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1845 Iowa Council election

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1845 Iowa Council election

← 1844 1845 1846[a] →

All 13 seats in the Iowa Territory Council
7 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Whig
Last election 11 2
Seats after 11 2
Seat change Steady Steady

President of the Iowa Territory Council before election

Serranus Clinton Hastings
Democratic

Elected President of the Iowa Territory Council

Stephen Hempstead
Democratic

In the 1845 Iowa Territory Council elections, electors selected councilors to serve in the eighth and final Iowa Territory Council before Iowa attained statehood in 1846.[a] All 13 members of the Territory Council were elected.[b] Councilors served until the organization of the Iowa General Assembly in 1846 as the legislative branch of the new state of Iowa.

The Iowa Territory existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when Iowa was admitted to the Union as a state. At the time, the Iowa Territory had a Legislative Assembly consisting of an upper chamber (i.e., the Territory Council) and a lower chamber (i.e., the Territory House of Representatives). Since statehood in 1846, the General Assembly has served as the legislative branch of Iowa. The Territory Council was the predecessor to the Iowa State Senate, the upper chamber of the Iowa state legislature.

Following the previous election in 1844, Democrats held a majority with 11 seats to Whigs' two seats.

To claim a majority of seats, the Whigs needed to net five seats from Democrats.

The Democrats maintained a majority of seats in the Council following the 1845 general election with the balance of power remaining unchanged with Democrats holding 11 seats and Whigs having two seats. Democratic Councilor Stephen P. Hempstead was chosen as the President of the eighth Territory Council to succeed Democratic Councilor Serranus Clinton Hastings in that leadership position.

Summary of results

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Iowa Territory Council District Incumbent Party Elected Councilor Party Outcome
1st[c] James Brierly Dem James Brierly Dem Dem Hold
John Thompson Dem John Thompson Dem Dem Hold
2nd[d] Paul Brattain Dem Paul Brattain Dem Dem Hold
Henry M. Shelby Dem Henry M. Shelby Dem Dem Hold
3rd[e] Shepherd Leffler Dem Shepherd Leffler Dem Dem Hold
4th[f] John Stephenson Whig John Stephenson Whig Whig Hold
5th[g] William Greyer Coop Dem William Greyer Coop Dem Dem Hold
6th[h] Enoch Ross Whig Enoch Ross Whig Whig Hold
7th[i] Serranus Clinton Hastings Dem Serranus Clinton Hastings Dem Dem Hold
8th[j] William Abbe Dem William Abbe Dem Dem Hold
9th[k] Laurel Summers Dem Laurel Summers Dem Dem Hold
10th[l] Philip Burr Bradley Dem Philip Burr Bradley Dem Dem Hold
Stephen Hempstead Dem Stephen Hempstead Dem Dem Hold

Source:[3]

  1. ^ a b On December 28, 1846, Iowa was granted statehood as the twenty-ninth state in the Union. The 1845 Iowa Territory Council general election was the last held for seats in the Territorial Council. Starting in 1846, the legislative branch of the new state of Iowa would be the Iowa General Assembly, organized with the Iowa Senate as the upper chamber and Iowa House of Representatives as the lower chamber. The Territory Council with its councilors served as the precursor of the Iowa State Senate and its senators. Therefore, the 1846 Iowa Senate election determined the Senators to serve in the first Iowa General Assembly.[1]
  2. ^ At the time, the Iowa Territory Council had several multi-member districts.[2]
  3. ^ The 1st was a 2-member district.
  4. ^ The 2nd was a 2-member district.
  5. ^ The 3rd was a 1-member district.
  6. ^ The 4th was a 1-member district.
  7. ^ The 5th was a 1-member district.
  8. ^ The 6th was a 1-member district.
  9. ^ The 7th was a 1-member district.
  10. ^ The 8th was a 1-member district.
  11. ^ The 9th was a 1-member district.
  12. ^ The 10th was a 2-member district.

Detailed results

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  • NOTE: The Iowa General Assembly does not contain detailed vote totals for Territory Council elections in 1845.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Iowa General Assembly: Our Legislative Heritage 1846 - 1980" (PDF). Iowa General Assembly. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Legislative Assembly: 8 (12/01/1845 - 11/29/1846)". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  3. ^ "Legislators". Iowa State Senate. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
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District boundaries for the Iowa Territory Council in 1845: