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1858–59 United States House of Representatives elections

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1858–59 United States House of Representatives elections
← 1856 & 1857
June 7, 1858 – December 1, 1859[a]
1860 & 1861 →
All 238 seats in the United States House of Representatives[1][2]
120 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader John Sherman Thomas Bocock
Party Republican Democratic
Leader's seat Ohio 13th Virginia 5th
Last election 90 seats, 36.94% 132 seats, 46.90%
Seats won 113 83[b]
Seat change Increase 23 Decrease 49
Popular vote 1,372,775[c] 1,821,031
Percentage 36.30% 48.15%
Swing Decrease 0.64 pp Increase 1.25 pp
  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Opposition Know Nothing
Last election New party 14 seats, 15.41%
Seats won 19[d] 5
Seat change Increase 19 Decrease 9
Popular vote 232,186[e] 130,100
Percentage 6.14% 3.44%
Swing New Party[f] Decrease 11.97 pp
  Fifth party
 
Party Independent
Last election 1 seat[g], 0.62%
Seats won 15[h]
Seat change Increase 14
Popular vote 257,342[i]
Percentage 6.81%
Swing Increase 6.19 pp
Results
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold
     Republican gain      Republican hold
     Independent gain      Opposition gain
     Know Nothing hold
Speaker before election

James Orr
Democratic

 Elected Speaker

William Pennington
Republican

States held the 1858–59 United States House of Representatives elections between June 7, 1858, and December 1, 1859, during President James Buchanan's term. Each state set a date for its elections to the House. Voters in 34 states, including the new state of Oregon and the pending new state of Kansas, elected 238 Representatives before the first session of the 36th United States Congress convened on December 5, 1859.

Winning a plurality for the first time, the Republicans benefited from multiple political factors. These included sectional strife in the Democratic Party, Northern voter anger with the Supreme Court's March 1857 Dred Scott decision, political exposure of Democrats to chaotic violence in Kansas amid repeated attempts to impose slavery against the express will of a majority of its settlers, and a plunge in President Buchanan's popularity due to his perceived fecklessness. In Pennsylvania, his home state, Republicans made particularly large gains.

The pivotal Dred Scott decision was only the second time the Supreme Court had overturned an Act of Congress on Constitutional grounds, after Marbury v. Madison. The decision created fear in the Northern United States, where slavery had ceased and was outlawed, that the Supreme Court would strike down limitations on slavery anywhere in the United States with a subsequent ruling in Lemmon v. New York.

An inflammatory antislavery manifesto entitled The Impending Crisis of the South had attracted attention during the previous session of Congress. The book's author, Hinton Rowan Helper, attacked the planter class as a tyrannical oligarchy and called on poor white Southerners to overthrow them, "peacefully if we can, violently if we must." The Republicans financed a special edition of Helper's book for mass circulation which was endorsed by 68 Republican members of Congress, including the Republican House leader John Sherman. Following the elections, Republicans were the largest party in the House but lacked an overall majority and were forced to rely on Southern Oppositionists to organize the chamber. These Southerners refused to vote for Sherman to become Speaker of the United States House of Representatives due to his association with The Impending Crisis. Sherman eventually withdrew in favor of William Pennington, who was elected.[4]

Republicans were united in opposing slavery in the territories and fugitive slave laws, while rejecting the abrogation of the Missouri Compromise, key aspects of the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas–Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision. Though not yet abolitionist, Republicans openly derived a primary partisan purpose from hostility to slavery while furnishing a mainstream platform for abolitionism. None of the party's views or positions was new. However, their catalytic cohesion into a unified political vehicle, and the bold dismissal of the South, represented a newly disruptive political force.

Democrats remained divided and politically trapped. Fifteen Democratic members publicly defied their party label. Of seven Independent Democrats, six represented Southern districts. Eight Northern anti-Lecompton Democrats favored a ban on slavery in Kansas, effectively upholding the Missouri Compromise their party had destroyed several years earlier. Democrats lacked credible leadership and continued to drift in a direction favorable to the interests of slavery despite obviously widening and intensifying Northern opposition to the expansion of those interests. A damaging public perception also existed that President Buchanan had improperly influenced and endorsed the Dred Scott decision, incorrectly believing that it had solved his main political problem. Such influence would violate the separation of powers. The wide gap between Democratic rhetoric and results alienated voters, while defeat in the North and intra-party defection combined to make the party both more Southern and more radical.

