diff --git a/electrum/daemon.py b/electrum/daemon.py
index d0bdee898..c60adbef3 100644
--- a/electrum/daemon.py
+++ b/electrum/daemon.py
@@ -513,11 +513,13 @@ class Daemon(Logger):
         if gui_name in ['lite', 'classic']:
             gui_name = 'qt'
         self.logger.info(f'launching GUI: {gui_name}')
-        gui = __import__('electrum.gui.' + gui_name, fromlist=['electrum'])
-        self.gui_object = gui.ElectrumGui(config, self, plugins)
         try:
+            gui = __import__('electrum.gui.' + gui_name, fromlist=['electrum'])
+            self.gui_object = gui.ElectrumGui(config, self, plugins)
             self.gui_object.main()
         except BaseException as e:
-            self.logger.exception('')
+            self.logger.error(f'GUI raised exception: {repr(e)}. shutting down.')
+            raise
+        finally:
             # app will exit now
-        self.on_stop()
+            self.on_stop()
diff --git a/run_electrum b/run_electrum
index e7f6a29b9..83fb8707d 100755
--- a/run_electrum
+++ b/run_electrum
@@ -370,8 +370,13 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
         if fd is not None:
             plugins = init_plugins(config, config.get('gui', 'qt'))
             d = daemon.Daemon(config, fd)
-            d.run_gui(config, plugins)
-            sys_exit(0)
+            try:
+                d.run_gui(config, plugins)
+            except BaseException as e:
+                _logger.exception('daemon.run_gui errored')
+                sys_exit(1)
+            else:
+                sys_exit(0)
         else:
             result = daemon.request(config, 'gui', (config_options,))