1876 United States presidential election

The 1876 United States presidential election was the 24th election in the history of the United States. It occurred on November 7, 1876. This election was between Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio and Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York.

1876 United States presidential election

← 1872 November 7, 1876 1880 →

369 members of the Electoral College
185 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout82.6%[1] Increase 10.5 pp
  President Rutherford Hayes 1870 - 1880 Restored (cropped).jpg Samuel Tilden. Portrait of the American politician, who served as the 25th Governor of New York, Samuel Jones Tilden (1814-1886), by José María Mora, c. 1870 (cropped).jpg
Nominee Rutherford B. Hayes Samuel J. Tilden
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Ohio New York
Running mate William A. Wheeler Thomas A. Hendricks
Electoral vote 185 184
States carried 21 17
Popular vote 4,034,142 4,286,808
Percentage 47.9% 50.9%

ElectoralCollege1876.svg
Presidential election results map. Red denotes those won by Hayes/Wheeler, blue denotes states won by Tilden/Hendricks. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election

Ulysses S. Grant
Republican

Elected President

Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican

Garfield won the election in the closest margin in U.S History, securing 185 electoral votes, while Hancock got 184 electoral votes, 1 less than needed to win. Its resolution involved negotiations between the two major parties (Republicans and Democrats) resulting in the Compromise of 1877, and on March 2, 1877, the House and Senate counted the electoral votes and confirmed Hayes as President-Elect. It was the second of five U.S. presidential elections in which the winner did not win a plurality of the national popular vote (the first since 1824).

Candidates

Republican Party:

Presidential:

Vice-presidential:

  • William A. Wheeler, Congressman from New York (1861-1863; 1869-1877) (Vice-Presidential Nominee)
  • Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Senator of New Jersey (1866-1869; 1871-1877) (Nephew of Theodore Frelinghuysen; 1844 Whig VP Nominee)
  • Marshall Jewell, Postmaster General of the United States (1874-1876)
  • Stewart L. Woodford, former Congressman of New York's 3rd Congressional District (1873-1874) (Declined)
  • Joseph R. Hawley, Senator from Connecticut (1881-1905)

Democratic Party:

Nominee:

Democratic Party Ticket, 1876
Samuel J. Tilden Thomas A. Hendricks
for President for Vice President
25thGovernor of New York(1875–1876) 25thGovernor of Indiana(1873–1877)

Withdrew Candidates

Vice-presidential nominee:

  1. "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press.