1872  1876 Presidential Election Returns  1880

The corruption of President Ulysses S. Grant had caused a reduction in the popular support for Republicans. Amid the scandals, Republicans nominated Ohio Congressman Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrats nominated Samuel J. Tilden of New York, who was viewed as someone who could clean up corruption. Both vowed to end the corruption of the Grant administration. Tilden was viewed favorably by voters, who gave him a majority of the popular vote, a feat  no Democrat had accomplished since 1856. This was because of the revival of the Southern Democratic Party and Tilden's reputation. The problem for Tilden was that he had amassed only 184 Electoral Votes, which was one short of the needed majority. Disputed returns in three southern states would decide the election, as would one elector from Oregon. There was considerable concern about the tactics used by the Democrats to keep black and white Republicans from voting. South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana all submitted two different sets of returns. The Republicans in those states, who controlled the committees, disallowed enough votes that Hayes would win in those three states. One elector in Oregon was challenged because he held elected office. He was replaced by a Republican elector who voted for Hayes. A 15 member electoral commission was set up by Congress that ultimately decided the election for Hayes in return for favors from the South. The electoral commission had a majority Republican representation, and because of this reality, many believed the election had been stolen from Samuel J. Tilden. Hayes was known by many of his detractors as "his fraudulency." UNITED STATES VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 4,034,142 48 185 Tilden/Hendricks 4,286,808 51 184 Cooper/Cary 83,726 1 0 Smith/Stewart 6,945 0 0 Walker/Kirkpatrick 463 0 0 ALABAMA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 68,708 40 0 Tilden/Hendricks 102,989 60 10 ARKANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 38,649 40 0 Tilden/Hendricks 58,086 60 7 CALIFORNIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 79,258 51 6 Tilden/Hendricks 76,460 49 0 COLORADO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + No Popular Vote -- 3 CONNECTICUT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 59,033 48 0 Tilden/Hendricks 61,927 51 6 DELAWARE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 10,752 45 0 Tilden/Hendricks 13,381 55 3 FLORIDA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 23,849 51 4 Tilden/Hendricks 22,927 49 0 GEORGIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 50,533 28 0 Tilden/Hendricks 130,157 72 11 ILLINOIS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 278,232 50 21 Tilden/Hendricks 258,611 47 0 INDIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 208,011 47 0 Tilden/Hendricks 213,526 49 15 IOWA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 171,326 59 11 Tilden/Hendricks 112,121 38 0 KANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 78,324 63 5 Tilden/Hendricks 37,902 31 0 Cooper/Cary 7,770 6 0 KENTUCKY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 97,568 37 0 Tilden/Hendricks 160,060 61 12 LOUISIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 75,315 52 8 Tilden/Hendricks 70,508 48 0 MAINE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 66,300 57 7 Tilden/Hendricks 49,917 43 0 MARYLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 71,980 44 0 Tilden/Hendricks 91,779 56 8 MASSACHUSETTS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 150,064 58 13 Tilden/Hendricks 108,777 42 0 MICHIGAN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 166,901 52 11 Tilden/Hendricks 141,685 44 0 MINNESOTA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 72,955 59 5 Tilden/Hendricks 48,587 39 0 MISSISSIPPI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 52,603 32 0 Tilden/Hendricks 112,173 68 8 MISSOURI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 145,027 41 0 Tilden/Hendricks 202,086 58 15 NEBRASKA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 31,915 65 3 Tilden/Hendricks 17,413 35 0 NEVADA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 10,383 53 3 Tilden/Hendricks 9,308 47 0 NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 41,540 52 5 Tilden/Hendricks 38,510 48 0 NEW JERSEY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 103,517 47 0 Tilden/Hendricks 115,962 53 9 NEW YORK VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 489,207 48 0 Tilden/Hendricks 521,949 51 35 NORTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 108,484 46 0 Tilden/Hendricks 125,427 53 10 OHIO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 330,698 50 22 Tilden/Hendricks 323,182 49 0 OREGON VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 15,214 51 3 Tilden/Hendricks 14,157 47 0 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 384,184 51 29 Tilden/Hendricks 366,204 48 0 RHODE ISLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 15,787 59 4 Tilden/Hendricks 10,712 40 0 SOUTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 91,786 50 7 Tilden/Hendricks 90,897 50 0 TENNESSEE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 89,566 40 0 Tilden/Hendricks 133,177 60 12 TEXAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 44,800 30 0 Tilden/Hendricks 104,755 70 8 VERMONT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 44,091 68 5 Tilden/Hendricks 20,254 31 0 VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 95,518 40 0 Tilden/Hendricks 140,770 60 11 WEST VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 41,997 42 0 Tilden/Hendricks 56,546 51 5 WISCONSIN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Hayes/Wheeler + 130,067 51 10 Tilden/Hendricks 123,926 48 0 SYMBOLS KEY Republican Democratic Prohibition Other Socialist Labor Greenback Anti-Masonic Winner * Incumbent + Incumbent Party