1840 and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 27th Congress were held at various dates in different states from July 1840 to November 1841.

1840 and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections
July 6, 1840 – November 2, 1841
All 242 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
122 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader John White John Jones
Party Whig Democratic
Leader's seat Kentucky 9th Virginia 3rd
Last election 116 seats 126 seats
Seats won 142 98
Seat change 26 28
Popular vote 1,089,609 1,021,051
Percentage 51.04% 47.83%
Swing 1.31% 2.18%
  Third party
 
Party Independent
Last election 0 seats
Seats won 2 [lower-alpha 1]
Seat change 2
Popular vote 18,063
Percentage 0.85%
Swing 0.44%
Speaker before election

Robert M. T. Hunter
Whig

 Elected Speaker

John White
Whig

In a Whig wave, voters gave the Whig Party a House majority for the first time. Most Americans experienced the Panic of 1837 as a severe economic downturn. Its perceived mishandling by Democratic President Martin Van Buren fueled new support for alternative economic policies favored by Whigs of which voters had previously been skeptical. Collapse of the Anti-Masonic Party in the late 1830s also drove some third-party incumbents into the Whig Party. Newly elected members included Robert M. T. Hunter, Independent of Virginia,[1][2][3] and Zadok Casey, Independent Democrat of Illinois.[4][5]

Election summaries
↓
98 2 142
Democratic [lower-alpha 2] Whig
State Type Date Total
seats		 Democratic Whig
Seats Change Seats Change
Louisiana Districts July 6–8, 1840 3 1 1 2 1
Missouri At-large August 3, 1840 2 2 0
Illinois Districts August 7, 1840 3 2[lower-alpha 3] 1
Vermont Districts September 4, 1840 5 0 2 5 2
Maine Districts September 14, 1840 8 4 2 4 2
Arkansas At-large October 5, 1840 1 1 0
Georgia At-large October 6, 1840 9 0 9
South Carolina Districts October 12–13, 1840 9 8 1
Ohio Districts October 13, 1840 19 7 4 12 4
Pennsylvania District (25[lower-alpha 4]) October 13, 1840 28 15 2 13 8
New York District (33[lower-alpha 5]) November 2–4, 1840 40 21 2 19 2
Connecticut Districts November 3, 1840 6 0 6
Michigan At-large November 3, 1840 1 0 1 1 1
New Jersey At-large November 3, 1840 6 0 5 6 5
Massachusetts Districts November 9, 1840 12 1 1 11 1
Delaware At-large November 10, 1840 1 0 1 1 1
1841 elections
New Hampshire At-large March 9, 1841 5 5 0
Rhode Island At-large April 21, 1841 2 0 2
Virginia[lower-alpha 6] Districts April 23, 1841 21[lower-alpha 6] 10 2 10 3
Kentucky Districts April 26, 1841 13 2 11
Indiana Districts May 3, 1841 7 1 4 6 4
Tennessee Districts May 6, 1841 13 5 1 8 1
North Carolina Districts May 13, 1841 13 5 3 8 3
Maryland District (7[lower-alpha 7]) May 17, 1841 8 2 3 6 3
Alabama At-large[lower-alpha 8] May 20, 1841 5 5 2 0 2
Mississippi At-large November 1–2, 1841 2 2 0
Total 242 99[lower-alpha 3]
40.9%		 26 142
59.5%		 33
Popular vote
Whig
 
 51.04%
Democratic
 
 47.83%
Others
 
 1.13%
House seats
Whig
 
 58.68%
Democratic
 
 40.50%
Independent
 
 0.83%

The previous election had two minor parties, the Anti-Masonic Party with 6 seats and the Conservative Party (of Virginia) with 2 seats, both of which disappeared in this election.

The 1st session of the 27th Congress began May 31, 1841, before Mississippi had elected Representatives, leaving that State unrepresented until the 2nd session.

