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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 William Pennington Thomas Bocock
Party Republican Democratic
Leader's seat Virginia 5th
Last election 90 seats 132 seats
Seats won 113 83[b]
Seat change Increase 23 Decrease 49
Popular vote 1,387,921 1,823,106
Percentage 36.59% 48.06%
Swing Decrease 0.39% Decrease 1.21%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Opposition Know Nothing
Last election new party 14 seats
Seats won 19 5
Seat change Increase 19 Decrease 9
Popular vote 191,074 133,839
Percentage 5.04% 3.53%
Swing New Party Decrease 11.68%

  Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party Whig Independent
Last election pre-creation[c] 1 seat[e]
Seats won 4 15[f]
Seat change Increase 4 Increase 14
Popular vote 33,073 261,964[g]
Percentage 0.87% 6.91%
Swing New Party[d] Increase 6.02%

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

The 1858–59 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 7, 1858, and December 1, 1859. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives. 238 representatives were elected in the new state of Oregon, the pending new state of Kansas, and the other 32 states before the first session of the 36th United States Congress convened on December 5, 1859. They were held during President James Buchanan's term.

Winning a plurality for the first time, Republicans benefited from multiple factors including the collapse of the nativist American Party, sectional strife in the Democratic Party, Northern voter dissatisfaction 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 sharp decline 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 apprehension in the North, where slavery had ceased to exist, that the Supreme Court would strike down any limitations on slavery anywhere in the United States with a ruling in Lemmon v. New York.

Short of a majority, Republicans controlled the House with limited cooperation from smaller parties also opposing the Democrats. 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).[h]

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[3] and Kansas.[4]

98 5 19 116
Democratic KN Opp. Republican
State Type Date Total
seats
Democratic[i] Know Nothing Opposition Republican
Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change
Oregon [j] 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[k] 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[l] 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[m] Decrease10 0 Steady 0 Steady 20 Increase10
Delaware At-large November 2, 1858
(Election Day)[n]
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[o] Decrease1 0 Steady 0 Steady 3 Increase1
New York Districts 33 7[p] 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[q] 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[r] 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 [s] At-large December 1, 1859 1 0 Steady 0 Steady 0 Steady 1 Increase1
Total 238[t] 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%

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
Massachusetts 7 Nathaniel P. Banks Republican 1852 Incumbent resigned December 24, 1857 to become Governor of Massachusetts.
New member elected in December 1857 or January 1858.
Republican hold.
Successor seated January 21, 1858.[6]
Successor already elected to the next term; see below.
North Carolina 8 Thomas L. Clingman Democratic 1852 Incumbent resigned May 7, 1858 to become U.S. Senator.
New member elected August 5, 1858[7]
Know Nothing gain.
Successor seated December 7, 1858.[6]
Successor later elected to the next term; see below.
Mississippi 5 John A. Quitman Democratic 1855 Incumbent died July 17, 1858.
New member elected October 4, 1858.
Democratic hold.
Successor seated December 7, 1858.[6]
Successor later elected to the next term; see below.
Pennsylvania 8 J. Glancy Jones Democratic 1850 Incumbent resigned October 30, 1858.
New member elected November 30, 1858.[8]
Republican gain.
Successor seated December 7, 1858.[6]
Successor not elected to the next term; see below.
Illinois 6 Thomas L. Harris Democratic 1854 Incumbent died November 24, 1858.
New member elected January 4, 1859.
Democratic hold.
Successor seated January 20, 1859.[6]
Successor not elected to the next term; see below.
New York 4 John Kelly Democratic 1854 Incumbent resigned December 25, 1858.
New member elected January 4, 1859.[9]
Independent Democratic gain.
Successor seated January 17, 1859.[6]
Successor was also elected to the next term; see below.

36th Congress

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Ohio 14 Cyrus Spink Republican 1858 Incumbent died May 31, 1859.
New member elected October 11, 1859.
Republican hold.
Successor seated December 5, 1859.[10]
Virginia 4 William Goode Democratic 1853 Incumbent died May 31, 1859.
New member elected October 27, 1859.
Democratic hold.
Successor seated December 7, 1859.[10]
Illinois 6 Thomas L. Harris Democratic 1854 Incumbent died November 24, 1858.
New member elected November 8, 1859.
Democratic hold.
Successor seated December 5, 1859.[10]

Alabama

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

Arkansas

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Arkansas 1 Alfred B. Greenwood Democratic 1853 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.
Arkansas 2 Albert Rust Democratic 1854 Incumbent re-elected.

