The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Illinois The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Indiana The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Iowa The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Kansas The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Kentucky The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Louisiana Louisiana's result was disputed; the Electoral Commission gave its electors to Hayes.
- Louisiana This state's 1876 return was disputed and the site follows the returns certified by the state's canvassing board (see docs/data/votes-historic.md). The Tribune Almanac 1878, p. 60, prints Hayes 75,135 and Tilden 70,636 without saying which return it reports, so its figures are not used for this state.
- Maine The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Maryland The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Massachusetts The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Michigan The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Minnesota The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Mississippi The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Missouri The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Nebraska The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Nevada The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- New Hampshire The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- New Jersey The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- New York The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- North Carolina The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Ohio The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Oregon The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Pennsylvania The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Rhode Island The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- South Carolina South Carolina's result was disputed; the Electoral Commission gave its electors to Hayes.
- South Carolina This state's 1876 return was disputed and the site follows the returns certified by the state's canvassing board (see docs/data/votes-historic.md). The Tribune Almanac 1878, p. 60, prints Hayes 91,870 and Tilden 90,906 without saying which return it reports, so its figures are not used for this state.
- Tennessee The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Texas The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Vermont The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Virginia The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- West Virginia The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
- Wisconsin The official table prints no state total here; the total is the sum of the tickets it lists.
SourcesThe Tribune Almanac and Political Register for 1878 ; Algara & Amlani, U.S. county presidential returns 1868-2020 . How these figures were compiled
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