1908 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives in 1908 were held for members of the 61st Congress, coinciding with the 1908 United States presidential election, which William Howard Taft won.

1908 U.S. House of Representatives elections

November 3, 1908[lower-alpha 1]
All 391 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives 196 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Joseph Cannon Champ Clark Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Illinois 18th Missouri 9th Last election 223 seats 167 seats Seats won 218[1][2] 172[1][2] Seat change 5 5 Popular vote 7,227,470 6,552,986 Percentage 50.05% 45.38% Swing 0.01% 1.81%   Third party   Party Independent Last election 1 seat[lower-alpha 2] Seats won 1[lower-alpha 3] Seat change Popular vote 61,499 Percentage 0.43% Swing
Speaker before election Joseph Cannon Republican Elected Speaker Joseph Cannon Republican

Taft was not as popular as his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, but won with Roosevelt's backing, and his Republican Party lost only a handful of seats to the opposition Democrats. Without any striking national issues, the Republicans were able to remain in control. Regional issues led to some changes in House membership, but new Democrats who were elected by dissatisfied industrial workers were balanced out by new Republicans who gained seats in districts with a strong middle class presence.

Election summaries

↓

172	219
Democratic	Republican

State	Type	Total seats	Democratic		Republican
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	9	9		0
Arkansas	District	7	7		0
California	District	8	0		8
Colorado	District +at-large	3	3	3	0	3
Connecticut	District +at-large	5	0		5
Delaware	At-large	1	0		1
Florida	District	3	3		0
Georgia	District	11	11		0
Idaho	At-large	1	0		1
Illinois	District	25	6	1	19	1
Indiana	District	13	11	7	2	7
Iowa	District	11	1		10
Kansas	District	8	0		8
Kentucky	District	11	8	1	3	1
Louisiana	District	7	7		0
Maine[lower-alpha 4]	District	4	0		4
Maryland	District	6	3		3
Massachusetts	District	14	3		11
Michigan	District	12	0		12
Minnesota	District	9	1		8
Mississippi	District	8	8		0
Missouri	District	16	10	2	6	2
Montana	At-large	1	0		1
Nebraska	District	6	3	2	3	2
Nevada	At-large	1	1		0
New Hampshire	District	2	0		2
New Jersey	District	10	3	1	7	1
New York	District	37	11		26
North Carolina	District	10	7	3	3	3
North Dakota	District	2	0		2
Ohio	District	21	8	3	13	3
Oklahoma	District	5	2	2	3	2
Oregon[lower-alpha 4]	District	2	0		2
Pennsylvania	District	32	5	2	27	2
Rhode Island	District	2	0	1	2	1
South Carolina	District	7	7		0
South Dakota	At-large	2	0		2
Tennessee	District	10	8		2
Texas	District	16	16		0
Utah	At-large	1	0		1
Vermont[lower-alpha 4]	District	2	0		2
Virginia	District	10	9		1
Washington	District[lower-alpha 5]	3	0		3
West Virginia	District	5	0		5
Wisconsin	District	11	1	1	10	1
Wyoming	At-large	1	0		1
Total		391	172 44.0%	5	219 56.0%	5

House seats Democratic   43.99% Republican   56.01%

[[File:61 us house membership.png|thumb|left|350px| House seats by party holding plurality in state   80+% Democratic   80+% Republican   60+ to 80% Democratic   60+ to 80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic   Up to 60% Republican ]]

[[File:61 us house changes.png|thumb|left|350px| 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 ]]

Early election dates

In 1908, three states, with 8 seats among them, held elections early:

