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United States presidential election of 1880
United States government
Quick Facts
- Date:
- November 2, 1880
United States presidential election of 1880, American presidential election held on November 2, 1880, in which Republican James A. Garfield defeated Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock. Among presidents who won the popular vote, Garfield’s margin of victory remains the narrowest in history. Because Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes had pledged to serve only one term, the run-up to the 1880 election saw both major parties eagerly seeking to designate a standard-bearer. The Stalwarts—a conservative faction of the Republican Party that included powerful party leaders such as New York Sen. Roscoe Conkling—favored former president Ulysses S. Grant. Though Grant’s presidency had been marred ...(100 of 660 words)