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1888 United States House of Representatives elections
House elections for the 51st U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1888 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 6, 1888, with three states holding theirs early between June and September. They occurred at the same time as the election of President Benjamin Harrison. Elections were initially held for 325 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 38 states, to serve in the 51st United States Congress. Six new states would later join the union and increase the House to 332 seats. Special elections were also held throughout the year.
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Harrison's Republican Party gained a majority in the House at the expense of the Democratic Party, even though incumbent President Grover Cleveland actually received more votes counted than Harrison. However, as in other elections in the period, widespread vote suppression and electoral fraud was common on behalf of Democrats and against black Republicans in the Southern United States. The Republican House majority in uncontested elections unseated a number of initially reported as victorious Democratic candidates in favor of Republican candidates who contested their election loss.
The issue of tariffs played a key role in this election. The Democrats, with the support of farmers and laborers, wanted to lower tariffs in order to promote free trade, while the Republicans, backed by industry and big business, believed that higher tariffs were necessary to protect American manufacturing. Especially in industrializing regions, voters chose the Republican view on tariffs, as they gave the party a slim majority in the House.
Hamilton D. Coleman’s win in the Second District would prove the last time until 1972 that a Republican won any House seat in Louisiana,[2] for the disenfrachisement of almost all blacks in the 1890s would leave that state completely devoid of Republican support until after the Dixiecrat bolt.[3]
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Election summaries
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Seven seats were added, for the six new states of, in order of admission (number of House seats for each new state listed in parentheses): North Dakota (1), South Dakota (2), Montana (1), Washington (1), Idaho (1), and Wyoming (1).
179 | 1 | 152 |
Republican | [e] | Democratic |
The previous election had 4 third-party candidates, 2 Labor, 1 Greenback, and 1 Independent.
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Election dates
All states elected their members November 6, 1888 except, three states, with 7 seats among them:
Alabama
Arizona Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Arkansas
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In the 1st district, initial returns showed William H. Cate (Democratic) winning the election, but the election was contested by Lewis P. Featherstone (Labor), and on May 5, 1890, he was declared the winner.
In the 2nd district, Clifton R. Breckinridge (Democratic) was initially declared re-elected. John M. Clayton successfully contested the election, but was assassinated before the contest was complete, so the House declared the seat vacant. Breckinridge was subsequently re-elected November 4, 1890 to finish the term.
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California
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Colorado
Connecticut
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Delaware
Florida
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Idaho Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Montana Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
New Mexico Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
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In the 7th district, Elliott was initially declared re-elected, but Miller successfully challenged the election and was seated in his place in September 1890.
Tennessee
Texas
Utah Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Vermont
Virginia
Washington Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin elected nine members of congress on Election Day, November 6, 1888.[37][38]
Wyoming Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.
Non-voting delegates
See also
Notes
- There are significant discrepancies between the party counts provided by Martis (pp. 142–43) and Dubin (p. 285) in regards to the 51st Congress, mainly due to the fact that Martis counts the results of many later contested elections (which were generally decided in favor of the challenging Republican candidate, resulting in the unseating of a number of Democratic members). Dubin records 169 Republicans and 161 Democrats on the first day of the 1st session of the 51st Congress; Dubin reports 177 Republicans, 154 Democrats, and one Labor Party member at the start of the 2nd session of the 51st Congress, figures that nearly match Martis' numbers.
- Including 2 Independent Republicans, John Alexander Anderson elected to Kansas's 5th congressional district, and Albert R. Anderson to Iowa's 8th congressional district.
- After a contested election, Lewis P. Featherstone of the Labor Party was declared the winner in Arkansas's 1st congressional district.
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