Democrats lost seats in some slave states as the disturbing turn of national events and surge in sectional tensions alarmed a significant minority of Southern voters. Southern politicians opposing both Democrats and extremism, but unwilling to affiliate with Republicans, ran on the Southern Opposition Party ticket (not to be conflated with the Opposition Party of 1854).[j]

For 11 states, this was the last full congressional election until the Reconstruction. Twenty-nine elected members quit near the end of the session following their states' secession from the Union, whose immediate motivation was the result of the presidential election of 1860.

Election summaries

[edit]

One seat each was added for the new states of Oregon[5] and Kansas.[6]

↓
98 5 19 116
Democratic KN Opp. Republican
State Type Date Total
seats		 Democratic[k] Know Nothing Opposition Republican
Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change
Oregon [l] At-large June 7, 1858 1 1 Increase1 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Arkansas Districts August 2, 1858 2 2 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Missouri Districts August 2, 1858 7 5[m] Steady 1 Decrease1 0 Steady 1 Increase1
Vermont Districts September 7, 1858 3 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 3 Steady
Maine Districts September 13, 1858 6 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 6 Steady
Florida At-large October 4, 1858 1 1 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
South Carolina Districts October 10–11, 1858 6 6 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Indiana Districts October 12, 1858 11 4[n] Decrease2 0 Steady 0 Steady 7 Increase2
Iowa Districts October 12, 1858 2 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Steady
Ohio Districts October 12, 1858 21 6 Decrease3 0 Steady 0 Steady 15 Increase3
Pennsylvania Districts October 12, 1858 25 5[o] Decrease10 0 Steady 0 Steady 20 Increase10
Delaware At-large November 2, 1858
(Election Day)[p]		 1 1 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Illinois Districts 9 5 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 4 Steady
Massachusetts Districts 11 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 11 Steady
Michigan Districts 4 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 4 Steady
New Jersey Districts 5 2[q] Decrease1 0 Steady 0 Steady 3 Increase1
New York Districts 33 7[r] Decrease5 0 Steady 0 Steady 26 Increase5
Wisconsin Districts 3 1 Increase1 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Decrease1
Late elections (after the March 4, 1859 beginning of the term)
New Hampshire Districts March 8, 1859 3 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 3 Steady
Connecticut Districts April 4, 1859 4 0 Decrease2 0 Steady 0 Steady 4 Increase2
Rhode Island Districts April 7, 1859 2 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Steady
Virginia Districts May 26, 1859 13 12[s] Decrease1 0 Steady 1 Increase1 0 Steady
Alabama Districts August 1, 1859 7 7 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Kentucky Districts August 1, 1859 10 5 Decrease3 0 Decrease2 5 Increase5 0 Steady
Texas Districts August 1, 1859 2 2[t] Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
North Carolina Districts August 4, 1859 8 4 Decrease3 0 Decrease1 4 Increase4 0 Steady
Tennessee Districts August 4, 1859 10 3 Decrease4 0 Decrease3 7 Increase7 0 Steady
California At-large September 7, 1859 2 2 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Georgia Districts October 3, 1859 8 6 Steady 0 Decrease2 2 Increase2 0 Steady
Mississippi Districts October 3, 1859 5 5 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Minnesota At-large October 4, 1859 2 0 Decrease2 0 Steady 0 Steady 2 Increase2
Louisiana Districts November 7, 1859 4 3 Steady 1 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Maryland Districts November 8, 1859 6 3 Steady 3 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady
Kansas [u] At-large December 1, 1859 1 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 1 Increase1
Total 238[v] 98[b]
41.4%		 Decrease35 5
2.1%		 Decrease9 19
8.0%		 Increase19 116
48.5%		 Increase26
Popular vote
Democratic
 
 48.06%
Republican
 
 36.59%
Opposition
 
 5.04%
Know Nothing
 
 3.53%
Whig
 
 0.87%
Independent
 
 6.91%
Others
 
 0.00%
House seats
Republican
 
 47.28%
Democratic
 
 34.72%
Opposition
 
 7.95%
Know Nothing
 
 2.09%
Whig
 
 1.67%
Independent
 
 6.28%

Maps

[edit]

Special elections

[edit]

There were special elections in 1858 and 1859 to the 35th United States Congress and 36th United States Congress.

Special elections are sorted by date then district.