California

[edit]

California held its election September 7, 1859. From statehood to 1864, California's members were elected at-large, with the top finishers winning election.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
California at-large
2 seats on a general ticket
Charles L. Scott Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Joseph C. McKibbin Anti-Lecompton
Democratic
1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.

Connecticut

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

Delaware

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

Florida

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

Georgia

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

Illinois

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

Indiana

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

Iowa

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Iowa 1
Iowa 2

Kansas

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Kansas at-large New state New seat.
New member elected December 1, 1859 in advance of January 29, 1861 statehood.
Republican gain.

Kansas Territory

[edit]

See non-voting delegates, below.

Kentucky

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

Louisiana

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Louisiana 1 George Eustis Jr. Know Nothing Elected in 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Know Nothing hold.
Louisiana 2 Miles Taylor Democratic Elected in 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Louisiana 3 Thomas G. Davidson Democratic Elected in 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Louisiana 4 John M. Sandidge Democratic Elected in 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.

Maine

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

Maryland

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

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
Michigan 1 William A. Howard Republican 1854 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Democratic gain.
Election successfully contested.
Incumbent re-seated May 15, 1860.
Michigan 2 Henry Waldron Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Michigan 3 David S. Walbridge Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Michigan 4 Dewitt C. Leach Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.

Michigan voted in 3 Republicans and 1 Democrat in the first elections of this Midterm. The only district to vote in favor of the Democratic Party's candidate was the First, which encompassed the modern-day counties of Wayne, Washtenaw, Livingston, and Jackson.

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
Minnesota at-large
2 seats
James M. Cavanaugh Democratic 1857 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Elected on a general ticket:
William Wallace Phelps Democratic 1857 Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.

Mississippi

[edit]

Elections held late, on October 3, 1859.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Mississippi 1 Lucius Q. C. Lamar Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected. Green tickY Lucius Q. C. Lamar (Democratic) 100%[22]
Mississippi 2 Reuben Davis Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Mississippi 3 William Barksdale Democratic 1853 Incumbent re-elected. Green tickY William Barksdale (Democratic) 100%[24]
Mississippi 4 Otho R. Singleton Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Mississippi 5 John J. McRae Democratic 1858 (special) Incumbent re-elected. Green tickY John J. McRae (Democratic) 100%[26]

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[27]
Ohio 1 George H. Pendleton Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 2 William S. Groesbeck Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Ohio 3 Clement Vallandigham Democratic 1856[u] Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 4 Matthias H. Nichols Republican 1852 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Democratic gain.
Ohio 5 Richard Mott Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Ohio 6 Joseph R. Cockerill Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.
Ohio 7 Aaron Harlan Republican 1852 Incumbent lost renomination.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
  • Green tickY Thomas Corwin (Republican) 63.8%
  • Charles W. Blair (Democratic) 36.2%
Ohio 8 Benjamin Stanton Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 9 Lawrence W. Hall Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Ohio 10 Joseph Miller Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Ohio 11 Albert C. Thompson Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Democratic gain.
Ohio 12 Samuel S. Cox Democratic 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Samuel S. Cox (Republican) 51.8%
  • Lucius Case (Democratic) 48.2%
Ohio 13 John Sherman Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY John Sherman (Republican) 57.1%
  • S. J. Patrick (Democratic) 42.9%
Ohio 14 Philemon Bliss Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Successor died May 31, 1859, leading to a special election.
  • Green tickY Cyrus Spink (Republican) 56.3%
  • J. P. Jeffries (Democratic) 43.7%
Ohio 15 Joseph Burns Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Ohio 16 Cydnor B. Tompkins Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 17 William Lawrence Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Ohio 18 Benjamin F. Leiter Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Ohio 19 Edward Wade Republican 1852 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Edward Wade (Republican) 65.1%
  • J. W. Gray (Democratic) 34.9%
Ohio 20 Joshua Reed Giddings Republican 1843 Incumbent lost renomination.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Ohio 21 John Bingham Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY John Bingham (Republican) 57.3%
  • Thomas Means (Democratic) 42.7%

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.
Successor seated February 14, 1859.[6]
New member did not run for the next term.