Special elections

26th Congress

27th Congress
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
New York 26 Francis Granger Whig 1838 Incumbent resigned March 5, 1841 to become U.S. Postmaster General.
New member elected May 13, 1841.
Whig hold.
Successor seated May 21, 1841.
  • Y John Greig (Whig) 53.36%
  • Bowen Whiting (Democratic) 43.30%
  • Hiram Pitts (Liberty) 3.34%[6]
New York 26 John Greig Whig 1841 (Special) Incumbent resigned September 25, 1841.
New member elected November 3, 1841.
Whig hold.
Successor seated November 27, 1841.
  • Y Francis Granger (Whig) 53.36%
  • Bowen Whiting (Democratic) 45.14%
  • Hiram Pitts (Liberty) 3.96%[7]
Georgia at-large
(Three of the at-large seats)		 William C. Dawson Whig 1836 (Special) Incumbent resigned November 13, 1841 to run for Governor of Georgia.
New member elected December 21, 1841.
Democratic gain.		 Elected on a general ticket:
Eugenius A. Nisbet Whig 1838 Incumbent resigned October 12, 1841.
New member elected December 21, 1841.
Democratic gain.
Julius Caesar Alford Whig 1838 Incumbent resigned October 1, 1841.
New member elected December 21, 1841.
Democratic gain.

Florida Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Iowa Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Maine
See also: List of United States Representatives from Maine and 1840 United States Senate election in Maine

Maine elected its members September 14, 1840.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Maine 1
Maine 2
Maine 3
Maine 4
Maine 5
Maine 6
Maine 7
Maine 8 Thomas Davee Democratic 1836 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Whig gain.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts held its elections November 9, 1840, but one district went to a second ballot on January 4, 1841.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Massachusetts 1
Massachusetts 2
Massachusetts 3
Massachusetts 4 William Parmenter Democratic 1836 Incumbent re-elected.
Massachusetts 5
Massachusetts 6
Massachusetts 7
Massachusetts 8
Massachusetts 9
Massachusetts 10 Henry Williams Democratic 1838 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected on the second ballot.
Whig gain.		 First ballot (November 9, 1840):

Second ballot (January 4, 1841):
Massachusetts 11
Massachusetts 12 John Quincy Adams Whig 1830 Incumbent re-elected.

Wisconsin Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates
See also: Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives

26th Congress
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Iowa Territory at-large William W. Chapman Democratic 1838 Incumbent's term expired by law.
New delegate elected in 1840.
Democratic hold.

27th Congress
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Florida Territory at-large Charles Downing Democratic 1836 Incumbent re-elected on an unknown date.
Iowa Territory at-large Augustus C. Dodge Democratic 1840 Incumbent re-elected August 6, 1841.
Wisconsin Territory at-large James D. Doty Democratic 1838 Incumbent re-elected on an unknown date.

See also

Notes
  1. Includes one Independent from Virginia, and one Independent Democrat from Illinois.
  2. There was 1 Independent and 1 Independent Democrat.
  3. Including one Independent Democrat elected to Illinois's 2nd congressional district.
  4. Includes 3 plural districts
  5. Includes 5 plural districts
  6. Robert M. T. Hunter was elected as an Independent in Virginia's 9th congressional district, and so is not included in the figures here. Hunter had previously run in earlier elections as a Whig.
  7. Includes 1 plural district
  8. Changed from district

References
  1. Dubin 1998, p. 129.
  2. Martis 1989, p. 98.
  3. CQGuide, p. 974.
  4. Dubin 1998, p. 128.
  5. Martis 1989, p. 96.
  6. "Our Campaigns - NY District 26 - Special Election Race - May 11, 1841". OurCampaigns.com.
  7. "Our Campaigns - NY District 26 - Special Election Race - Nov 01, 1841". OurCampaigns.com.
  8. "Our Campaigns - GA At-Large - Special Election Race - Dec 21, 1841". OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  9. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=718376
  10. "Our Campaigns - MA District 4 Race - Nov 09, 1840". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  11. "Our Campaigns - MA District 10 - 1st Trial Race - Nov 09, 1840". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  12. "Our Campaigns - MA District 10 - 2nd Trial Race - Jan 04, 1841". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  13. "Our Campaigns - MA District 12 Race - Nov 09, 1840". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  14. Pelzer, Louis (1908). Shambaugh, Benjamin F. (ed.). "The Early Democratic Party of Iowa". Iowa Journal of History and Politics. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. p. 15. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  15. Pelzer, Louis (1908). Shambaugh, Benjamin F. (ed.). "The Early Democratic Party of Iowa". Iowa Journal of History and Politics. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. p. 16. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

Bibliography
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