35th Congress

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[8]
Massachusetts 7 Nathaniel P. Banks Republican 1852 Incumbent resigned December 24, 1857.
New member elected January 7, 1858.
Republican hold.
North Carolina 8 Thomas L. Clingman Democratic 1852 Incumbent resigned May 7, 1858.
New member elected August 5, 1858.
Know Nothing gain.
Mississippi 5 John A. Quitman Democratic 1855 Incumbent died July 17, 1858.
New member elected October 4, 1858.
Democratic hold.
Pennsylvania 8 J. Glancy Jones Democratic 1850 Incumbent resigned October 30, 1858.
New member elected November 30, 1858.
Republican gain.
  • ▌Green tickY William H. Keim (Republican) 51.98%
  • ▌Joel B. Warner (Democratic) 48.02%
Illinois 6 Thomas L. Harris Democratic 1854 Incumbent died November 24, 1858.
New member elected January 4, 1859.
Democratic hold.[9]
New York 4 John Kelly Democratic 1854 Incumbent resigned December 25, 1858.
New member elected January 4, 1859.
Democratic hold.

36th Congress

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[10]
Ohio 14 Cyrus Spink Republican 1858 Incumbent died May 31, 1859.
New member elected October 11, 1859.
Republican hold.
Virginia 4 William Goode Democratic 1853 Incumbent died May 31, 1859.
New member elected October 27, 1859.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Roger Pryor (Democratic) 55.93%
  • ▌Thomas F. Goode (Democratic) 44.07%
Illinois 6 Thomas L. Harris Democratic 1854 Incumbent died November 24, 1858.
New member elected November 8, 1859.
Democratic hold.

Alabama

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[11]
Alabama 1 James A. Stallworth Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Alabama 2 Eli S. Shorter Democratic 1855 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY James L. Pugh (Democratic) 81.12%
  • ▌J. E. Sappington (Opposition) 18.88%
Alabama 3 James F. Dowdell Democratic 1853 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY David Clopton (Democratic) 50.79%
  • ▌Thomas J. Judge (Opposition) 49.21%
Alabama 4 Sydenham Moore Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Alabama 5 George S. Houston Democratic 1841
1849 (ret.)
1851		 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY George S. Houston (Democratic) 58.12%
  • ▌William A. Hewlett (Independent Democrat) 41.88%
Alabama 6 Williamson R. W. Cobb Democratic 1847 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Williamson R. W. Cobb (Democratic) 54.98%
  • ▌Alex Snodgrass (Democratic) 20.26%
  • ▌Edwin Wallace (Democratic) 18.09%
  • ▌Henry R. Beaver (Democratic) 6.68%
Alabama 7 Jabez L. M. Curry Democratic 1857 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Jabez L. M. Curry (Democratic) **

Arkansas

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[12]
Arkansas 1 Alfred B. Greenwood Democratic 1853 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Arkansas 2 Edward A. Warren Democratic 1857 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.

California

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13][w]
California at-large
2 seats		 Charles L. Scott Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected as a Lecompton Democrat.
Lecompton Democratic gain.
  • ▌Green tickY John C. Burch (Lecompton Democratic) 56.88%
  • ▌Green tickY Charles L. Scott (Lecompton Democratic) 55.89%
  • ▌Joseph C. McKibbin (Anti-Lecompton Democratic; Republican) 43.01%
  • ▌Edward D. Baker (Republican; Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 41.00%
  • ▌S. A. Booker (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 2.94%
  • ▌P. H. Sibley (Republican) 0.29%
Joseph C. McKibbin Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election as an Anti-Lecompton Democrat.
Lecompton Democratic gain.

Connecticut

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[14][13]
Connecticut 1 Ezra Clark Jr. Republican 1855 Incumbent lost renomination.
Republican hold.
Connecticut 2 Samuel Arnold Democratic 1857 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Connecticut 3 Sidney Dean Republican 1855 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Alfred A. Burnham (Republican) 51.74%
  • ▌Rufus L. Baker (Democratic) 46.95%
  • ▌Sidney Dean (Independent) 1.31%
Connecticut 4 William D. Bishop Democratic 1857 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.

Delaware

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[12]
Delaware at-large William G. Whiteley Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.

Florida

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[12]
Florida at-large George Sydney Hawkins Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.