36th Congress

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

Pennsylvania

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Pennsylvania 1 Thomas B. Florence Democratic 1850 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Thomas B. Florence (Democratic) 43.09%
  • John W. Ryan (Republican) 41.00%
  • 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.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 4 Henry M. Phillips Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 5 Owen Jones Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
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 (Republican) 28.09%
Pennsylvania 7 Henry Chapman Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 8 J. Glancy Jones Democratic Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.
Pennsylvania 9 Anthony E. Roberts Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
  • Green tickY Thaddeus Stevens (Republican) 60.00%
  • James M. Hopkins (Democratic) 40.00%
Pennsylvania 10 John C. Kunkel Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Pennsylvania 11 William L. Dewart Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 12 Paul Leidy Democratic 1857 (special) Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
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 (Republican) 76.87%
  • Joel Parkhurst (Democratic) 23.13%
Pennsylvania 15 Allison White Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 16 John A. Ahl Democratic 1856 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 17 Wilson Reilly Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 18 John R. Edie Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
  • Green tickY Samuel S. Blair (Republican) 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.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Pennsylvania 22 Samuel A. Purviance Republican 1854 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
Pennsylvania 23 William Stewart Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY William Stewart (Republican) 64.02%
  • Jonathan N. McGuffin (Democratic) 35.98%
Pennsylvania 24 James L. Gillis Democratic 1856 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Republican gain.
Pennsylvania 25 John Dick Republican 1852 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Republican hold.
  • Green tickY Elijah Babbitt (Republican) 60.73%
  • James C. Crawford (Democratic) 39.27%

Rhode Island

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Rhode Island 1 Nathan B. Durfee Republican 1855 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
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
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.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.
  • Green tickY John D. Ashmore (Democratic) 59.40%
  • Thomas O. Vernon (Unknown) 40.60%
South Carolina 6 William Waters 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
Tennessee 1 Albert G. Watkins Democratic 1855 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 2 Horace Maynard Know Nothing 1857 Incumbent re-elected.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 3 Samuel A. Smith Democratic 1853 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 4 John H. Savage Democratic 1855 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 5 Charles Ready Know Nothing 1853 Incumbent lost re-election as an independent.
New member elected.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 6 George W. Jones Democratic 1842 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.
Tennessee 7 John V. Wright Democratic 1855 Incumbent re-elected.
Tennessee 8 Felix Zollicoffer Know Nothing 1853 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 9 John D.C. Atkins Democratic 1857 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Opposition gain.
Tennessee 10 William T. Avery Democratic 1857 Incumbent re-elected.

Texas

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

Vermont

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Vermont 1 Eliakim P. Walton Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
Vermont 2 Justin S. Morrill Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected.
Vermont 3 Homer E. Royce Republican 1856 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Homer E. Royce (Republican) 69.34%
  • William H. H. Bingham (Democratic) 30.66%

Virginia

[edit]
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
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) 61.46%
  • (FNU) Pretlow (Independent) 29.52%
  • (FNU) Chandler (Independent) 5.06%
  • (FNU) Sykes (Independent) 2.00%
Virginia 3 John Caskie Democratic 1851 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Independent Democratic gain.
Virginia 4 William O. Goode Democratic
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY William O. Goode (Democratic) 63.80%
  • William C. Flournoy (Ind. Democratic) 36.21%
Virginia 5 Thomas S. Bocock Democratic 1847 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Thomas S. Bocock (Democratic) 88.78%
  • (FNU) Speed (Unknown) 9.87%
  • (FNU) Boisseau (Unknown) 1.35%
Virginia 6 Paulus Powell Democratic 1849 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Independent Democratic gain.
Virginia 7 William Smith Democratic Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY William Smith (Democratic) 49.36%
  • Henry W. Thomas (Ind. Democratic) 46.47%
  • Henry Shackleford (Ind. Democratic) 4.17%
Virginia 8 Charles J. Faulkner Democratic 1851 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Opposition gain.
Virginia 9 John Letcher Democratic 1851 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Independent Democratic gain.
  • Green tickY John T. Harris (Ind. Democratic) 52.17%
  • James H. Skinner (Democratic) 47.83%
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.
New member elected.
Independent Democratic gain.
  • Green tickY Elbert S. Martin (Ind. Democratic) 53.36%
  • Ben R. Floyd (Democratic) 46.64%

Wisconsin

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District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[39]
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.
New member elected.
Democratic gain.

