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Rutherford B. Hayes: Elections
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Election: As the Republican nominee in 1876, Hayes ran 250,000 votes behind Democrat Samuel Tilden, but the count in the Electoral College was disputed. In the most controversial electoral decision in American history, Hayes was awarded all of the 19 contested electors at the last minute--giving him a razor-thin 185-184 "victory."
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On December 30, 1852, Hayes married Lucy Ware Webb. In 1856, he was nominated for but declined a municipal judgeship, but in 1858 accepted appointment as Cincinnati city solicitor by the city council and won election outright to that position in 1859, losing a reelection bid in 1860.
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The young lawyer's personability and good showing in a celebrated homicide case soon won Hayes some reputation and political notice. Like most Northern Whigs during the late 1850s, Hayes had turned to the Republican party. However, he was not excessively interested in political questions; during the momentous election of 1860 he wrote, "I cannot get up much interest in the contest." He preferred the casual society of the "best people," travel, and occasional lectures on temperance.
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