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1876–77 United States House of Representatives elections

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United States House of Representatives elections, 1876
← 1874 November 7, 1876[Note 1] 1878 →
All 293 seats to the United States House of Representatives
147 seats were needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Samuel J. Randall James A. Garfield
Party Democratic Republican
Leader's seat Pennsylvania-3rd Ohio-19th
Last election 183 seats[Note 2] 106 seats[Note 5]
Seats won 157[1][Note 3][Note 4] 136[Note 4]
Seat change Decrease 26 Increase 30
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
Seats Change Seats Change
Alabama District[Note 6] 8 8 Increase 2 0 Decrease 2
Arkansas District 4 4[Note 7] Steady 0 Steady
California District 4 2 Decrease 1 2 Increase 1
Colorado At-large 1 1 Increase 1 0 Decrease 1
Connecticut District 4 3 Steady 1 Steady
Delaware At-large 1 1 Steady 0 Steady
Florida District 2 2 Increase 1 0 Decrease 1
Georgia[Note 8] District 9 9[Note 7] Steady 0 Steady
Illinois District 19 8 Decrease 2 11 Increase 4
Indiana[Note 8] District 13 4 Decrease 4 9 Increase 4
Iowa[Note 8] District 9 0 Decrease 1 9 Increase 1
Kansas District 3 0 Decrease 1 3 Increase 1
Kentucky District 10 10 Increase 1 0 Decrease 1
Louisiana District 6 5 Increase 1 1 Decrease 1
Maine[Note 8] District 5 0 Steady 5 Steady
Maryland District 6 6 Steady 0 Steady
Massachusetts District 11 2 Decrease 1 9 Increase 4
Michigan District 9 1 Decrease 2 8 Increase 2
Minnesota District 3 0 Steady 3 Steady
Mississippi District 6 6 Increase 2 0 Decrease 2
Missouri District 13 9 Decrease 4 4 Increase 4
Nebraska At-large 1 0 Steady 1 Steady
Nevada At-large 1 0 Steady 1 Steady
New Hampshire[Note 9] District 3 1 Decrease 1 2 Increase 1
New Jersey District 7 4 Decrease 1 3 Increase 1
New York District 33 16 Decrease 1 17 Increase 1
North Carolina District 8 7 Steady 1 Steady
Ohio[Note 8] District 20 8 Decrease 5 12 Increase 5
Oregon[Note 8] At-large 1 0 Decrease 1 1 Increase 1
Pennsylvania District 27 10 Decrease 7 17 Increase 7
Rhode Island District 2 0 Steady 2 Steady
South Carolina District 5 2 Increase 2 3 Decrease 2
Tennessee District 10 8 Decrease 1 2 Increase 1
Texas District 6 6 Steady 0 Steady
Vermont[Note 8] District 3 0 Steady 3 Steady
Virginia District 9 8 Steady 1 Steady
West Virginia[Note 8] District 3 3 Steady 0 Steady
Wisconsin District 8 3 Steady 5 Steady
Total 293 157[1][Note 3]
53.6% 		Decrease 27 136[1]
46.4% 		Increase 31
House seats
Democratic
 
 53.58%
Republican
 
 46.42%

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

House seats by party holding plurality in state
  80.1-100% Democratic
  80.1-100% Republican
  60.1-80% Democratic
  60.1-80% Republican
  Up to 60% Democratic
  Up to 60% Republican
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.

All races

California

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
California 1 William Adam Piper Democratic
1874
 Lost re-election
Republican gain 		Horace Davis (R) 53.3%
William A. Piper (D) 46.7%
California 2 Horace F. Page Republican
1872
 Incumbent re-elected Horace F. Page (R) 56.7%
G. J. Carpenter (D) 43.3%
California 3 John K. Luttrell Democratic
1872
 Incumbent re-elected John K. Luttrell (D) 51.1%
Joseph McKenna (R) 48.9%
California 4 Peter D. Wigginton Democratic
1874
 Lost re-election
Republican gain 		Romualdo Pacheco (R) 50%
Peter D. Wigginton (D) 50%

Florida

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
Florida 1 William J. Purman Republican 1872 Lost re-election
Democratic gain 		Robert H. M. Davidson (D) 51.2%
William J. Purman (R) 48.8%
Florida 2 Jesse J. Finley Democratic 1874[Note 10] Lost re-election
Republican gain 		Horatio Bisbee, Jr. (R) 50.0%
Jesse J. Finley (D) 50.0%

The election in the 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

South Carolina

District Incumbent Party First
elected 		Result Candidates
South Carolina 1 Joseph Rainey Republican 1870 (special) Re-elected Joseph Rainey (R) 52.2%
John S. Richardson (D) 47.8%
South Carolina 2 Seat declared vacant by Congress on July 19, 1876 due to contested election of previous incumbent Edmund W. M. Mackey (IR) Republican hold Richard H. Cain (R) 62.1%
Michael P. O'Connor (D) 37.9%
South Carolina 3 Solomon L. Hoge Republican 1874 Retired
Democratic gain 		D. Wyatt Aiken (D) 58.0%
Lewis C. Carpenter (R) 42.0%
South Carolina 4 Alexander S. Wallace Republican 1868 Lost re-election
Democratic gain 		John H. Evins (D) 57.6%
Alexander S. Wallace (R) 42.4%
South Carolina 5 Robert Smalls Republican 1874 Re-elected Robert Smalls (R) 51.9%
George D. Tillman (D) 48.1%

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The majority of states held their elections on this date. Nine states held elections on different dates between June 5, 1876 and March 13, 1877.
  2. ^ Included 1 Independent Democrat.
  3. ^ a b Includes 2 Independent Democrats, Jordan E. Cravens of AR-03, and Alexander H. Stephens of GA-07.
  4. ^ a b 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 3 Independent Republicans.
  6. ^ At-large seats eliminated in redistricting.
  7. ^ a b Includes 1 Independent Democrat.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Elections held early
  9. ^ Elections held late
  10. ^ After disputed election

References

  1. ^ a b c Martis, pp. 130–131.
  2. ^ Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.

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.
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