Non-voting delegates

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District Incumbent This race
Delegate Party First elected Results Candidates
Kansas Marcus Junius Parrott Republican 1856 or 1857 Incumbent re-elected in 1859.
Nebraska Fenner Ferguson Independent Democratic 1857 Incumbent retired.
New delegate elected October 11, 1859.[41]
Democratic gain.
Election was later overturned due to a successful challenge by the loser.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Regular elections, not specials
  2. ^ a b Includes two elected as Lecompton Democrats.
  3. ^ While most of the Whig State Party affiliates in the South transitioned from the American Party to the newly formed Opposition Party, the North Carolina affiliate seems to have declined to do so.
  4. ^ There was only one Whig candidate during the 1856-1857 period, who earned twenty-three votes.
  5. ^ Included one Independent Democrat or "Benton" Democrat: Francis Preston Blair Jr. of Missouri.
  6. ^ Includes five Anti-Lecompton Democrats, seven Independent Democrats, and three Anti-Administration Democrats.
  7. ^ Includes votes for those who ran labeled as an Independent, Union Democrat, Anti-Administration Democrat, Anti-Lecompton Democrat, and Independent Democrat.
  8. ^ See The Kansas-Nebraska act
  9. ^ "Democratic" includes Independent Democrats and Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  10. ^ New state. Representative seated February 14, 1859.
  11. ^ Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
  12. ^ Includes 1 Anti-Lecompton Democrat.
  13. ^ Includes 2 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  14. ^ In January 1845, Congress mandated a uniform date for choosing Presidential electors.[5] Gradually, states brought other elections into conformity with this date.
  15. ^ Includes 2 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  16. ^ Includes 1 Independent Democrat and 3 Anti-Lecompton Democrats.
  17. ^ Includes 4 Independent Democrats.
  18. ^ Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
  19. ^ New state. Representative seated January 29, 1861.
  20. ^ An increase of one seat for the new state of Oregon. (See 11 Stat. 383 and United States congressional apportionment.)
  21. ^ Contested election

References

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  1. ^ Party Breakdown of the 36th House
  2. ^ "Electing the House of Representatives". dsl.richmond.edu.
  3. ^ 11 Stat. 383
  4. ^ 12 Stat. 126
  5. ^ Stat. 721
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Thirty-fifth Congress March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1859". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved February 18, 2019 – via History.house.gov.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b "Our Campaigns - NC District 08 - Special Election Race - Aug 05, 1858". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  8. ^ a b "Our Campaigns - PA District 08 - Special Election Race - Nov 30, 1858". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  9. ^ "Our Campaigns - NY District 4 - Special Election Race - Jan 04, 1859". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  10. ^ a b c "Thirty-sixth Congress March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1861". 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.
  11. ^ "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  12. ^ a b Guide to U.S. Elections. Vol. II (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. 2010. p. 1027. ISBN 9781604265361. LCCN 2009033938. OCLC 430736650.
  13. ^ Greeley, Horace; Cleveland, John F. (1860). A Political Text-Book for 1860. New York, New York: The Tribune Association. p. 248. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  14. ^ "Our Campaigns - KS at Large - Initial Election Race - Dec 01, 1859".
  15. ^ a b c d Greeley, Horace; Cleveland, John F. (1860). A Political Text-Book for 1860. New York, New York: The Tribune Association. p. 243. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  16. ^ "MI - District 01 Race - Nov 02, 1858". Our Campaigns. January 11, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  17. ^ "MI - District 01 - Revised Vote Totals Race - Nov 02, 1858". Our Campaigns. January 2, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  18. ^ "MI - District 02 Race - Nov 02, 1858". Our Campaigns. January 11, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  19. ^ "MI - District 03 Race - Nov 02, 1858". Our Campaigns. September 10, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  20. ^ "MI - District 04 Race - Nov 02, 1858". Our Campaigns. January 11, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  21. ^ "Our Campaigns - MN At-Large Race - Oct 04, 1859". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  22. ^ "MS - District 01". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "MS - District 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  24. ^ "MS - District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  25. ^ "MS - District 04". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  26. ^ "MS - District 05". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  27. ^ Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Vol. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 84, 85.
  28. ^ Greeley, Horace; Cleveland, John F. (1860). A Political Text-Book for 1860. New York, New York: The Tribune Association. p. 247. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  29. ^ "TN - District 01". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  30. ^ "TN - District 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  31. ^ "TN - District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  32. ^ "TN - District 04". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  33. ^ "TN - District 05". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  34. ^ "TN - District 06". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  35. ^ "TN - District 07". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  36. ^ "TN - District 08". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  37. ^ "TN - District 09". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  38. ^ "TN - District 10". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  39. ^ "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.
  40. ^ "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.
  41. ^ "Collections of the NSHS - Volume 18". USGenNet.org.

Bibliography

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