1880
Reading the 1880 result in California
California backed Hancock (Democratic) in the 1880 presidential election, casting 6 electoral votes for the ticket. The presidency went elsewhere: James A. Garfield (Republican) won nationally, while California had backed a different ticket.
The result flipped California away from the Republican ticket it had backed in each of the previous 2 cycles. The region divided — Oregon joined California for the Democratic ticket, while Nevada did not. Over its 44 recorded presidential cycles, California has backed the Republican party more than any other — 22 times in all. The vote fell within the Gilded Age — Industrialization, narrow margins, and patronage politics.
Nationally, James A. Garfield finished with 214 of the 369 electoral votes to Winfield Scott Hancock's 155. James A. Garfield led the national popular vote with 48.31% of the ballots cast.
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