Georgia

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Georgia 1 James Lindsay Seward Democratic 1853 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Peter E. Love (Democratic) 65.03%
  • ▌Alexander T. McIntyre (Opposition) 34.97%
Georgia 2 Martin J. Crawford Democratic 1855 Incumbent re-elected.
Georgia 3 Robert Pleasant Trippe Know Nothing 1855 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
Georgia 4 Lucius J. Gartrell Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Georgia 5 Augustus R. Wright Democratic 1857 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Georgia 6 James Jackson Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY James Jackson (Democratic) 74.79%
  • ▌A. T. Lytle (Independent) 25.21%
Georgia 7 Joshua Hill Know Nothing 1857 Incumbent re-elected as an Oppositionist.
Opposition gain.
  • ▌Green tickY Joshua Hill (Opposition) 50.77%
  • ▌R. G. Harper (Democratic) 49.23%
Georgia 8 Alexander H. Stephens Democratic 1843 (sp.) Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY John James Jones (Democratic) 52.15%
  • ▌A. Ranse Wright (Opposition) 47.85%

Illinois

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[12]
Illinois 1 Elihu B. Washburne Republican 1852 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Elihu B. Washburne (Republican) 69.84%
  • ▌Hiram Bright (Democratic) 28.52%
  • ▌Richard H. Jackson (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 1.63%
Illinois 2 John F. Farnsworth Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Illinois 3 Owen Lovejoy Republican 1852 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Owen Lovejoy (Republican) 57.76%
  • ▌George W. Armstrong (Democratic) 38.80%
  • ▌David Leroy (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 3.44%
Illinois 4 William Kellogg Republican 1852 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY William Kellogg (Republican) 52.81%
  • ▌Hiram Bright (Democratic) 45.69%
  • ▌Jacob Gale (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 1.50%
Illinois 5 Isaac N. Morris Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Illinois 6 Thomas L. Harris Democratic 1848
1850 (lost)
1854		 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Thomas L. Harris (Democratic) 57.60%
  • ▌James N. Mathews (Republican) 41.42%
  • ▌John S. McConnell (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 0.98%
Illinois 7 Aaron Shaw Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Illinois 8 Robert Smith Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Philip B. Fouke (Democratic) 57.17%
  • ▌John Baker (Republican) 41.84%
  • ▌Thomas M. Hope (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 0.99%
Illinois 9 Samuel S. Marshall Democratic 1854 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY John A. Logan (Democratic) 84.38%
  • ▌David L. Phillips (Republican) 14.86%
  • ▌William K. Parrish (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 0.77%

Indiana

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[15]
Indiana 1 James Lockhart Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Indiana 2 William Hayden English Democratic 1852 Incumbent re-elected.
Indiana 3 James Hughes Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Indiana 4 James Bradford Foley Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Indiana 5 David Kilgore Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY David Kilgore (Republican) 61.31%
  • ▌Lafe Devlin (Democratic) 38.69%
Indiana 6 James M. Gregg Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Indiana 7 John G. Davis Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected as an Anti-Lecompton Democrat.
Anti-Lecompton Democratic gain.
  • ▌Green tickY John G. Davis (Anti-Lecompton Democratic) 58.95%
  • ▌Harry Secrest (Democratic) 41.05%
Indiana 8 James Wilson Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY James Wilson (Republican) 51.50%
  • ▌John W. Blake (Democratic) 48.50%
Indiana 9 Schuyler Colfax Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Indiana 10 Samuel Brenton Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Charles Case (Republican) 53.37%
  • ▌Reuben J. Dawson (Democratic) 46.63%
Indiana 11 John U. Pettit Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY John U. Pettit (Republican) 51.71%
  • ▌John R. Coffroth (Democratic) 48.29%

Iowa

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[16]
Iowa 1 Samuel Ryan Curtis Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Iowa 2 Timothy Davis Republican 1856 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY William Vandever (Republican) 52.84%
  • ▌William E. Leffingwell (Democratic) 47.16%

Kansas

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13]
Kansas at-large New state[x] New seat.
Republican gain.

Kansas Territory

[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Kentucky

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13]
Kentucky 1 Henry Cornelius Burnett Democratic 1855 Incumbent re-elected.
Kentucky 2 Samuel Peyton Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Kentucky 3 Warner Underwood Know Nothing 1855 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
Kentucky 4 Albert G. Talbott Democratic 1855 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
Kentucky 5 Joshua Jewett Democratic 1855 Incumbent lost re-election as an Oppositionist.
Democratic hold.
Kentucky 6 John Milton Elliott Democratic 1853 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
  • ▌Green tickY Green Adams (Opposition) 53.03%
  • ▌Thomas T. Garrard (Democratic) 46.97%
Kentucky 7 Humphrey Marshall Know Nothing 1855 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
  • ▌Green tickY Robert Mallory (Opposition) 53.06%
  • ▌Thomas Holt (Democratic) 46.94%
Kentucky 8 James Brown Clay Democratic 1857 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Kentucky 9 John Calvin Mason Democratic 1857 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
Kentucky 10 John W. Stevenson Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.

