1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between April 29, 1800, and August 1, 1801. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 7th United States Congress convened on December 7, 1801. They were held at the same time as the 1800 presidential election, in which Vice President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic Republican, defeated incumbent President John Adams, a Federalist. Elections were held for all 105 seats, representing 15 states.

These elections resulted in the Democratic-Republicans picking up 22 seats from the Federalists. This brought the Democratic-Republicans a solid majority of 68 seats, whereas the Federalists were only able to secure 38. Many state legislatures also changed to Democratic-Republican control, with the result that many new Democratic-Republicans were voted into the Senate. The Federalists never again succeeded in gaining a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and the national Federalist Party disintegrated completely in the early 1820s.

The victory of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans can be attributed partially to unpopular policies pursued by the Adams administration, including the Alien and Sedition Acts, which sought to curtail guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press spelled out in the Bill of Rights.

The difference between Federalist policies in support of a strong national government and the Democratic-Republican preference for states' rights played a prominent role in the election. Federal taxation became an issue as Southerners and Westerners rejected federal taxes levied on property.

Special elections
There were special elections in 1800 and 1801 during the 6th United States Congress and 7th United States Congress.

Elections are sorted here by date then district.

6th Congress
! VA's 13th congressional district
 * John Marshall
 * | Federalist
 * 1799
 * | Incumbent resigned June 7, 1800, to become U.S. Secretary of State. New member elected July 31, 1800. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner seated November 26, 1800.
 * nowrap |

✅ Littleton W. Tazewell (Democratic-Republican) 64.5%

John Mayo (Federalist) 35.5%

! CT At-large
 * Jonathan Brace
 * | Federalist
 * 1798 (Special)
 * | Incumbent resigned in May 1800. New member elected September 22, 1800. Federalist hold. Winner was also elected to the next term, see below. Winner seated November 17, 1800.
 * nowrap |

✅ John Cotton Smith (Federalist) 2,916 votes

Elias Perkins (Federalist) 1,315 votes

Timothy Pitkin 669 votes

Simeon Baldwin (Federalist) 642 votes

Calvin Goddard (Federalist) 365 votes

Benjamin Talmadge 365 votes

John Treadwell (Federalist) 116 votes

Stephen T. Hosmer 34 votes

! MA's 4th congressional district
 * Dwight Foster
 * | Federalist
 * 1793
 * | Incumbent resigned June 7, 1800, when elected U.S. Senator. New member elected October 20, 1800. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner seated February 6, 1801.
 * nowrap | First ballot (August 25, 1800):

Levi Lincoln Sr. (Democratic-Republican) 47.1%

Jabez Upham (Federalist) 25.9%

Seth Hastings (Federalist) 13.7%

Salem Towne (Federalist) 11.6%

Scattering 1.7% Second ballot (October 20, 1800):

✅ Levi Lincoln Sr. (Democratic-Republican) 49.8%

Jabez Upham (Federalist) 38.9%

Seth Hastings (Federalist) 6.0%

Salem Towne (Federalist) 4.7%

Scattering 0.7%

! MA's 10th congressional district
 * Samuel Sewall
 * | Federalist
 * 1796 (Special)
 * | Incumbent resigned January 10, 1800. New member elected October 20, 1800. Federalist hold. Winner seated February 6, 1801.
 * nowrap | First ballot (August 25, 1800):

Nathan Read (Federalist) 45.3% Jacob Crowninshield (Democratic-Republican) 49.2%

Scattering 5.5% Second ballot (October 20, 1800):

✅ Nathan Read (Federalist) 53.5%

Jacob Crowninshield (Democratic-Republican) 46.5%

! NH At-large
 * William Gordon
 * | Federalist
 * 1796
 * | Incumbent resigned June 12, 1800, to become N.H. Attorney General. New member elected October 27, 1800. Federalist hold. Winner also elected to next term, see below.
 * nowrap | First ballot (August 25, 1800):

Samuel Tenney (Federalist) 45.6%

George B. Upham (Federalist) 21.5%

John Goddard (Democratic-Republican) 13.04%

Joseph Badger (Democratic-Republican) 10.91%

Thomas Cogswell (Democratic-Republican) 4.62%

Joseph Peirce (Federalist) 4.34% Second ballot (October 27, 1800):

✅ Samuel Tenney (Federalist) 70.79%

George B. Upham (Federalist) 29.21%

! Northwest Territory At-large
 * William Henry Harrison
 * | None
 * 1799
 * | Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Indiana Territory. New member elected November 6, 1800 by the territorial legislature. Federalist gain. Successor seated November 24, 1800. Successor was not a candidate for the next term, see below.
 * nowrap | ✅ William McMillan (Federalist)

! MA's 3rd congressional district
 * Samuel Lyman
 * | Federalist
 * 1794
 * | Incumbent resigned November 6, 1800. New member elected December 15, 1800. Federalist hold. Winner seated February 2, 1801.
 * nowrap |

✅ Ebenezer Mattoon (Federalist) Uncontested

! PA's 8th congressional district
 * Thomas Hartley
 * | Federalist
 * 1788
 * | Incumbent died December 21, 1800. New member elected January 15, 1801. Democratic-Republican gain. Winner had already been elected to the next term, see below. Winner seated February 3, 1801.
 * nowrap |

✅ John Stewart (Democratic-Republican) 87.82%

Scattering 12.18%


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Connecticut
Note: Between the two sources used, there is disagreement over the ordering of the candidates. Both sources have the same numbers of votes recorded, but disagree on which candidates received those votes, one source lists Goddard as 8th, Talmadge as 9th, etc., as listed here, while the other has them as 11th, 12th, etc., three places off for all of them until the bottom three listed here which are moved up to 8th-10th, suggesting that one of the two sources accidentally misplaced three names on the list. They are ordered here as Goddard and Talmadge in 8th and 9th place as it is more likely that they'd been at the top of the runners-up given that they were subsequently elected to fill vacancies in the 7th Congress.

Massachusetts
Massachusetts law required a majority for election, which was not met in the 1st and 6th districts, necessitating a second trial.

Mississippi Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

New Jersey
In 1800, New Jersey returned to its traditional at-large district, continued to use this system to select representatives until it was abolished in 1842, with a single exception in 1813.

Northwest Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

Rhode Island
Rhode Island switched to a general ticket for its two seats, instead of electing each one separately. Only one candidate received a majority in the 1800 election, requiring an 1801 run-off election to choose a Representative for the second seat.

Tennessee
Claiborne did not serve in the 7th Congress as he was appointed Governor of Mississippi Territory and was replaced in a special election by William Dickson (Democratic-Republican)

Vermont
Vermont law required a candidate to win a majority to take office, necessitating a run-off election in the 2nd (Eastern) district.

Non-voting delegates
! Mississippi Territory At-large
 * colspan=3 | New seat
 * | New seat created. New delegate elected on an unknown date. Democratic-Republican gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Narsworthy Hunter (Democratic-Republican)

! Northwest Territory At-large
 * William Henry Harrison
 * | None
 * 1799
 * | Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Indiana Territory. New member elected November 6, 1800, by the territorial legislature. Federalist gain. Successor seated November 24, 1800. Successor was not a candidate to finish the current next term, see above.
 * nowrap | ✅ Paul Fearing (Federalist)


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