1880 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1880 for Representatives to the 47th Congress, and coincided with the 1880 presidential election which was won by James A. Garfield, who was a member of the House at the time.

1880 United States House of Representatives elections

June 1, 1880 – November 2, 1880
All 293 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives 147 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Joseph Keifer Samuel Randall Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Ohio 4th Pennsylvania 3rd Last election 132 seats 141 seats Seats won 151[1][lower-alpha 1] 128[1][lower-alpha 1] Seat change 19 13 Popular vote 4,080,609 4,330,113 Percentage 44.94% 47.68% Swing 5.38% 3.48%   Third party Fourth party   Party Greenback Readjuster Last election 13 seats New Party Seats won 10[1][lower-alpha 1] 2[2] Seat change 3 2 Popular vote 504,097 56,058 Percentage 5.55% 0.62% Swing 6.74% Pre-creation   Fifth party   Party Independent Last election 7 seats[lower-alpha 2] Seats won 1[lower-alpha 3] Seat change 6 Popular vote 99,511 Percentage 1.10% Swing 1.65%
Speaker before election Samuel Randall Democratic Elected Speaker Joseph Keifer Republican

Issues such as Civil War loyalties, tariffs, graft and corruption dominated the year's elections, though none became substantive a national issue. The economy was growing stronger after emerging from a long Depression. It was in this political environment that Garfield's Republican Party gained 19 seats and regained control of the House from the Democratic Party. The Greenback Party, an emerging party of workers and farmers, also lost seats in these elections, after gaining more than a dozen two years earlier.[3][4]

Election summaries

↓

131	10	151
Democratic	Gb	Republican

State	Type	Total seats	Democratic		Greenback		Republican
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	8	6	1	1		1	1
Arkansas	District	4	4		0		0
California	District	4	2	1	0		2	1
Colorado	At-large	1	0		0		1
Connecticut	District	4	1		0		3
Delaware	At-large	1	1		0		0
Florida	District	2	1		0		1
Georgia	District	9	9[lower-alpha 4]		0		0
Illinois	District	19	6		0	1	13	1
Indiana	District	13	5	1	0		8	2
Iowa	District	9	1	1	0	2	8	1
Kansas	District	3	0		0		3
Kentucky	District	10	9	1	0		1	1
Louisiana	District	6	5	1	0		1	1
Maine[lower-alpha 5]	District	5	0		2		3
Maryland	District	6	5		0		1
Massachusetts	District	11	1		0		10
Michigan	District	9	0		0		9
Minnesota	District	3	0	1	0		3	1
Mississippi	District	6	5	1	0		1	1
Missouri	District	13	7	5	4	3	2	2
Nebraska	At-large	1	0		0		1
Nevada	At-large	1	1	1	0		0	1
New Hampshire	District	3	0		0		3
New Jersey	District	7	3		0		4
New York	District	33[lower-alpha 6]	12	3	0		20	4
North Carolina	District	8	7	1	0	1	1
Ohio[lower-alpha 5]	District	20	5	6	0		15	6
Oregon[lower-alpha 5]	At-large	1	0	1	0		1	1
Pennsylvania	District	27	7	1	2		18	1
Rhode Island	District	2	0		0		2
South Carolina	District	5	4	1	0		1	1
Tennessee	District	10	7	2	0		3	2
Texas[lower-alpha 5]	District	6	5		1		0
Vermont[lower-alpha 5]	District	3	0		0	1	3	1
Virginia	District	9	7[lower-alpha 7]	1	0		2	1
West Virginia	District	3	3		0		0
Wisconsin	District	8	2	1	0		6	1
Total		293[lower-alpha 6]	131[1] 44.7%	13	10[1] 3.4%	4	151[1] 51.5%	16

House seats Democratic   44.71% Greenback   3.41% Republican   51.54%

[[File:47 us house membership.png|thumb|450px| House seats by party holding plurality in state   80+% to 100% Democratic   80+% to 100% Republican   60+% to 80% Democratic   60+% to 80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic   Up to 60% Republican ]]

[[File:47 us house changes.png|thumb|450px| Net gain in party representation   6+ Democratic gain     6+ Republican gain   3-5 Democratic gain   3-5 Greenback gain   3-5 Republican gain   1-2 Democratic gain   1-2 Greenback gain   1-2 Republican gain   no net change ]]

Early election dates

In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.[5] 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 1880, no states held their elections after Election Day for the first time (California was the last state to hold late elections, in 1878). But 5 states, with 35 seats among them, held their elections before the rest of the states:

• June 1 Texas
• June 7 Oregon
• September 7 Vermont
• September 13 Maine
• October 12 Ohio

Special elections

46th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Missouri 7	Alfred M. Lay	Democratic	1878	Incumbent died December 8, 1879. New member elected January 10, 1880.[6] Democratic hold. Successor seated January 26, 1880.[7] Successor later lost re-election to the next term, see below.	Y John F. Philips (Democratic) 53.62% Joseph W. McClurg (Republican) 36.20% William C. Alldridge (Greenback) 10.18%[6]
New York 32	Ray V. Pierce	Republican	1878	Incumbent resigned September 18, 1880. New member elected November 2, 1880.[8] Democratic gain. Successor seated December 6, 1880.[7] Successor also elected to the next term, see below.	Y Jonathan Scoville (Democratic) 50.06% Myron R. Bush (Republican) 49.17% William S. Smith (Greenback) 0.77%[8]
Alabama 6	Burwell B. Lewis	Democratic	1874 1876 (Lost) 1878	Incumbent resigned October 1, 1880 to become President of the University of Alabama. New member elected sometime in 1880. Democratic hold. Successor seated December 8, 1880.[7] Successor had not been a candidate to the next term, see below.	Y Newton N. Clements (Democratic) 100%[9]
Ohio 19th	James A. Garfield	Republican	1862	Incumbent resigned November 8, 1880 to become U.S. President. New member November 30, 1880.[10] Republican hold. Successor seated December 13, 1880.[7] Successor had already been elected to the next term, see below.	Y Ezra B. Taylor (Republican) 89.99% Charles D. Adams (Democratic) 9.15%[10]
New Hampshire 3	Evarts Worcester Farr	Republican	1878	Incumbent died November 30, 1880. New member elected December 28, 1880.[11] Republican hold. Successor seated January 8, 1881.[12] Successor was also elected to the next term.	Y Ossian Ray (Republican) 64.17% Jewett D. Hosley (Democratic) 34.82% Others 1.01%[11]

47th Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
New Hampshire 3	Evarts Worcester Farr	Republican	1878	Incumbent member-elect died November 30, 1880, having just been re-elected. New member elected December 28, 1880.[13] Republican hold. Successor was also elected to finish the current term.	Y Ossian Ray (Republican) 65.18% Jewett D. Hosley (Democratic) 34.82%[13]

Alabama

See also: List of United States Representatives from Alabama

Arkansas

See also: List of United States Representatives from Arkansas

California

See also: List of United States Representatives from California

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
California 1	Horace Davis	Republican	1876	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic Gain.	Y William Rosecrans (Democratic) 51% Horace Davis (Republican) 47.3% Stephen Maybell (Greenback) 1.7%
California 2	Horace F. Page	Republican	1872	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Horace F. Page (Republican) 53.6% John R. Glascock (Democratic) 45.7% Benjamin Todd (Greenback) 0.7%
California 3	Campbell P. Berry	Democratic	1879	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Campbell P. Berry (Democratic) 51.1% George A. Knight (Republican) 48.2% A. Musselman (Greenback) 0.6%
California 4	Romualdo Pacheco	Republican	1876	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Romualdo Pacheco (Republican) 45.8% Wallace Leach (Democratic) 45.3% J. F. Godfrey (Greenback) 8.9%

Colorado

See also: List of United States Representatives from Colorado

Connecticut

See also: List of United States Representatives from Connecticut

Delaware

See also: List of United States Representatives from Delaware

Florida

Main article: 1880 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

See also: List of United States Representatives from Florida

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Florida 1	Robert H. M. Davidson	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Robert H. M. Davidson (Democratic) 57.2% George W. Witherspoon (Republican) 42.3% Livingston W. Bethel (Independent) 0.5%
Florida 2	Noble A. Hull	Democratic	1878	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold. Horatio Bisbee Jr. later successfully challenged the election of Jesse J. Finley and was seated June 1, 1882.	Y Jesse J. Finley (Democratic) 52.3% Horatio Bisbee Jr. (Republican) 47.7%

