1876 and 1877 United States House of Representatives elections

1876 and 1877 United States House of Representatives elections
	June 5, 1876 – March 1877[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
	June 5, 1876 – March 1877[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
All 293 seats to the United States House of Representatives; 147 seats needed for a majority
	Map of U.S. House elections results from 1876 elections for 45th Congress
Speaker before election; Vacancy; Democratic	Elected Speaker ; Samuel Randall; Democratic

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1876 (with one state in 1877) for Representatives to the 45th Congress. These elections coincided with the (heavily contested) election of President Rutherford B. Hayes and the United States Centennial.

Hayes' Republican Party was able to recover from the Democratic Party many of the seats it had lost two years before as the economy improved slightly. However, the Democrats retained a majority and were able to use the disinterest of the people in Republican Reconstruction-led projects to help keep crucial seats. Republican Congressional leadership had a difficult time distancing itself from the corruption of the Grant administration or the legislature's impact on the economy downturn.

Election summaries

↓
157	136
Democratic	Republican

State	Type	Total seats	Democratic		Republican
State	Type	Total seats	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	8	8	2	0	2
Arkansas	District	4	4[lower-alpha 7]		0
California	District	4	2	1	2	1
Colorado	At-large	1	1	1	0	1
Connecticut	District	4	3		1
Delaware	At-large	1	1		0
Florida	District	2	2	1	0	1
Georgia	District	9	9[lower-alpha 7]		0
Illinois	District	19	8	2	11	4
Indiana	District	13	4	4	9	4
Iowa	District	9	0	1	9	1
Kansas	District	3	0	1	3	1
Kentucky	District	10	10	1	0	1
Louisiana	District	6	5	1	1	1
Maine	District	5	0		5
Maryland	District	6	6		0
Massachusetts	District	11	2	1	9	4
Michigan	District	9	1	2	8	2
Minnesota	District	3	0		3
Mississippi	District	6	6	2	0	2
Missouri	District	13	9	4	4	4
Nebraska	At-large	1	0		1
Nevada	At-large	1	0		1
New Hampshire[lower-alpha 8]	District	3	1	1	2	1
New Jersey	District	7	4	1	3	1
New York	District	33	16	1	17	1
North Carolina	District	8	7		1
Ohio	District	20	8	5	12	5
Oregon	At-large	1	0	1	1	1
Pennsylvania	District	27	10	7	17	7
Rhode Island	District	2	0		2
South Carolina	District	5	2	2	3	2
Tennessee	District	10	8	1	2	1
Texas	District	6	6		0
Vermont	District	3	0		3
Virginia	District	9	8		1
West Virginia	District	3	3		0
Wisconsin	District	8	3		5
Total		293	157[1][lower-alpha 6] 53.6%	27	136[1] 46.4%	31

Popular vote

Democratic			51.27%
Independent			1.17%
Republican			46.47%
Others			1.09%

House seats

Democratic			52.90%
Independent			0.68%
Republican			46.42%

The previous election included 4 Independents, in Illinois and Massachusetts.

[[File:45 us house membership.png|thumb|left|400px|

House seats by party holding plurality in state
80+% Democratic	80+% Republican
60+ to 80% Democratic	60+ to 80% Republican
Up to 60% Democratic	Up to 60% Republican

]]

[[File:45 us house changes.png|thumb|right|400px|

Net gain in party representation
6+ Democratic gain	6+ Republican gain
3-5 Democratic gain	3-5 Republican gain
1-2 Democratic gain	1-2 Republican gain
no net change

]]

Election dates

In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.[2] 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 1876–77, there were still 8 states with earlier election dates, and 1 state with a later election date.

Elections before Election Day (United States):

June 5: Oregon
September 5: Vermont
September 11: Maine
October 4:Georgia
October 10: Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, West Virginia

Standard Election Day:

November 7, 1876

Election after Election Day:

March 13, 1877: New Hampshire

Special elections

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Connecticut 3	Henry H. Starkweather	Republican	1867	Incumbent died January 28, 1876. New member elected April 12, 1876. Republican hold. Winner later re-elected to the next term, see below.	Y John T. Wait (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Connecticut 4	William Henry Barnum	Democratic	1867	Incumbent resigned May 18, 1876 when elected U.S. senator. New member elected November 7, 1876. Democratic hold. Winner also elected to the next term, see below.	Y Levi Warner (Democratic) 52.74% Robbert Hubbard (Republican) 47.26%[3]
Indiana 2

Alabama

Alabama redistricted and eliminated its at-large seats, going from 6 districts and 2 at-large seats to 8 districts. The state also elected a full delegation of Democrats, voting out the two Republicans.

