James A. Garfield Electioneering: “Our victories have justified our fondest hopes and now I believe that 1880 is within our grasp if we act wisely”

He would get elected to the Senate seat, but before he could take that seat, he was elected president

In 1879, James A. Garfield had been in the House of Representatives for nearly 16 years, and he emerged as the primary Republican voice in the House against Democrats who attempted to attach riders to appropriations bills to eliminate oversight of federal elections in the South. Moreover, his powerful March 29, 1879, speech defending federalism unified the Republican party, securing his reputation and elevating him as a potential presidential contender for the 1880 election. So by late 1879, there was significant talk among top Republicans and in the press regarding Garfield as a presidential candidate.

Initially, however, Garfield was looking toward the open U.S. Senate seat from Ohio, and many supporters and newspapers were encouraging him to seek that post. Garfield wanted the seat, but as was common then, he was unwilling to campaign on his own behalf, leaving the matter to his Republican allies, with some of whom he maintained a correspondence. He was eventually elected to the Senate seat by the Ohio Legislature in 1880, and would have taken that seat in early 1881 had he not been elected to another position in the fall of 1880: twentieth President of the United States.

Autograph letter signed, Mentor, OH, November 10, 1879 to Jonathan T. Updegraff, a Ohio Republican Congressman and backer of Garfield, gauging his support for the Senate seat. “My Dear Updegraff, Your kind letter of the 16th came when I was half dead with the fatigue of our fight, & before I was able to catch up with our correspondence, I had to leave for N.Y. and did not return until last evening.

“Our victories have justified our fondest hopes and now I believe that 1880 is within our grasp if we act wisely. I have had no time to look into the Senatorial question, except as I have picked up the flying comments of the newspapers, and except also the fact that quite a number of the members elect to the legislature. I shall be glad to hear from you fully and confidentially on the subject. Do you know the attitude of Hollingsworth? I see in his interview with the Enquirer correspondent of Oct. 25th he was for Danforth. Is D. a candidate? Please tell me also what you hear of Pond, Franie, and the members from Morgan and Muskingum [counties]. My friends who have looked into the subject somewhat carefully think they know of 52 members and Senators who are for me. How much is Dennison doing? Do you know what is the basis of his hope? With pleasant memories of my stay at your home, and of our journies together, I am…J.A. Garfield. P.S. I go to Washington on Saturday next. J.A.G.” With the envelope still present. The Dennison referenced was William Dennison, who did indeed run for the Senate post to which Garfield was elected.

A very interesting piece of electioneering by Garfield, as he reaches out to a supporter to determine the depth and scope of his support for the U.S. Senate.