Louisiana

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13]
Louisiana 1 George Eustis Jr. Know Nothing 1854 Incumbent retired.
Know Nothing hold.
Louisiana 2 Miles Taylor Democratic 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Miles Taylor (Democratic) 56.99%
  • ▌L. D. Nichols (Know Nothing) 43.01%
Louisiana 3 Thomas G. Davidson Democratic 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Louisiana 4 John M. Sandidge Democratic 1854 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY John M. Landrum (Democratic) 74.42%
  • ▌M. A. Jones (Know Nothing) 25.58%

Maine

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[16]
Maine 1 John M. Wood Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Daniel E. Somes (Republican) 50.57%
  • ▌Ira T. Drew (Democratic) 48.36%
  • ▌Manassah H. Smith (Democratic) 1.06%
Maine 2 Charles J. Gilman Republican 1856 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY John J. Perry (Republican) 54.53%
  • ▌David B. Hastings (Democratic) 45.47%
Maine 3 Nehemiah Abbott Republican 1856 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Ezra B. French (Republican) 50.18%
  • ▌Alfred W. Johnson (Democratic) 49.82%
Maine 4 Freeman H. Morse Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Maine 5 Israel Washburn Jr. Republican 1850 Incumbent re-elected.
Maine 6 Stephen C. Foster Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.

Maryland

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13]
Maryland 1 James Augustus Stewart Democratic 1855 Incumbent re-elected.
Maryland 2 James B. Ricaud Know Nothing 1855 Incumbent retired.
Know Nothing hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Edwin H. Webster (Know Nothing) 52.02%
  • ▌Ramsey McHenry (Democratic) 47.98%
Maryland 3 J. Morrison Harris Know Nothing 1855 Incumbent re-elected.
Maryland 4 Henry Winter Davis Know Nothing 1855 Incumbent re-elected.
Maryland 5 Jacob Michael Kunkel Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Maryland 6 Thomas Fielder Bowie Democratic 1855 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.

Massachusetts

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Massachusetts 1
Massachusetts 2
Massachusetts 3
Massachusetts 4
Massachusetts 5
Massachusetts 6
Massachusetts 7
Massachusetts 8
Massachusetts 9
Massachusetts 10
Massachusetts 11

Michigan

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[17]
Michigan 1 William A. Howard Republican 1854 Incumbent lost re-election.
Democratic gain.
Election successfully contested.
Incumbent re-seated May 15, 1860.
Michigan 2 Henry Waldron Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Henry Waldron (Republican) 59.11%
  • ▌Consider A. Stacy (Democratic) 40.89%
Michigan 3 David S. Walbridge Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Michigan 4 Dewitt C. Leach Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Dewitt C. Leach (Republican) 51.97%
  • ▌Robert W. Davis (Democratic) 48.03%

Minnesota

[edit]

Minnesota became a new state in 1858 having already elected its first two members at-large in October 1857 to finish the current term. The state then held elections to the next term October 4, 1859.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13]
Minnesota at-large
2 seats		 James M. Cavanaugh Democratic 1857 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.		 Elected on a general ticket:
William Wallace Phelps Democratic 1857 Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election.
Republican gain.

Mississippi

[edit]

Elections held late, on October 3, 1859.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13]
Mississippi 1 Lucius Q. C. Lamar Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected. ▌Green tickY Lucius Q. C. Lamar (Democratic) 100%
Mississippi 2 Reuben Davis Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Reuben Davis (Democratic) 94.49%
  • ▌G. Q. Martin (Opposition) 5.51%
Mississippi 3 William Barksdale Democratic 1853 Incumbent re-elected. ▌Green tickY William Barksdale (Democratic) 100%
Mississippi 4 Otho R. Singleton Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Otho R. Singleton (Democratic) 77.19%
  • ▌Franklin Smith (Unionist Democratic) 22.81%
Mississippi 5 John J. McRae Democratic 1858 (special) Incumbent re-elected. ▌Green tickY John J. McRae (Democratic) 100%

Missouri

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Missouri 1
Missouri 2
Missouri 3
Missouri 4
Missouri 5
Missouri 6
Missouri 7

Nebraska Territory

[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

New Hampshire

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
New Hampshire 1
New Hampshire 2
New Hampshire 3

New Jersey

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
New Jersey 1
New Jersey 2
New Jersey 3
New Jersey 4
New Jersey 5

New York

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
New York 1
New York 2
New York 3
New York 4
New York 5
New York 6
New York 7
New York 8
New York 9
New York 10
New York 11
New York 12
New York 13
New York 14
New York 15
New York 16
New York 17
New York 18
New York 19
New York 20
New York 21
New York 22
New York 23
New York 24
New York 25
New York 26
New York 27
New York 28
New York 29
New York 30
New York 31
New York 32
New York 33

