Chinese immigration is another issue in the U.S. Presidential Election of 1880; those in the West, particularly California, are opposed to Chinese immigration, considered antithetical to normal economic growth in that region.

Easterners, such as Senator George F. Hoar, take a more philosophical and religious stand in favor of Chinese immigration.

On the eve of the election, the Democrats widely publish a letter—allegedly over Garfield's signature—which favors Chinese immigration, in an attempt to affect the outcome of the election.

The timing of the letter's publication, some obvious inconsistencies in the letter's wording, and even the handwriting itself, lead many to believe it to be a forgery.

In the general election, Garfield defeats the Democratic candidate Winfield Scott Hancock, another distinguished former Union Army general, by two hundred and fourteen electoral votes to one hundred and fifty-five.

The popular vote has a plurality of just over seven thousand votes out of more than eight million, eight hundred and eighty-nine thousand cast.

He becomes the only man ever to be elected to the Presidency directly from the House of Representatives and is for a short period a sitting Representative, Senator-elect, and President-elect.