The 1880 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 2, 1880, as part of the 1880 United States presidential election . State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .[ 2]
Nevada was won by General Winfield Scott Hancock (D –Pennsylvania ), running with former Representative William Hayden English , with 52.40% of the popular vote, against Representative James A. Garfield (R -Ohio ), running with the 10th chairman of the New York State Republican Executive Committee Chester A. Arthur , with 47.60% of the vote.[ 2] This was the first time Nevada voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, with Hancock's victory being generally attributed to the fact that Garfield was viewed as weaker than Hancock on the hot-bed issue of controlling immigration from China – which both major parties promised to do and which the Nevada electorate was overwhelmingly in favor of.[ 3]
This is the first occasion where a Republican won without the state. This was the first election in which a Democratic candidate carried Douglas County , Storey County , Washoe County , and White Pine County ; they would not back a Democrat again until 1896.