North Carolina

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
North Carolina 1
North Carolina 2
North Carolina 3
North Carolina 4
North Carolina 5
North Carolina 6
North Carolina 7
North Carolina 8

Ohio

[edit]

Ohio elected its members October 12, 1858, netting a 3-seat Republican gain.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[18][19]
Ohio 1 George H. Pendleton Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 2 William S. Groesbeck Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Ohio 3 Clement Vallandigham Democratic 1856[y] Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 4 Matthias H. Nichols Republican 1852 Incumbent lost re-election.
Democratic gain.
Ohio 5 Richard Mott Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Ohio 6 Joseph R. Cockerill Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Ohio 7 Aaron Harlan Republican 1852 Incumbent lost renomination.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Thomas Corwin (Republican) 63.85%
  • ▌Charles W. Blair (Democratic) 36.15%
Ohio 8 Benjamin Stanton Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Benjamin Stanton (Republican) 59.52%
  • ▌William Hubbard (Democratic) 40.48%
Ohio 9 Lawrence W. Hall Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Ohio 10 Joseph Miller Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Ohio 11 Albert C. Thompson Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Democratic gain.
Ohio 12 Samuel S. Cox Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Samuel S. Cox (Republican) 51.75%
  • ▌Lucius Case (Democratic) 48.25%
Ohio 13 John Sherman Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY John Sherman (Republican) 57.05%
  • ▌S. J. Patrick (Democratic) 42.95%
Ohio 14 Philemon Bliss Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Successor died May 31, 1859, leading to a special election.
  • ▌Green tickY Cyrus Spink (Republican) 56.33%
  • ▌J. P. Jeffries (Democratic) 43.67%
Ohio 15 Joseph Burns Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Ohio 16 Cydnor B. Tompkins Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Cydnor B. Tompkins (Republican) 52.65%
  • ▌George W. Manypenny (Democratic) 47.01%
  • ▌Jonathan Swank (Independent) 0.34%[z]
Ohio 17 William Lawrence Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Ohio 18 Benjamin F. Leiter Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Sidney Edgerton (Republican) 53.33%
  • ▌J. L. Ranney (Democratic) 46.67%
Ohio 19 Edward Wade Republican 1852 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Edward Wade (Republican) 64.57%
  • ▌J. W. Gray (Democratic) 34.69%
  • ▌Irad Kelly (Independent) 0.75%[z]
Ohio 20 Joshua Reed Giddings Republican 1843 Incumbent lost renomination.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY John Hutchins (Republican) 62.8%
  • ▌David Tod (Democratic) 34.27%
  • ▌B. W. Richmond (Independent) 2.69%[z]
  • ▌Josuha R. Giddings (Unknown) 0.24%[z]
Ohio 21 John Bingham Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY John Bingham (Republican) 57.46%
  • ▌Thomas Means (Democratic) 42.54%

Oregon

[edit]

35th Congress

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Oregon at-large New state New seat.
New member elected June 7, 1858.
Democratic gain.
Seated February 15, 1859.[20]
New member did not run for the next term.

36th Congress

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[13]
Oregon at-large New state New seat.
Democratic hold.
New member did not run for the current term.

Pennsylvania

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[19]
Pennsylvania 1 Thomas B. Florence Democratic 1850 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Thomas B. Florence (Democratic) 43.09%
  • ▌John W. Ryan (People's) 41%
  • ▌G. W. Nebinger (Anti-Lecompton Dem.) 15.42%
  • ▌Marshall Sprogell (Know Nothing) 0.48%
Pennsylvania 2 Edward Joy Morris Republican
Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 3 James Landy Democratic 1850 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 4 Henry M. Phillips Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 5 Owen Jones Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 6 John Hickman Democratic 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY John Hickman (Anti-Lecompton Dem.) 40.76%
  • ▌Charles D. Manly (Democratic) 31.15%
  • ▌John M. Broomall (People's) 28.09%
Pennsylvania 7 Henry Chapman Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 8 J. Glancy Jones Democratic
Incumbent lost re-election.
Democratic hold.
Pennsylvania 9 Anthony E. Roberts Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Pennsylvania 10 John C. Kunkel Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Pennsylvania 11 William L. Dewart Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 12 Paul Leidy Democratic 1857 (special) Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 13 William H. Dimmick Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 14 Galusha A. Grow Republican 1850 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Galusha A. Grow (People's) 76.87%
  • ▌Joel Parkhurst (Democratic) 23.13%
Pennsylvania 15 Allison White Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 16 John A. Ahl Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 17 Wilson Reilly Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 18 John R. Edie Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Samuel S. Blair (People's) 57.71%
  • ▌Cyrus L. Pershing (Democratic) 42.29%
Pennsylvania 19 John Covode Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 20 William Montgomery Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Pennsylvania 21 David Ritchie Republican 1852 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Pennsylvania 22 Samuel A. Purviance Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Pennsylvania 23 William Stewart Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY William Stewart (People's) 64.02%
  • ▌Jonathan N. McGuffin (Democratic) 35.98%
Pennsylvania 24 James L. Gillis Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 25 John Dick Republican 1852 Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
  • ▌Green tickY Elijah Babbitt (People's) 60.73%
  • ▌ James C. Crawford (Democratic) 39.27%