• June 1: Oregon[lower-alpha 6]
• September 1: Vermont
• September 14: Maine

Special elections

See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

There were nine special elections in 1908.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Illinois 25	George W. Smith	Republican	1888	Incumbent died November 30, 1907. New member elected February 15, 1908. Republican hold.	Y Napoleon B. Thistlewood (Republican) 47.17% William H. Warder (Democratic) 33.16% Samuel T. Brush (Independent Republican) 15.34% Daniel W. Boone (Socialist) 4.33%[3]
Alabama 2	Ariosto A. Wiley	Democratic	1900	Incumbent died June 17, 1908. New member elected November 3, 1908 to finish his brother's term. Democratic hold.	Y Oliver C. Wiley (Democratic) Unopposed[4]
Indiana 13	Abraham L. Brick	Republican	1898	Incumbent died April 7, 1908. New member elected November 3, 1908. Democratic gain. Successor was also elected the same day to the next term, see below.	Y Henry A. Barnhart (Democratic) 48.42% Charles W. Miller (Republican) 47.69% Thomas B. Barnes (Prohibition) 2.02% John A. Snook (Socialist) 1.79%[5]
Louisiana 1	Adolph Meyer	Democratic	1890	Incumbent died March 8, 1908. New member elected November 3, 1908. Democratic hold. Successor was also elected the same day to the next term, see below.	Y Albert Estopinal (Democratic) 95.22% Henry Clay Warmoth (Republican) 4.78%[6]
Maine 2	Charles E. Littlefield	Republican	1899 (Special)	Incumbent died September 30, 1908. New member elected November 3, 1908. Republican hold. Successor had already been elected to the next term, see below.	Y John P. Swasey (Republican) Unopposed[7]
Maine 4	Llewellyn Powers	Republican	1876 1878 (Lost) 1901 (Special)	Incumbent died July 28, 1908. New member elected November 3, 1908. Republican hold. Successor had already been elected to the next term, see below.	Y Frank E. Guernsey (Republican) 67.70% George M. Hanson (Democratic) 32.30%[8]
New York 3	Charles T. Dunwell	Republican	1902	Incumbent died June 12, 1908. New member elected November 3, 1908. Republican hold. Successor was also elected the same day to the next term, see below.	Y Otto G. Foelker (Republican) 50.28% James P. Maher (Democratic) 41.68% Elias B. Gordon (Independence League) 4.02% John T. Hill (Socialist) 4.02%[9]
South Dakota at-large	William H. Parker	Republican	1906	Incumbent died June 26, 1908. New member elected November 3, 1908. Republican hold. Successor was also elected the same day to the next term, see below.	Y Eben Martin (Republican) 62.33% W.W. Soule (Democratic) 37.67%

California

Main article: 1908 United States House of Representatives elections in California

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
California 1	William F. Englebright	Republican	1906	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William F. Englebright (Republican) 54.1% E. W. Holland (Democratic) 36.8% D. N. Cunningham (Socialist) 7.6% W. P. Fassett (Prohibition) 1.4%
California 2	Duncan E. McKinlay	Republican	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Duncan E. McKinlay (Republican) 57.5% W. K. Hays (Democratic) 38.5% A. J. Gaylord (Socialist) 4%
California 3	Joseph R. Knowland	Republican	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Joseph R. Knowland (Republican) 64.1% George W. Peckham (Democratic) 22.8% O. H. Philbrick (Socialist) 9.3% John A. Sands (Independence League) 2.1% T. H. Montgomery (Prohibition) 1.7%
California 4	Julius Kahn	Republican	1898	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Julius Kahn (Republican) 52.7% James G. Maguire (Democratic) 42.9% K. J. Doyle (Socialist) 4% William N. Meserve (Prohibition) 0.3%
California 5	Everis A. Hayes	Republican	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Everis A. Hayes (Republican) 49.1% George A. Tracy (Democratic) 42.8% E. H. Misner (Socialist) 6.3% Walter E. Vail (Prohibition) 1.8%
California 6	James C. Needham	Republican	1898	Incumbent re-elected.	Y James C. Needham (Republican) 52% Fred P. Feliz (Democratic) 38.7% W. M. Pattison (Socialist) 5.6% James W. Webb (Prohibition) 3.7%
California 7	James McLachlan	Republican	1900	Incumbent re-elected.	Y James McLachlan (Republican) 91.5% Jud R. Rush (Democratic) 6.3% A. R. Holston (Socialist) 1.1% Marshall W. Atwood (Prohibition) 1% F. G. Hentig (Independence League) 0.2%
California 8	Sylvester C. Smith	Republican	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Sylvester C. Smith (Republican) 55.7% W. E. Shepherd (Democratic) 34.7% Noble A. Richardson (Socialist) 9.6%

Florida

Main article: 1908 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Florida 1	Stephen M. Sparkman	Democratic	1894	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Stephen M. Sparkman (Democratic) 75.2% George W. Allen (Republican) 15.0% C. C. Allen (Socialist) 9.8%
Florida 2	Frank Clark	Democratic	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Frank Clark (Democratic) 75.9% William R. O'Neal (Republican) 18.0% A. N. Jackson (Socialist) 6.1%
Florida 3	William B. Lamar	Democratic	1902	Incumbent retired to run for U.S. senator. New member elected. Democratic hold	Y Dannite H. Mays (Democratic) 84.5% William Northrup (Republican) 15.5%

Maryland

See also: List of United States Representatives from Maryland and 1908 United States Senate election in Maryland

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Maryland 1	William H. Jackson	Republican	1906	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Y James Harry Covington (Democratic) 52.7% William H. Jackson (Republican) 45.0% Jacob W. Wheatley (Prohibition) 3.7%
Maryland 2	J. Frederick C. Talbott	Democratic	1902	Incumbent re-elected.	Y J. Frederick C. Talbott (Democratic) 52.2% Robert Garrett (Republican) 46.1% John H. Grill (Prohibition) 1.7%
Maryland 3	Harry Benjamin Wolf	Democratic	1906	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Y John Kronmiller (Republican) 49.1% Harry Benjamin Wolf (Democratic) 48.2% Joseph P. Jarboe (Socialist) 1.8% R.V. Whitehurst (Prohibition) 0.9%
Maryland 4	John Gill Jr.	Democratic	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John Gill Jr. (Democratic) 52.1% John Boynton Philip Clayton Hill (Republican) 46.7% Charles R. Woods (Prohibition) 1.3%
Maryland 5	Sydney Emanuel Mudd I	Republican	1896	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Sydney Emanuel Mudd I (Republican) 49.2% George M. Smith (Democratic) 48.2% S.W. James (Prohibition) 1.7% B.E. Davis (Socialist) 1.0%
Maryland 6	George A. Pearre	Republican	1898	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George A. Pearre (Republican) 49.1% David John Lewis (Democratic) 47.6% H.N. Cuppett (Prohibition) 2.1% S.L.V. Young(Socialist) 1.2%

