1886 United States House of Representatives elections

1886 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1884 June 7, 1886 – November 2, 1886[a] 1888 →
All 325 seats in the United States House of Representatives 163 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John G. Carlisle Thomas Brackett Reed Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Kentucky 6th Maine 1st Last election 182 seats 141 seats Seats won 167[1] 152[1] Seat change 15 11 Popular vote 4,126,909 3,858,355 Percentage 48.12% 44.99% Swing 1.93% 2.14%   Third party Fourth party   Party Labor Greenback Last election 0 seats 1 seat Seats won 2[1] 1[1] Seat change 2 Popular vote 92,851 32,358 Percentage 1.08% 0.38% Swing New 0.69%   Fifth party   Party Independent Last election 1 seat[b] Seats won 3[c] Seat change 2 Popular vote 178,314 Percentage 2.08% Swing 1.28%
Results
Speaker before election John G. Carlisle Democratic Elected Speaker John G. Carlisle Democratic

The 1886 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 2, 1886, with three states holding theirs early between June and September. They occurred in the middle of President Grover Cleveland's first term. Elections were held for 325 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 38 states, to serve in the 50th United States Congress. Special elections were also held throughout the year.

As in many midterm elections, the President's party lost seats to the opposition, in this case, Democrats lost seats to Republicans, although a narrow majority was retained. Many of these Republican pickups were in the industrializing Midwest states, where the debate over tariffs, which were advocated by Republicans to protect domestic industry but opposed by Democrats to allow for free agricultural trade, led to political change. The small Labor Party, supported by industrial workers, gained one seat each in Virginia and Wisconsin, while the Greenback Party maintained its one seat in Iowa (James B. Weaver). One Independent was also elected in North Carolina.

Election summaries

State	Type	Total seats	Democratic		Republican		Others
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	8	8		0		0
Arkansas	District	5	5		0		0
California	District	6	2	1	4	1	0
Colorado	At-large	1	0		1		0
Connecticut	District	4	2		2		0
Delaware	At-large	1	1		0		0
Florida	District	2	2		0		0
Georgia	District	10	10		0		0
Illinois	District	20	6	4	14	4	0
Indiana	District	13	6	3	7	3	0
Iowa	District	11	1	2	9[e]	2	1[f]
Kansas	District	7	0		7[e]		0
Kentucky	District	11	8	2	3	2	0
Louisiana	District	6	6	1	0	1	0
Maine	District	4	0		4		0
Maryland	District	6	5		1		0
Massachusetts	District	12	4	2	8	2	0
Michigan	District	11	5	2	6	2	0
Minnesota	District	5	3	3	2	3	0
Mississippi	District	7	7		0		0
Missouri	District	14	12		2		0
Nebraska	District	3	1	1	2	1	0
Nevada	At-large	1	0		1		0
New Hampshire	District	2	1	1	1	1	0
New Jersey	District	7	2	1	5	1	0
New York	District	34	16	1	18	1	0
North Carolina	District	9	7	1	1		1	1
Ohio	District	21	6	5	15	5	0
Oregon	At-large	1	0		1		0
Pennsylvania	District + at-large	28	8		20		0
Rhode Island	District	2	0		2		0
South Carolina	District	7	7	1	0	1	0
Tennessee	District	10	8	1	2	1	0
Texas	District	11	11		0		0
Vermont	District	2	0		2		0
Virginia	District	10	3	5	6	5	1[g]	1
West Virginia	District	4	3		1		0
Wisconsin	District	9	1	1	7		1[g]	1
Total		325	167[1] 51.4%	16	154[1][c] 47.4%	13	4[1] 1.2%	3

There were 2 Labor and 1 Independent members elected, and 1 Greenback member re-elected. The previous election saw just the Greenback elected.

Special elections

Election dates

In all the states except three, elections were held November 2, 1886. Those three states, with 7 seats among them, held elections:

• June 7, 1886: Oregon
• September 7, 1886: Vermont
• September 10, 1886: Maine

Alabama

Arkansas

Arizona Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Dakota Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wisconsin elected nine members of congress on Election Day, November 2, 1886.^[43][44]

Wyoming Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting members

See also

• 1886 United States elections
  • 1886–87 United States Senate elections
• 49th United States Congress
• 50th United States Congress

Notes

References

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)