Rhode Island

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[21]
Rhode Island 1 Nathan B. Durfee Republican 1855 Incumbent retired.
American/Republican gain.
Rhode Island 2 William D. Brayton Republican 1857 Incumbent re-elected.

South Carolina

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[19]
South Carolina 1 John McQueen Democratic 1849 (special) Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 2 William P. Miles Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 3 Laurence M. Keitt Democratic 1853 (special) Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 4 Milledge L. Bonham Democratic 1857 (special) Incumbent re-elected.
South Carolina 5 James Lawrence Orr Democratic 1848 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
  • ▌Green tickY John D. Ashmore (Democratic) 59.4%
  • ▌Thomas O. Vernon (Unknown) 40.6%
South Carolina 6 William W. Boyce Democratic 1853 Incumbent re-elected.

Tennessee

[edit]

Elections held late, on August 4, 1859.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[21]
Tennessee 1 Albert G. Watkins Democratic 1855 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 2 Horace Maynard Know Nothing 1857 Incumbent re-elected as an Oppositionist.
Opposition gain.
  • ▌Green tickY Horace Maynard (Opposition) 55.01%
  • ▌I. C. Ramsay (Democratic) 44.99%
Tennessee 3 Samuel A. Smith Democratic 1853 Incumbent lost re-election.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 4 John H. Savage Democratic 1855 Incumbent lost re-election.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 5 Charles Ready Know Nothing 1853 Incumbent lost re-election as an independent.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 6 George W. Jones Democratic 1842 Incumbent retired.
Democratic hold.
Tennessee 7 John V. Wright Democratic 1855 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY John V. Wright (Democratic) 77.58%
  • ▌Theodore H. Gibbs (Opposition) 22.42%
Tennessee 8 Felix Zollicoffer Know Nothing 1853 Incumbent retired.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 9 John D. C. Atkins Democratic 1857 Incumbent lost re-election.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 10 William T. Avery Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.

Texas

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[10]
Texas 1 John H. Reagan Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Texas 2 Guy M. Bryan Democratic 1857 Incumbent retired.
Independent Democratic gain.

Vermont

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[22]
Vermont 1 E. P. Walton Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY E. P. Walton (Republican) 73.5%
  • ▌Charles G. Eastman (Democratic) 26.0%
Vermont 2 Justin S. Morrill Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Vermont 3 Homer E. Royce Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.

Virginia

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[23]
Virginia 1 Muscoe R. H. Garnett Democratic 1856 (special) Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 2 John Millson Democratic 1849 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY John Millson (Democratic) 62.7%
  • ▌[FNU] Pretlow (Opposition) 30.1%
  • ▌[FNU] Chandler (Opposition) 5.2%
  • ▌[FNU] Sykes (Opposition) 2.0%
Virginia 3 John Caskie Democratic 1851 Incumbent lost re-election.
Independent Democratic gain.
Virginia 4 William Goode Democratic
Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY William Goode (Democratic) 63.8%
  • ▌William C. Flournoy (Ind. Democratic) 36.2%
Virginia 5 Thomas S. Bocock Democratic 1847 Incumbent re-elected.
  • ▌Green tickY Thomas S. Bocock (Democratic) 88.8%
  • ▌[FNU] Speed (Unknown) 9.9%
  • ▌[FNU] Boisseau (Unknown) 1.4%
Virginia 6 Paulus Powell Democratic 1849 Incumbent lost re-election.
Independent Democratic gain.
Virginia 7 William Smith Democratic
Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 8 Charles J. Faulkner Democratic 1851 Incumbent lost re-election.
Opposition gain.
Virginia 9 John Letcher Democratic 1851 Incumbent retired.
Independent Democratic gain.
  • ▌Green tickY John T. Harris (Ind. Democratic) 52.2%
  • ▌James H. Skinner (Democratic) 47.8%
Virginia 10 Sherrard Clemens Democratic
Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 11 Albert G. Jenkins Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 12 Henry A. Edmundson Democratic 1849 Incumbent re-elected.
Virginia 13 George W. Hopkins Democratic
Incumbent retired.
Independent Democratic gain.