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Alabama 1	Charles Hays Redistricted from the 4th district	Republican	1872	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y James T. Jones (Democratic) 49.25% Frederick G. Bromberg (Independent Democratic) 40.82% William W. Turner (Republican) 9.92%[4]
Alabama 2	New district			New seat. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Hilary A. Herbert (Democratic) 54.90% Gerald B. Hall (Republican) 45.10%[5]
Alabama 3	Jeremiah Norman Williams Redistricted from the 2nd district	Democratic	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Jeremiah Norman Williams (Democratic) 78.34% William H. Betts (Republican) 21.66%[6]
Alabama 4	Jeremiah Haralson Redistricted from the 1st district	Republican	1874	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Charles M. Shelley (Democratic) 37.77% Jeremiah Haralson (Republican) 33.93% James T. Rapier (Colored Republican) 28.30%[7]
Alabama 5	New district			New seat. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Robert F. Ligon (Democratic) 65.77% D.B. Booth (Republican) 34.23%[8]
Alabama 6	Goldsmith W. Hewitt	Democratic	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Goldsmith W. Hewitt (Democratic) 100% Unopposed[9]
Alabama 6	Burwell Boykin Lewis Redistricted from the at-large district	Democratic	1874	Incumbent lost renomination. Democratic loss.	Y Goldsmith W. Hewitt (Democratic) 100% Unopposed[9]
Alabama 7	William Henry Forney Redistricted from the at-large district	Democratic	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William Henry Forney (Democratic) 100% Unopposed[10]
	Taul Bradford Redistricted from the 3rd district	Democratic	1874	Incumbent retired. Democratic loss.
	John H. Caldwell Redistricted from the 5th district	Democratic	1872	Incumbent retired. Democratic loss.
Alabama 8	New district			New seat. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y William W. Garth (Democratic) 61.99% John B. McClellan (Independent Democratic) 38.01%[11]

Arkansas

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Arkansas 1	Lucien C. Gause	Democratic	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Lucien C. Gause (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Arkansas 2	William F. Slemons	Democratic	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William F. Slemons (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Arkansas 3	William W. Wilshire	Democratic	1872 1874 (Lost contest) 1874	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y Jordan E. Cravens (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Arkansas 4	Thomas M. Gunter	Democratic	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Thomas M. Gunter (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]

California

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
California 1	William Adam Piper	Democratic	1875	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y Horace Davis (Republican) 53.3% William A. Piper (Democratic) 46.7%
California 2	Horace F. Page	Republican	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Horace F. Page (Republican) 56.7% G. J. Carpenter (Democratic) 43.3%
California 3	John K. Luttrell	Democratic	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John K. Luttrell (Democratic) 51.1% Joseph McKenna (Republican) 48.9%
California 4	Peter D. Wigginton	Democratic	1875	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y Romualdo Pacheco (Republican) 50% Peter D. Wigginton (Democratic) 50%

Colorado

There were two elections to the new state of Colorado.

44th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Colorado at-large	New district			New seat. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y James B. Belford (Republican) [data unknown/missing]

45th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Colorado at-large	James B. Belford	Republican	1876	Incumbent re-elected. Election was later successfully challenged by the challenger.	Y James B. Belford (Republican) Thomas M. Patterson (Democratic)

Connecticut

Connecticut had been electing is members late in the cycle, even after the terms had begun. But starting in 1876, the state joined the others in electing its members on the November 7, 1876 Election Day. The delegation remained 3 Democrats and 1 Republican.

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Connecticut 1	George M. Landers	Democratic	1875	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George M. Landers (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Connecticut 2	James Phelps	Democratic	1875	Incumbent re-elected.	Y James Phelps (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Connecticut 3	John T. Wait	Republican	1876 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John T. Wait (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Connecticut 4	William Henry Barnum	Democratic	1867	Incumbent resigned May 18, 1876 when elected U.S. senator. New member elected. Democratic hold. Winner also elected to finish the current next term.	Y Levi Warner (Democratic) 52.52% Robbert Hubbard (Republican) 47.24%[12]

Delaware

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Delaware at-large	James Williams	Democratic	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y James Williams (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]

Florida

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Florida 1	William J. Purman	Republican	1872	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Robert H. M. Davidson (Democratic) 51.2% William J. Purman (Republican) 48.8%
Florida 2	Jesse J. Finley	Democratic	1874[lower-alpha 9]	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected.[lower-alpha 10] Republican gain.	Y Horatio Bisbee Jr. (Republican) 50.0% Jesse J. Finley (Democratic) 50.0%

South Carolina

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
South Carolina 1	Joseph Rainey	Republican	1870 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Joseph Rainey (Republican) 52.2% John S. Richardson (Democratic) 47.8%
South Carolina 2	Edmund W. M. Mackey	Independent Republican	1874	Seat declared vacant July 19, 1876 due to contested election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y Richard H. Cain (Republican) 62.1% Michael P. O'Connor (Democratic) 37.9%
South Carolina 3	Solomon L. Hoge	Republican	1874	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y D. Wyatt Aiken (Democratic) 58.0% Lewis C. Carpenter (Republican) 42.0%
South Carolina 4	Alexander S. Wallace	Republican	1868	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y John H. Evins (Democratic) 57.6% Alexander S. Wallace (Republican) 42.4%
South Carolina 5	Robert Smalls	Republican	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Robert Smalls (Republican) 51.9% George D. Tillman (Democratic) 48.1%

