The 1880 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on November 2, 1880, as part of the 1880 United States presidential election . Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
Colorado voted for the Republican nominee, James A. Garfield , over the Democratic nominee, Winfield Scott Hancock . Garfield won the state by a margin of 5.23 points. Before Populist candidate James Weaver's 1892 victory transitioned the state into being Democratic-leaning , this was the closest a Democrat came to winning the state. Additionally, it was the only time a Democrat won any counties other than Las Animas , Bent , and Huerfano until 1896 .[ 1]
Hancock's strength was part of a brief surge for Democrats in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific: Democrats captured California for the first time since 1856, Nevada for the first time ever, and fell only 1.63% short in Oregon . This surge can largely be attributed to a letter attributed to Garfield, first printed in a New York newspaper named Truth , that declared Garfield was in favor of allowing Chinese immigration for its cheap labor . Despite the fact that it was a blatant falsehood, it cost Republicans in the west where Chinese immigrants were often accused of stealing jobs from American laborers.[ 2]
Results
Results by county
County
James Abram Garfield [ 4] Republican
Winfield Scott Hancock [ 4] Democratic
James Baird Weaver [ 5] Greenback
Various candidates[ 5] Other parties
Margin
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
Routt
67.24%
39
32.76%
19
0.00%
0
34.48%
20
El Paso
65.36%
1,151
32.94%
580
1.70%
30
32.42%
571
Weld
56.26%
804
26.10%
373
17.56%
251
0.07%
1
30.16%
431
Clear Creek
60.02%
1,567
36.81%
961
3.18%
83
23.21%
606
Boulder
54.66%
1,313
33.14%
796
12.20%
293
21.52%
517
Larimer
53.26%
646
31.99%
388
14.67%
178
0.08%
1
21.27%
258
Gilpin
59.74%
1,236
38.91%
805
1.26%
26
0.10%
2
20.83%
431
Rio Grande
60.08%
298
39.92%
198
0.00%
0
20.16%
100
Grand
57.08%
121
41.04%
87
1.89%
4
16.04%
34
Saguache
57.19%
509
41.69%
371
0.45%
4
0.67%
6
15.51%
138
Custer
54.18%
1,297
44.32%
1,061
1.50%
36
9.86%
236
Arapahoe
53.36%
4,214
45.35%
3,582
1.29%
102
8.00%
632
Douglas
53.82%
331
45.85%
282
0.16%
1
0.16%
1
7.97%
49
Hinsdale
53.84%
421
46.16%
361
0.00%
0
7.67%
60
Park
52.60%
698
45.06%
598
2.34%
31
7.54%
100
Ouray
53.05%
479
46.29%
418
0.66%
6
6.76%
61
San Juan
52.71%
224
46.12%
196
1.18%
5
6.59%
28
Fremont
50.33%
606
44.02%
530
5.40%
65
0.25%
3
6.31%
76
Jefferson
49.55%
832
47.05%
790
3.39%
57
2.50%
42
Conejos
49.80%
608
50.04%
611
0.16%
2
-0.25%
-3
Summit
48.81%
1,289
50.28%
1,328
0.91%
24
-1.48%
-39
Pueblo
48.93%
824
51.07%
860
0.00%
0
-2.14%
-36
Chaffee
48.50%
1,135
50.77%
1,188
0.73%
17
-2.26%
-53
Gunnison
48.68%
1,012
50.99%
1,060
0.34%
7
-2.31%
-48
Lake
46.70%
3,801
51.56%
4,197
1.74%
142
-4.86%
-396
Elbert
46.68%
176
51.72%
195
1.59%
6
-5.04%
-19
Costilla
46.84%
334
53.16%
379
0.00%
0
-6.31%
-45
Huerfano
46.00%
466
52.52%
532
1.48%
15
-6.52%
-66
La Plata
42.88%
259
57.12%
345
0.00%
0
-14.24%
-86
Bent
41.23%
174
57.35%
242
1.42%
6
-16.11%
-68
Las Animas
30.14%
586
67.59%
1,314
2.26%
44
-37.45%
-728
References