Wisconsin

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[24]
Wisconsin 1 John F. Potter Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 2 Cadwallader C. Washburn Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 3 Charles Billinghurst Republican 1854 Incumbent lost re-election.
Democratic gain.

Non-voting delegates

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Delegate Party First elected Results Candidates
Kansas Marcus J. Parrott Republican 1856 or 1857 Incumbent re-elected in 1859.
Nebraska Fenner Ferguson Independent
Democratic		 1857 Incumbent retired.
New delegate elected October 11, 1859.[26]
Democratic gain.
Election was later overturned due to a successful challenge by Daily.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ Regular elections, not specials
  2. 1 2 Includes two elected as Lecompton Democrats.
  3. ↑ Includes 190,272 votes by candidates of the People's Party in Pennsylvania.
  4. ↑ Also known as the Whigs in North Carolina[3]
  5. ↑ Includes 7,452 votes by a candidate of the People's Party in Delaware.
  6. ↑ There was only one Whig candidate during the 1856-1857 period, who earned twenty-three votes.
  7. ↑ Included one Independent Democrat or "Benton" Democrat: Francis Preston Blair Jr. of Missouri.
  8. ↑ Includes five Anti-Lecompton Democrats, seven Independent Democrats, and three Anti-Administration Democrats.
  9. ↑ Includes votes for those who ran labeled as an Independent, Union Democrat, Anti-Administration Democrat, Anti-Lecompton Democrat, and Independent Democrat.
  10. ↑ See The Kansas-Nebraska act
  11. ↑ "Democratic" includes Independent Democrats and Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  12. ↑ New state. Representative seated February 14, 1859.
  13. ↑ Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
  14. ↑ Includes 1 Anti-Lecompton Democrat.
  15. ↑ Includes 2 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  16. ↑ In January 1845, Congress mandated a uniform date for choosing Presidential electors.[7] Gradually, states brought other elections into conformity with this date.
  17. ↑ Includes 2 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  18. ↑ Includes 1 Independent Democrat and 3 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  19. ↑ Includes 4 Independent Democrats.
  20. ↑ Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
  21. ↑ New state. Representative seated January 29, 1861.
  22. ↑ An increase of one seat for the new state of Oregon. (See 11 Stat. 383 and United States congressional apportionment.)
  23. ↑ California elected two representatives on a general ticket. Dubin calculates the result for each candidate as a percentage of the total number of votes cast.
  24. ↑ The United States Congress recognized Kansas statehood on January 21, 1861, after this election.
  25. ↑ Contested election
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Not mentioned by Smith

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Party Breakdown of the 36th House
  2. ↑ "Electing the House of Representatives". dsl.richmond.edu.
  3. ↑ Auman 2014, p. 27.
  4. ↑ McPherson 1988, pp. 198–201.
  5. ↑ 11 Stat. 383
  6. ↑ 12 Stat. 126
  7. ↑ 5 Stat. 721
  8. ↑ Dubin 1998, pp. 179–80.
  9. 1 2 3
  10. 1 2 Dubin 1998, p. 185.
  11. ↑ Dubin 1998, pp. 183–84.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Dubin 1998, p. 181.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dubin 1998, p. 184.
  14. ↑ "State of Connecticut Elections Database » Search Past Election Results". State of Connecticut Elections Database. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ Dubin 1998, pp. 181–82.
  16. 1 2 Dubin 1998, p. 182.
  17. ↑ Dubin 1998, p. 182; 186.
  18. ↑ Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Vol. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 84, 85.
  19. 1 2 3 Dubin 1998, p. 183.
  20. ↑ "Thirty-fifth Congress March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1859". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2019 – via History.house.gov.
  21. 1 2 Dubin 1998, pp. 184–185.
  22. ↑ "VT Elections Database » Vermont Election Results and Statistics". VT Elections Database. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Virginia Elections Database » Virginia Election Results and Statistics". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Wisconsin U.S. House Election Results" (PDF). Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 5, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  25. ↑ "The Man". The Kansas Chief. White Cloud, Kansas. Newspapers.com. p. 2. Retrieved January 21, 2024. Johnston...will have the exquisite pleasure of being skinned alive by Parrott, in November.
  26. ↑ "Collections of the NSHS - Volume 18". USGenNet.org.

Bibliography

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[edit]
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