Wisconsin

Wisconsin elected eight members of congress on Election Day, November 7, 1876.[13][14]

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Wisconsin 1	Charles G. Williams	Republican	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Charles G. Williams (Republican) 59.3% H. G. Winslow (Democratic) 40.7%
Wisconsin 2	Lucien B. Caswell	Republican	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Lucien B. Caswell (Republican) 50.6% Harlow S. Orton (Democratic) 49.4%
Wisconsin 3	Henry S. Magoon	Republican	1870	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold.	Y George Cochrane Hazelton (Republican) 54.5% Philo A. Orton, Jr. (Democratic) 45.5%
Wisconsin 4	William Pitt Lynde	Democratic	1874	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William Pitt Lynde (Democratic) 59.6% William E. Smith (Republican) 40.4%
Wisconsin 5	Samuel D. Burchard	Democratic	1874	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Y Edward S. Bragg (Democratic) 58.2% George W. Carter (Republican) 41.8%
Wisconsin 6	Alanson M. Kimball	Republican	1874	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y Gabriel Bouck (Democratic) 53.6% Alanson M. Kimball (Republican) 46.4%
Wisconsin 7	Jeremiah McLain Rusk	Republican	1870	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold.	Y Herman L. Humphrey (Republican) 58.6% Martin R. Gage (Democratic) 37.4% Reuben May (Independent Greenback) 4.0%
Wisconsin 8	George W. Cate	Democratic	1874	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y Thaddeus C. Pound (Republican) 51.7% George W. Cate (Democratic) 48.3%

Notes

Regular elections, not specials
Most states held their elections November 7, 1876.
There is a significant discrepancy for the party totals in the U.S House resulting from the 1874 elections between Dubin (p. 241, who records 150 Democrats, 2 Independent Democrats, and 141 Republicans), and Martis (pp. 130–131). The discrepancy seems to be accounted for by the fact that Dubin's party figures represent the party totals on the first day of the 45th United States Congress, while Martis' figures take into account the results of later contested elections (all of which were decided in favor of the Democratic candidates who challenged the election results).
Included 1 Independent Democrat.
Included 3 Independent Republicans.
Includes 2 Independent Democrats
Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
Elections held late
After disputed election
The election in the Florida's 2nd district was extremely close, with initial returns showing a difference between the two candidates of only 3 votes. Finley challenged Bisbee's election and was eventually seated on February 20, 1879.

References

Martis, p. 130–131.
Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.
"Our Campaigns - CT District 4 - Special Election Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL District 1 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL District 2 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL - District 03 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL District 4 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL District 5 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL District 6 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL District 7 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - AL District 8 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.
"Our Campaigns - CT District 04 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
"Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
Bashford, R. M., ed. (1878). "Official Directory: Members of Congress". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 449–452. Retrieved July 18, 2020.

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)

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[1] Regular elections, not specials

[2] Most states held their elections November 7, 1876.

[discrepancy-4] There is a significant discrepancy for the party totals in the U.S House resulting from the 1874 elections between Dubin (p. 241, who records 150 Democrats, 2 Independent Democrats, and 141 Republicans), and Martis (pp. 130–131). The discrepancy seems to be accounted for by the fact that Dubin's party figures represent the party totals on the first day of the 45th United States Congress, while Martis' figures take into account the results of later contested elections (all of which were decided in favor of the Democratic candidates who challenged the election results).

[5] Included 1 Independent Democrat.

[6] Included 3 Independent Republicans.

[2ID-7] Includes 2 Independent Democrats

[1ID-8] Includes 1 Independent Democrat.

[9] Elections held late

[21] After disputed election

[22] The election in the Florida's 2nd district was extremely close, with initial returns showing a difference between the two candidates of only 3 votes. Finley challenged Bisbee's election and was eventually seated on February 20, 1879.

[FOOTNOTEMartis130–131-3] Martis, p. 130–131.

[10] Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.

[11] "Our Campaigns - CT District 4 - Special Election Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[12] "Our Campaigns - AL District 1 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[13] "Our Campaigns - AL District 2 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[14] "Our Campaigns - AL - District 03 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[15] "Our Campaigns - AL District 4 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[16] "Our Campaigns - AL District 5 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[17] "Our Campaigns - AL District 6 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[18] "Our Campaigns - AL District 7 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[19] "Our Campaigns - AL District 8 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com.

[20] "Our Campaigns - CT District 04 Race - Nov 07, 1876". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.

[23] "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2020.

[24] Bashford, R. M., ed. (1878). "Official Directory: Members of Congress". The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 449–452. Retrieved July 18, 2020.