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The American Political Almanac
RECONSTRUCTION & THE GILDED AGETHE SYSTEM OF 1896THE NEW DEAL ORDERTHE LONG REALIGNMENTPOLARIZED ERA1868RRRRD1888RDRRR1908RDDRR1928RDDDD1948DRRDD1968RRDRR1988RDDRR2008DDRD2024R
James G. Blaine

Brady-Handy Photograph Collection (Library of Congress) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Republican · 1830–1893

James G. Blaine

United States Secretary of State · United States senator · United States representative

James Gillespie Blaine was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, served as Speaker of the House from 1869 to 1875, and was a United States senator from 1876 to 1881. He served twice as Secretary of State, under presidents James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur in 1881, and under Benjamin Harrison from 1889 to 1892. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1876 and 1880, and received the nomination in 1884, narrowly losing the general election to Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland. Blaine was a prominent figure in the moderate faction of the Republican Party, known as the "Half-Breeds".

On the Ballot

One presidential run
1884Lost48.3% of the vote · 182 EV · v. Grover Cleveland

Strongest counties, 1884

Countytwo-party sharevotes
Burnett, WI95.7%635
St. Charles, LA92.2%990
Isanti, MN91.7%1,364
Beaufort, SC91.3%2,895
Chicot, AR90.5%1,294

Weakest counties, 1884

Countytwo-party sharevotes
Haralson, GA0.0%530
Putnam, GA0.0%519
Wilkes, GA0.0%785
Jackson, LA0.0%658
Sabine, LA0.0%572