Georgia

See also: List of United States Representatives from Georgia

Illinois

See also: List of United States Representatives from Illinois

Indiana

See also: List of United States Representatives from Indiana

Iowa

See also: List of United States Representatives from Iowa

Kansas

See also: List of United States Representatives from Kansas

Kentucky

See also: List of United States Representatives from Kentucky

Louisiana

See also: List of United States Representatives from Louisiana

Maine

See also: List of United States Representatives from Maine

Maryland

See also: List of United States Representatives from Maryland

Massachusetts

See also: List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts

Michigan

See also: List of United States Representatives from Michigan

Minnesota

See also: List of United States Representatives from Minnesota

Mississippi

See also: List of United States Representatives from Mississippi

Missouri

See also: List of United States Representatives from Missouri

Nebraska

See also: List of United States Representatives from Nebraska

Nevada

See also: List of United States Representatives from Nevada

New Hampshire

See also: List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire

New Jersey

See also: List of United States Representatives from New Jersey

New York

See also: List of United States Representatives from New York

North Carolina

See also: List of United States Representatives from North Carolina

Ohio

See also: List of United States Representatives from Ohio

Oregon

See also: List of United States Representatives from Oregon

Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

See also: List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island

South Carolina

Main article: 1880 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

See also: List of United States Representatives from South Carolina

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
South Carolina 1	John S. Richardson	Democratic	1878	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John S. Richardson (Democratic) 63.3% Samuel J. Lee (Republican) 36.7%
South Carolina 2	Michael P. O'Connor	Democratic	1878	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Michael P. O'Connor (Democratic) 58.8% Edmund W. M. Mackey (Republican) 41.2%
South Carolina 3	D. Wyatt Aiken	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected.	Y D. Wyatt Aiken (Democratic) 74.1% C. J. Stollbrand (Republican) 25.9%
South Carolina 4	John H. Evins	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John H. Evins (Democratic) 69.7% A. Blythe (Republican) 29.3% J. Hendrix McLane (Greenback) 1.0%
South Carolina 5	George D. Tillman	Democratic	1878	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George D. Tillman (Democratic) 60.4% Robert Smalls (Republican) 39.6%

Tennessee

See also: List of United States Representatives from Tennessee

Texas

See also: List of United States Representatives from Texas

Vermont

See also: List of United States Representatives from Vermont

Virginia

See also: List of United States Representatives from Virginia

West Virginia

See also: List of United States Representatives from West Virginia

Wisconsin

See also: List of United States Representatives from Wisconsin

Non-voting members

There were elections in Montana Territory.

See also

• 1880 United States elections
  • 1880 United States presidential election
  • 1880 and 1881 United States Senate elections
• 1881 United States House of Representatives elections
• 46th United States Congress
• 47th United States Congress

Notes

1. Dubin (p. 255) counts 147 Republicans, 135 Democrats, 2 Readjusters, 1 Independent Democrat, and 8 Greenbacks at the start of the 47th United States Congress.
2. Included 7 Independent Democrats.
3. Includes 1 Independent Democrat elected in Georgia.
4. Includes 1 Independent Democrat elected in the 9th district.
5. Elections held early.
6. 1 Independent, J. Hyatt Smith elected to the 3rd district.
7. Includes 2 Readjuster Democrats, elected to the 7th district and 9th district.

References

1. Martis 1989, pp. 134–135
2. Martis 1989, pp. 136–137.
3. Kennedy, Robert C. ""A Midsummer-Night's Dream Nomination"". The Learning Network: The New York Times on the web. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
4. Hartman, Dorothy W. "Politics of the 1870s and 1880s". connerprairie.org. Fishers, Indiana: Conner Prairie. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
5. Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721.
6. "MO District 7 - Special Election". December 17, 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2019 – via OurCampaigns.com.
7. "Forty-Sixth Congress March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1881". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
8. "NY District 32 - Special Election". April 24, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2019 – via OurCampaigns.com.
9. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections. 1975. p. 642.
10. "OH District 19 - Special Election". April 18, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2019 – via OurCampaigns.com.
11. "NH District 3 - Special Election". January 5, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2019 – via OurCampaigns.com.
12. "Forty-Sixth Congress March 4, 1879, to March 3, 1881". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
13. "NH District 3 - Special Election". January 5, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2019 – via OurCampaigns.com.

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.

External links

• Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)