Kansas

See also: List of United States Representatives from Kansas

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Kansas 1	Daniel R. Anthony Jr.	Republican	1907 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Daniel R. Anthony Jr. (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kansas 2	Charles F. Scott	Republican	1900	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Charles F. Scott (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kansas 3	Philip P. Campbell	Republican	1902	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Philip P. Campbell (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kansas 4	James Monroe Miller	Republican	1898	Incumbent re-elected.	Y James Monroe Miller (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kansas 5	William A. Calderhead	Republican	1894 1896 (Lost) 1898	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William A. Calderhead (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kansas 6	William A. Reeder	Republican	1898	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William A. Reeder (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kansas 7	Edmond H. Madison	Republican	1900	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Edmond H. Madison (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kansas 8	Victor Murdock	Republican	1902	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Victor Murdock (Republican) [data unknown/missing]

South Carolina

Main article: 1908 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
South Carolina 1	George Swinton Legaré	Democratic	1902	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George Swinton Legaré (Democratic) 90.1% Aaron P. Prioleau (Republican) 9.9%
South Carolina 2	James O'H. Patterson	Democratic	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y James O'H. Patterson (Democratic) 99.3% Isaac Myers (Republican) 0.7%
South Carolina 3	Wyatt Aiken	Democratic	1902	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Wyatt Aiken (Democratic) Unopposed
South Carolina 4	Joseph T. Johnson	Democratic	1900	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Joseph T. Johnson (Democratic) Unopposed
South Carolina 5	David E. Finley	Democratic	1898	Incumbent re-elected.	Y David E. Finley (Democratic) Unopposed
South Carolina 6	J. Edwin Ellerbe	Democratic	1904	Incumbent re-elected.	Y J. Edwin Ellerbe (Democratic) Unopposed
South Carolina 7	Asbury F. Lever	Democratic	1901 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Asbury F. Lever (Democratic) 90.9% AR. H. Richardson (Republican) 9.1%

Virginia

See also: List of United States Representatives from Virginia

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Virginia 1
Virginia 2
Virginia 3
Virginia 4
Virginia 5
Virginia 6	Carter Glass	Democratic	1902 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Carter Glass (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Virginia 7
Virginia 8
Virginia 9
Virginia 10

Non-voting delegates

Alaska Territory

See also: List of United States Representatives from Alaska

Alaska Territory elected its non-voting delegate August 11, 1908.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Alaska Territory at-large	Thomas Cale	Independent	1906	Incumbent retired. New delegate elected. Democratic gain.	Y James Wickersham (Republican) 39.50% Joseph Chilberg (Labor) 24.76% John W. Corson (Republican) 22.22% John Ronan (Democratic) 10.46% John Clum (Unknown) 3.06%[10]

See also

• 1908 United States elections
  • 1908 United States presidential election
  • 1908 and 1909 United States Senate elections
• 60th United States Congress
• 61st United States Congress

Notes

1. Three states held earlier elections between June 1 and September 14.
2. One Independent Republican, Peter Porter from the 34th District of New York.
3. One Independent Republican, Richard Austin from the 2nd District of Tennessee.
4. Elections held early
5. Changed from at-large.
6. This was the last year that Oregon held its congressional elections early.

References

1. "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
2. Martis, pp. 162–163.
3. "Our Campaigns - IL - District 25 Special Election Race - Feb 15, 1908".
4. "Our Campaigns - AL - District 02 - Special Election Race - Nov 03, 1908".
5. "Our Campaigns - IN - District 13 Special Election Race - Nov 03, 1908".
6. "Our Campaigns - LA - District 01 - Special Election Race - Nov 03, 1908".
7. "Our Campaigns - ME District 2 - Special Election Race - Nov 03, 1908".
8. "Our Campaigns - ME District 4 - Special Election Race - Nov 03, 1908".
9. "Our Campaigns - NY District 3 - Special Election Race - Nov 03, 1908".
10. "Our Campaigns - AK Territorial Delegate Race - Aug 11, 1908".

Bibliography

• Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). 1788 United States Congressional Elections-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.
• Secretary of State (1909). Maryland Manual 1908. Baltimore: Wm. J. C. Dulany Co. Retrieved 23 June 2020.

External links

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