1874–75 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1874–75 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 1, 1874, and September 7, 1875. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 44th United States Congress convened on December 6, 1875. Elections were held for all 292 seats, representing 37 states.

These elections were held in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's second term with a deep economic depression underway. It was an important turning point, as the Republicans lost heavily and the Democrats gained control of the House. It signaled the imminent end of Reconstruction, which Democrats opposed. Historians emphasize the factors of economic depression and attacks on the Grant administration for corruption as key factors in the vote.

With the election following the Panic of 1873, Grant's Republican Party was crushed in the elections, losing their majority and almost half their seats to the Democratic Party. This was the first period of Democratic control since the pre-war era. The economic crisis and the inability of Grant to find a solution led to his party's defeat. This was the second-largest swing in the history of the House (only behind the 1894 elections), and is the largest House loss in the history of the Republican Party.

In the south, the Democrats continued their systematic destruction of the Republican coalition. In the South, Scalawags moved into the Democratic Party. The Democratic landslide signaled the imminent end of Reconstruction, which Democrats opposed and a realignment of the Republican coalition that had dominated American politics since the late 1850s.

While the ongoing end of Reconstruction in the South was one of the main reasons for the shift, turn-of-the-century historian James Ford Rhodes explored the multiple causes of the results in the North:

"In the fall elections of 1874 the issue was clearly defined: Did the Republican President Ulysses S. Grant and Congress deserve the confidence of the country? and the answer was unmistakably No ...

The Democrats had won a signal victory, obtaining control of the next House of Representatives which would stand Democrats 168, Liberals and Independents 14, Republicans 108 as against the two-thirds Republican majority secured by the election of 1872. Since 1861 the Republicans had controlled the House and now with its loss came a decrease in their majority in the Senate ..."

Rhodes continues:

"The political revolution from 1872 to 1874 was due to the failure of the Southern policy of the Republican party, to the Credit Mobilier and Sanborn contract scandals, to corrupt and inefficient administration in many departments and to the persistent advocacy of Grant by some close friends and hangers-on for a third presidential term. Some among the opposition were influenced by the President's backsliding in the cause of civil service reform, and others by the failure of the Republican party to grapple successfully with the financial question. The depression, following the financial Panic of 1873, and the number of men consequently out of employment weighed in the scale against the party in power. In Ohio, the result was affected by the temperance crusade in the early part of the year. Bands of women of good social standing marched to saloons before which or in which they sang hymns and, kneeling down, prayed that the great evil of drink might be removed. Sympathizing men wrought with them in causing the strict law of the State against the sale of strong liquor to be rigidly enforced. Since Republicans were in the main the instigators of the movement, it alienated from their party a large portion of the German American vote."

Special elections

 * SC's 3rd congressional district: 1874
 * PA's 23rd congressional district: 1874
 * MA's 1st congressional district: 1875
 * OR At-large: 1875
 * ME's 4th congressional district: 1875

Election dates
In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors. 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 1874–75, there were still 10 states with earlier election dates, and 3 states with later election dates:


 * Early elections (1874):
 * June 1 Oregon
 * August 6 North Carolina
 * September 1 Vermont
 * September 14 Maine
 * October 7 Georgia
 * October 13 Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, West Virginia
 * Late elections (1875):
 * March 9, 1875 New Hampshire
 * April 5, 1875 Connecticut
 * September 7, 1875 California

Arkansas
! AR's 1st congressional district
 * Asa Hodges
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Lucien C. Gause (Democratic) 64.0%

William H. Rogers (Republican) 36.0%

! AR's 2nd congressional district
 * Oliver P. Snyder
 * | Republican
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ William F. Slemons (Democratic) 53.7%

John M. Clayton (Republican) 46.3%

! AR's 3rd congressional district
 * William J. Hynes Redistricted from the AR's at-large congressional district
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent defeated. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | William J. Hynes (Republican) 35.0%

✅ William W. Wilshire (Democratic) 65.0%

! AR's 4th congressional district
 * Thomas M. Gunter Redistricted from the AR's 3rd congressional district
 * | Democratic
 * 1872
 * | New seat. Incumbent re-elected. Democratic hold.
 * nowrap | ✅ Thomas M. Gunter (Democratic) 90.8%

Charles H. Lander (Republican) 9.2%


 * }

Arizona Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

California
! California's 1st congressional district
 * Charles Clayton
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ William Adam Piper (Democratic) 49.1%

Ira P. Rankin (Republican) 26.8%

John F. Swift (Independent) 24.1%

! California's 2nd congressional district
 * Horace F. Page
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Horace F. Page (Republican) 43.4%

