Governor Rutherford B. Hayes portrait

Governors portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) that hangs in the Ohio Statehouse. Hayes served serve three, two-year terms as Governor of Ohio from 1868-1872 and 1875-1876. The Republican Party had nominated him for governor of Ohio in 1867, in part because of his position on Reconstruction. The opposition candidate was Democrat Allen G. Thurman. The key issue of the campaign was whether African Americans should be given the right to vote. Supporting African-American suffrage, Hayes was successful in his campaign for governor. He also won reelection against George H. Pendleton in 1869. During his two terms as governor, Hayes supported Ohio's ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He did not finish his third term because he was elected President in 1876.