1876 United States presidential election in California
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 County Results
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The 1876 United States presidential election in California was held on November 7, 1876, as part of the 1876 United States presidential election. State voters chose six representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
California narrowly voted for the Republican nominee, Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, over the Democratic nominee, New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden.
The 1876 election was the closest two-candidate contest in the history of the Electoral College, with Hayes ultimately winning by a single electoral vote following the controversial resolution of disputed returns in other states. Hayes thus needed all six of California's electoral votes to win. While most sources give Hayes' plurality in California as 2,798, at the time Californian voters chose presidential electors individually. In four subsequent presidential elections (1880, 1888, 1896 and 1912), the overall results were sufficiently close that the state split its electoral ticket between two candidates. If this had occurred in 1876, Tilden would have been elected president.
Results
| Party | Pledged to | Elector | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | John B. Felton | 78,614 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | John H. Jewett | 78,610 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | Morris M. Estee | 78,609 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | John F. Miller | 78,607 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | H. J. Ostrander | 78,605 | |
| Republican Party | Rutherford B. Hayes | D. A. McKinley | 78,604 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | John S. Hager | 75,845 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | J. Campbell Shorb | 75,842 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | Stuart M. Taylor | 75,842 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | Frank Ganahl | 75,841 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | Barclay Henley | 75,839 | |
| Democratic Party | Samuel J. Tilden | Joseph H. Budd | 75,832 | |
| Greenback Party | Peter Cooper | Alfred Credge | 47 | |
| Greenback Party | Peter Cooper | John Condra | 47 | |
| Greenback Party | Peter Cooper | S. Harris Herring | 47 | |
| Greenback Party | Peter Cooper | B. K. Lowe | 47 | |
| Greenback Party | Peter Cooper | J. H. Redstone | 47 | |
| Greenback Party | Peter Cooper | C. B. Smith | 47 | |
| Write-in | Scattering | 19 | ||
| Votes cast[c] | 154,544 | |||
Results by county
| County | Rutherford B. Hayes Republican | Samuel J. Tilden Democratic | Peter Cooper Greenback | Scattering | Margin | Total votes cast[d] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 4,938 | 59.52% | 3,347 | 40.34% | 12 | 0.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,591 | 19.18% | 8,297 |
| Alpine | 110 | 62.86% | 65 | 37.14% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 45 | 25.71% | 175 |
| Amador | 1,172 | 47.13% | 1,315 | 52.87% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −143 | −5.75% | 2,487 |
| Butte | 1,665 | 50.47% | 1,634 | 49.53% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 31 | 0.94% | 3,299 |
| Calaveras | 886 | 48.63% | 936 | 51.37% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −50 | −2.74% | 1,822 |
| Colusa | 766 | 34.29% | 1,468 | 65.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −702 | −31.42% | 2,234 |
| Contra Costa | 1,184 | 58.58% | 837 | 41.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 347 | 17.17% | 2,021 |
| Del Norte | 186 | 44.93% | 228 | 55.07% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −42 | −10.14% | 414 |
| El Dorado | 1,331 | 48.02% | 1,441 | 51.98% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −110 | −3.97% | 2,772 |
| Fresno | 338 | 25.88% | 968 | 74.12% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −630 | −48.24% | 1,306 |
| Humboldt | 1,637 | 59.20% | 1127 | 40.76% | 1 | 0.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 510 | 18.44% | 2,765 |
| Inyo | 343 | 47.77% | 375 | 52.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −32 | −4.46% | 718 |
| Kern | 556 | 39.71% | 844 | 60.29% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −288 | −20.57% | 1,400 |
| Lake | 380 | 35.02% | 702 | 64.70% | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 0.28% | −322 | −29.68% | 1,085 |
| Lassen | 256 | 53.00% | 227 | 47.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 29 | 6.00% | 483 |
| Los Angeles | 3,041 | 45.59% | 3,615 | 54.20% | 14 | 0.21% | 0 | 0.00% | −574 | −8.61% | 6,670 |
| Marin[e][2] | 651 | 51.26% | 619 | 48.74% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 32 | 2.52% | 1,270 |
| Mariposa | 364 | 39.65% | 554 | 60.35% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −190 | −20.70% | 918 |
| Mendocino | 929 | 42.00% | 1,283 | 58.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −354 | −16.00% | 2,212 |
| Merced | 558 | 40.97% | 804 | 59.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −246 | −18.06% | 1,362 |
