1884
California in 1884
The 1884 contest saw California line up behind Blaine, delivering 8 electoral votes to the Republican ticket. The presidency went elsewhere: Grover Cleveland (Democratic) won nationally, while California had backed a different ticket.
The result flipped California away from the Democratic it had supported in 1880. California did not move alone — neighboring Oregon and Nevada broke the same way in 1884. 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, Grover Cleveland finished with 219 of the 401 electoral votes to James G. Blaine's 182. Grover Cleveland led the national popular vote with 48.85% of the ballots cast.
California in nearby cycles
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