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1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1868 & 1869 June 6, 1870 – October 6, 1871 1872 & 1873 →
All 243 seats in the United States House of Representatives 122 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader James G. Blaine Fernando Wood Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Maine 3rd New York 9th Last election 171 seats 61 seats Seats won 136 94 Seat change 35 33 Popular vote 2,719,276 2,441,956 Percentage 49.59% 44.53% Swing 2.22% 0.40%   Third party Fourth party   Party Conservative Liberal Republican Last election 6 seats New Party Seats won 10 2 Seat change 4 2 Popular vote 160,295 55,551 Percentage 2.92% 1.01% Swing 0.27% Pre-creation   Fifth party   Party Independent Last election 0 seats Seats won 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 98,591 Percentage 1.80% Swing 0.81%
Results:      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain      Conservative gain
Speaker before election James G. Blaine Republican Elected Speaker James G. Blaine Republican

The 1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 6, 1870, and October 6, 1871. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 42nd United States Congress convened on March 4, 1871. They occurred in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's first term. Elections were held for all 243 seats, representing 37 states.

With Grant's administration rocked by a number of scandals (including a shady deal for gold speculation that led to a crash in the market and several business deals that saw highranking governmental officials gain kickbacks) and Reconstruction winding down, his Republican Party lost seats to the opposition Democratic Party but retained an overall majority. Also, since white-supremacist governments controlled by the Democratic Party were reestablishing themselves in some portions of the Southern United States, the Democrats were able to make huge gains in this election.

Election summaries

State	Type	Total seats	Democratic		Republican
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Mississippi	District	5	0		5
Alabama	District	6	3	1	3	1
Arkansas	District	3	1		2
California	District	3	0	2	3	2
Connecticut	District	4	1		3
Delaware	At-large	1	1		0
Florida	At-large	1	1	1	0	1
Georgia	District	7	4		3
Illinois	District + 1 at-large	14	6	2	8	2
Indiana	District	11	5	1	6	1
Iowa	District	6	0		6
Kansas	At-large	1	0		1
Kentucky	District	9	9		0
Louisiana	District	5	0		5
Maine	District	5	0		5
Maryland	District	5	5		0
Massachusetts	District	10	0		10
Michigan	District	6	1	1	5	1
Minnesota	District	2	0	1	2	1
Missouri	District	9	4	2	5	2
Nebraska	At-large	1	0		1
Nevada	At-large	1	1	1	0	1
New Hampshire	District	3	3	3	0	3
New Jersey	District	5	2	1	3	1
New York	District	31	16	3	15	3
North Carolina	District	7	5	4	2	4
Ohio	District	19	5	1	14	1
Oregon	At-large	1	1		0
Pennsylvania	District	24	11	3	13	3
Rhode Island	District	2	0		2
South Carolina	District	4	0		4
Tennessee	District	8	6	6	2	6
Texas	District	4	4	3	0	3
Vermont	District	3	0		3
Virginia	District	8	5	5	3
West Virginia	District	3	2	2	1	2
Wisconsin	District	6	2	1	4	1
Total		243	104 42.8%	37	139 57.2%	32

The previous election included 5 Conservatives

Election dates

In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors. This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the States moved their congressional elections to this date as well. In 1870, there remained 12 States that held elections before Election Day, and 4 that held it after at this time:

• Early elections:
  • December 1, 1869: Mississippi (Mississippi was a special case, having held elections for both the 41st Congress upon readmission and for the 42nd Congress on the same day)
  • June 6: Oregon
  • August 4: North Carolina
  • September 6: Vermont
  • September 12: Maine
  • October 11: Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania
  • October 25: West Virginia
  • November 1: South Carolina
• Late elections:
  • March 14, 1871: New Hampshire
  • April 4, 1871: Connecticut
  • August 6, 1871: Montana Territory
  • September 6, 1871: California
  • October 6, 1871: Texas

Special elections

Alabama

Arizona Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Arkansas

California

California elections

← 1868 September 6, 1871 1872 →
3 seats
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 1 2 Seats won 3 0 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 62,539 57,065 Percentage 52.3% 47.7%
Republican hold  Republican gain

Colorado Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Connecticut

Dakota Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Delaware

District of Columbia

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Florida

Florida election

← 1868 November 8, 1870 (Election Day) 1872 →
1 seat
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 1 0 Seats won 1 0 Seat change Popular vote 12,439 11,812 Percentage 51.3% 48.7%

Niblack subsequently successfully challenged Walls's election and was seated from Florida's at-large district on January 29, 1873.

Georgia

Idaho Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

New Mexico Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wisconsin elected six members of congress on Election Day, November 8, 1870.

Wyoming Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates

See also

• 1870 United States elections
  • 1870–71 United States Senate elections
• 41st United States Congress
• 42nd United States Congress

Notes

1. Majority of states held elections on November 8, 1870 (i.e. Election Day).
2. Note that Dubin (p. 221) records 9–10 "Conservatives", and approximately 94 Democrats, as being elected to the 42nd Congress. This contrasts with Martis (pp. 124–125) which offers no separate accounting of "Conservatives" from Democrats and thus records a total of 104 Democratic members of the 42nd Congress.
3. Includes 1 Independent Republican.
4. ^ Elections held early.
5. Elections held at the same time as elections for 41st Congress.
6. ^ Elections held late.
7. Includes 2 Liberal Republicans: Gustavus A. Finkelnburg elected to Missouri's 2nd district, and James G. Blair elected to Missouri's 8th district.
8. Includes 1 Independent Republican, John V. Creely, elected to Pennsylvania's 2nd district.
9. Previous election had 5 Conservatives.
10. Includes 2 Liberal Republicans and 1 Independent Republican.

References

1. Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.
2. ^ "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
3. ^ Guide to U.S. Elections. Vol. II (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. 2010. p. 1046. ISBN 9781604265361. LCCN 2009033938. OCLC 430736650.
4. "State of Connecticut Elections Database » Search Past Election Results". State of Connecticut Elections Database. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
5. ^ Initial result, Democratic candidate successfully challenged Republican victory
6. "Forty-Second Congress (membership roster)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
7. "Our Campaigns - NE - District 01 Race - Oct 11, 1870". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
8. Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Vol. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 277, 278.
9. "TN - District 01". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
10. "TN - District 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
11. "TN - District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
12. "TN - District 04". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
13. "TN - District 05". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
14. "TN - District 06". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
15. "TN - District 07". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
16. "TN - District 08". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
17. "VT Elections Database » Vermont Election Results and Statistics". VT Elections Database. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
18. "Virginia Elections Database » Virginia Election Results and Statistics". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
19. "WV District 01". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
20. "WV District 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
21. "WV District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
22. "AZ Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
23. "CO Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
24. "DK Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
25. "DC Delegate - Initial Election". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
26. "ID Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
27. "MT Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
28. "NM Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
29. "UT Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
30. "WA Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
31. "WY Territorial Delegate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 5, 2021.

Bibliography

• Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses. McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0786402830.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (January 1, 1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0029201701.
• Moore, John L., ed. (1994). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (Third ed.). Congressional Quarterly Inc. ISBN 978-0871879967.
• "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.

External links

• Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)

• 1870 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1871 United States House of Representatives elections
• Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
• William A. Wheeler