| Modoc | 208 | 39.25% | 322 | 60.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −114 | −21.51% | 530 |
| Mono | 153 | 55.04% | 125 | 44.96% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 28 | 10.07% | 278 |
| Monterey | 1,182 | 53.80% | 1,012 | 46.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 0.14% | 170 | 7.74% | 2,197 |
| Napa | 1,153 | 54.49% | 963 | 45.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 190 | 8.98% | 2,116 |
| Nevada | 2,300 | 54.70% | 1,905 | 45.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 395 | 9.39% | 4,205 |
| Placer | 1,610 | 55.75% | 1,278 | 44.25% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 332 | 11.50% | 2,888 |
| Plumas | 583 | 53.73% | 502 | 46.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 81 | 7.47% | 1,085 |
| Sacramento | 3,838 | 60.71% | 2,484 | 39.29% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,354 | 21.42% | 6,322 |
| San Benito | 434 | 39.45% | 664 | 60.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.18% | −230 | −20.91% | 1,100 |
| San Bernardino | 674 | 51.85% | 607 | 46.69% | 19 | 1.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 67 | 5.15% | 1,300 |
| San Diego | 794 | 54.31% | 668 | 45.69% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 126 | 8.62% | 1,462 |
| San Francisco | 21,172 | 50.93% | 20,399 | 49.07% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.00% | 773 | 1.86% | 41,572 |
| San Joaquin | 2,270 | 55.10% | 1,850 | 44.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 420 | 10.19% | 4,120 |
| San Luis Obispo | 772 | 44.99% | 944 | 55.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −172 | −10.02% | 1,716 |
| San Mateo | 871 | 55.58% | 696 | 44.42% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 175 | 11.17% | 1,567 |
| Santa Barbara | 1,174 | 61.15% | 743 | 38.72% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.10% | 431 | 22.46% | 1,919 |
| Santa Clara | 3,335 | 52.09% | 3,065 | 47.88% | 1 | 0.02% | 1 | 0.02% | 270 | 4.22% | 6,402 |
| Santa Cruz | 1,537 | 57.59% | 1,132 | 42.41% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 405 | 15.17% | 2,669 |
| Shasta | 625 | 49.37% | 641 | 50.63% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −16 | −1.26% | 1,226 |
| Sierra | 917 | 64.31% | 509 | 35.69% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 408 | 28.61% | 1,426 |
| Siskiyou | 718 | 45.47% | 861 | 54.53% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −143 | −9.06% | 1,579 |
| Solano | 1,951 | 52.67% | 1,753 | 47.33% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 198 | 5.35% | 3,704 |
| Sonoma | 2,432 | 45.50% | 2,907 | 54.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 6 | 0.11% | −475 | −8.89% | 5,345 |
| Stanislaus | 801 | 42.20% | 1,097 | 57.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −296 | −15.60% | 1,898 |
| Sutter | 550 | 49.82% | 553 | 50.09% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.09% | −3 | −0.27% | 1,104 |
| Tehama | 646 | 48.94% | 674 | 51.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −28 | −2.12% | 1,320 |
| Trinity | 388 | 48.74% | 408 | 51.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −20 | −2.51% | 796 |
| Tulare | 986 | 41.85% | 1,370 | 58.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −384 | −16.30% | 2,356 |
| Tuolumne | 809 | 46.90% | 916 | 53.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −107 | −6.20% | 1,725 |
| Ventura | 608 | 50.71% | 591 | 49.29% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 17 | 1.42% | 1,199 |
| Yolo | 1,233 | 47.55% | 1,360 | 52.45% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | −127 | −4.90% | 2,593 |
| Yuba | 1,250 | 53.74% | 1,076 | 46.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 174 | 7.48% | 2,326 |
| Total[f] | 78,614 | 50.87% | 75,845 | 49.08% | 47 | 0.03% | 19 | 0.01% | 2,769 | 1.79% | 154,544 |
Notes
- ^ Many sources give Hayes' vote as 79,258, but this figure corresponds to the first elector listed on the canvass rather than the highest elector on the Republican ticket. It also includes the votes from Marin County which were not counted in the official canvass
- ^ Many sources give Tilden's vote as 76,480, but this figure corresponds to the first elector listed on the canvass rather than the highest elector on the Democratic ticket. It also includes the votes from Marin County which were not counted in the official canvass
- ^ Based on totals for highest elector on each ticket
- ^ Based on highest elector on each ticket
- ^ The votes from Marin County were not counted in the official canvass because the county clerk forgot to submit the county's election returns to the Secretary of State
- ^ Does not include the votes from Marin County
References
- ^ Statement of the vote polled in the several counties of the State of California, for Electors of President and Vice President of the United States, at the General Election held on Tuesday, November 7th AD 1876
- ^ "Disenfranchised". California Digital Newspaper Collection. Marin County Journal. November 30, 1876. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
State and district results of the 1876 United States presidential election | ||
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