United States House of Representatives elections, 1870

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United States House of Representatives elections, 1870
United States
1868 ←
 June 6, 1870 - October 6, 1871[1]
 → 1872
All 243 seats to the United States House of Representatives
122 seats were needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
  JamesGBlaine.png George W. Morgan - Brady-Handy.jpg
Leader James Blaine George Morgan
Party Republican Democratic
Leader's seat Maine-3rd Ohio-13th
Last election 168 seats 70 seats
Seats won 141[2] 102
Seat change Decrease 27 Increase 32
Speaker before election

James Blaine
Republican

 Elected Speaker

James Blaine
Republican

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1870 and 1871 to elect Representatives for the 42nd Congress, and were held in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's first term.

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

Contents

Election summaries [edit]

State Type Total
seats		 Republican Democratic
Seats Change Seats Change
Mississippi[3][4] District 5 5 Steady 0 Steady
Alabama District 6 3 Decrease 1 3 Increase 1
Arkansas District 3 2[5] Steady 1 Steady
California[6] District 3 3 Increase 2 0 Decrease 2
Connecticut[6] District 4 3 Steady 1 Steady
Delaware At-large 1 0 Steady 1 Steady
Florida At-large 1 1 Steady 0 Steady
Georgia District 7 3 Steady 4 Steady
Illinois District
+ 1 at-large		 14 8 Decrease 2 6 Increase 2
Indiana[3] District 11 6 Decrease 1 5 Increase 1
Iowa[3] District 6 6 Steady 0 Steady
Kansas At-large 1 1 Steady 0 Steady
Kentucky District 9 0 Steady 9 Steady
Louisiana District 5 5 Steady 0 Steady
Maine[3] District 5 5 Steady 0 Steady
Maryland District 5 0 Steady 5 Steady
Massachusetts District 10 10 Steady 0 Steady
Michigan District 6 5 Decrease 1 1 Increase 1
Minnesota District 2 2 Increase 1 0 Decrease 1
Missouri District 9 5[7] Decrease 2 4 Increase 2
Nebraska[3] At-large 1 1 Steady 0 Steady
Nevada At-large 1 0 Decrease 1 1 Increase 1
New Hampshire[6] District 3 0 Decrease 3 3 Increase 3
New Jersey District 5 3 Increase 1 2 Decrease 1
New York District 31 15 Decrease 3 16 Increase 3
North Carolina[3] District 7 2 Decrease 4 5 Increase 4
Ohio[3] District 19 14 Increase 1 5 Decrease 1
Oregon[3] At-large 1 0 Steady 1 Steady
Pennsylvania[3] District 24 13[8] Decrease 3 11 Increase 3
Rhode Island District 2 2 Steady 0 Steady
South Carolina[3] District 4 4 Steady 0 Steady
Tennessee District 8 2 Decrease 6 6 Increase 6
Texas[6] District 4 1 Decrease 2 3 Increase 2
Vermont[3] District 3 3 Steady 0 Steady
Virginia District 8 3 Steady 5 Increase 5[9]
West Virginia[3] District 3 1 Decrease 2 2 Increase 2
Wisconsin District 6 4 Decrease 1 2 Increase 1
Total 243 141[2]
58.0%		 Decrease 27 102
42.0%		 Increase 32

The previous election included 5 Conservatives

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

All Races [edit]

California [edit]

District Incumbent Party Elected Status Opponent
California 1 Samuel Beach Axtell Democratic 1867 Retired
Republican Gain		 Sherman O. Houghton (R) 51.6%
Lawrence Archer (D) 48.4%
California 2 Aaron Augustus Sargent Republican 1868 Incumbent re-elected Aaron Augustus Sargent (R) 54%
James W. Coffroth (D) 46%
California 3 James A. Johnson Democratic 1867 Retired
Republican gain		 John M. Coghlan (R) 51.7%
George Pearce (D) 48.3%

Florida [edit]

District Incumbent Party First
elected		 Result Candidates
Florida at-large Charles M. Hamilton Republican 1868 Retired
Republican hold		 Josiah T. Walls (R) 51.3%
Silas L. Niblack (D) 48.7%

Niblack subsequently successfully challenged Walls' election, and took Florida's at-large seat on January 29, 1873[10]

Ohio [edit]

District Incumbent Party First
elected		 Result Candidates[11]
Ohio 1 Peter W. Strader Democratic 1868 Retired
Republican gain
Ohio 2 Job E. Stevenson Republican 1868 Re-elected
Ohio 3 Robert C. Schenck Republican 1862 Lost Re-election
Democratic gain
Ohio 4 William Lawrence Republican 1864 Retired
Democratic gain
Ohio 5 William Mungen Democratic 1866 Retired
Democratic hold
Ohio 6 John Armstrong Smith Republican 1868 Re-elected
Ohio 7 James J. Winans Republican 1868 Lost Re-nomination
Republican hold
Ohio 8 John Beatty Republican 1868 (s) Re-elected
Ohio 9 Edward F. Dickinson Democratic 1868 Lost Re-election
Republican gain
Ohio 10 Erasmus D. Peck Republican 1870 (s) Re-elected
Ohio 11 John Thomas Wilson Republican 1866 Re-elected
Ohio 12 Philadelph Van Trump Democratic 1866 Re-elected
Ohio 13 George W. Morgan Democratic 1868 Re-elected
Ohio 14 Martin Welker Republican 1864 Retired
Republican hold
Ohio 15 Eliakim H. Moore Republican 1868 Retired
Republican hold
Ohio 16 John Bingham Republican 1864 Re-elected
Ohio 17 Jacob A. Ambler Republican 1868 Re-elected
Ohio 18 William H. Upson Republican 1868 Re-elected
Ohio 19 James A. Garfield Republican 1862 Re-elected

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Majority of States held elections November 8, 1870
  2. ^ a b Includes 3 Liberal Republicans and 1 Independent Republican
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Elections held early
  4. ^ Elections held at the same time as elections for 41st Congress
  5. ^ Includes 1 Liberal Republican
  6. ^ a b c d Elections held late
  7. ^ Includes 2 Liberal Republicans
  8. ^ Includes 1 Independent Republican
  9. ^ Previous election had 5 Conservatives
  10. ^ 42nd Congress membership roster
  11. ^ Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 277, 278. 

External links [edit]
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