Ka kammala wannan magana: A zaben shugaban kasa, wakilin jam'iyyar Republican James Garfield daga Ohio ya ci Janar Winfield Hancock na jam'iyyar Democrat. Ko da yake Garfield ya lashe rinjaye mafi rinjaye na kuri'un zabe, ya lashe kuri'un da aka fi sani da shi ta hanyar mafi ƙanƙanci a cikin tarihin. Shugaba mai jiran gado na Republican Rutherford B. Hayes ya ƙi neman sake zaɓe. Garfield ya fito ne a matsayin mai baƙar fata na Jam'iyyar Republican bayan taron Jam'iyyar Republican na shekara ta 1880, wanda ya yi nasara a kuri'a ta 36 a kan tsohon Shugaban kasa Ulysses S. Grant, Sanata James G. Blaine, da kuma Sanata John Sherman. Hancock ya karbi zaben a
1880 Democratic National Convention a zagaye na biyu, ya kayar da Sanata Delaware Thomas F. Bayard da wasu 'yan takara. Garfield shi ne dan majalisa na farko da aka zaba a matsayin shugaban kasa, kuma ya kasance dan majalisa ne kawai wanda ya lashe zaben shugaban kasa.