Henry Larkin (Democratic) 38.7%

Charles A. Tuttle (Independent) 17.8%

! California's 3rd congressional district
 * John K. Luttrell
 * | Democratic
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ John K. Luttrell (Democratic) 46.7%

C. B. Denio (Republican) 36.1%

Charles F. Reed (Independent) 17.1%

! California's 4th congressional district
 * Sherman O. Houghton
 * | Republican
 * 1871
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ Peter D. Wigginton (Democratic) 48.8%

Sherman O. Houghton (Republican) 34.6%

J. S. Thompson (Independent) 16.7%


 * }

Colorado Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

Florida
! FL's 1st congressional district
 * William J. Purman Redistricted from the FL's at-large congressional district
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ William J. Purman (Republican) 53.0%

John Henderson (Democratic) 47.0%

! FL's 2nd congressional district
 * Josiah T. Walls Redistricted from the FL's at-large congressional district
 * | Republican
 * 1870
 * Incumbent re-elected. The election was later successfully challenged.
 * nowrap |

✅ Josiah T. Walls (Republican) 51.1%

Jesse J. Finley (Democratic) 48.9%


 * }

Idaho Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

Iowa Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

Massachusetts
! Massachusetts's 1st congressional district
 * James Buffinton
 * | Republican
 * 1868
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ James Buffinton (Republican) 68.88%

Louis Lapham (Democratic) 28.94%

Robert Carter Pitman (Independent) 2.19%

! Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district
 * Benjamin W. Harris
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ Benjamin W. Harris (Republican) 59.07%

Edward Avery (Democratic) 40.93%

! Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district
 * William Whiting II
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * |Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.
 * nowrap | ✅ Henry L. Pierce (Republican) 61.92%

Benjamin Dean (Democratic) 38.08%

! Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
 * Samuel Hooper
 * | Republican
 * 1861 (special)
 * |Incumbent retired. New member elected after initial result overturned. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Josiah Gardner Abbott (Democratic) 52.93%

Rufus S. Frost (Republican) 47.07%

! Massachusetts's 5th congressional district
 * Daniel W. Gooch
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * |Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Independent gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Nathaniel P. Banks (Independent) 64.92%

Daniel W. Gooch (Republican) 35.09%

! Massachusetts's 6th congressional district
 * Benjamin Butler
 * | Republican
 * 1866
 * |Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Charles Perkins Thompson (Democratic) 52.94%

Benjamin Butler (Republican) 47.06%

! Massachusetts's 7th congressional district
 * Ebenezer R. Hoar
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ John K. Tarbox (Democratic) 54.77%

James C. Ayer (Republican) 45.23%

! Massachusetts's 8th congressional district
 * John M. S. Williams
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ William W. Warren (Democratic) 52.20%

John M. S. Williams (Republican) 47.80%

! Massachusetts's 9th congressional district
 * George F. Hoar
 * | Republican
 * 1868
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ George F. Hoar (Republican) 51.26%

Eli Thayer (Democratic) 48.74%

! MA's 10th congressional district
 * Alvah Crocker
 * | Republican
 * 1872 (special)
 * |Incumbent retired. New member elected. Independent gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ Julius Seelye (Independent) 41.79%

Charles A. Stevens (Republican) 39.53%

Henry C. Hill (Democratic) 18.68%

! MA's 11th congressional district
 * Henry L. Dawes
 * | Republican
 * 1856
 * |Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senate. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ Chester W. Chapin (Democratic) 65.77%

Henry Alexander (Republican) 34.23%


 * }

Mississippi
! MS's 1st congressional district
 * Lucius Q. C. Lamar
 * | Democratic
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Lucius Q. C. Lamar (Democratic) 100%

! MS's 2nd congressional district
 * Albert R. Howe
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Independent Republican gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ G. Wiley Wells (Ind. Republican) 59.42%

Albert R. Howe (Republican) 40.59%

! MS's 3rd congressional district
 * Henry W. Barry
 * | Republican
 * 1869
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Hernando Money (Democratic) 68.10%

Ridgley C. Powers (Republican) 31.90%

! MS's 4th congressional district
 * Jason Niles
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Otho R. Singleton (Democratic) 66.57%

Jason Niles (Republican) 33.43%

! MS's 5th congressional district
 * George C. McKee
 * | Republican
 * 1869
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ Charles E. Hooker (Democratic) 59.91%

James Hill (Republican) 40.09%

! MS's 6th congressional district
 * John R. Lynch
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ John R. Lynch (Republican) 50.53%

Roderick Seal (Democratic) 49.47%


 * }

Montana Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

Nebraska
! NE At-large
 * Lorenzo Crounse
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ Lorenzo Crounse (Republican) 62.70%

James W. Savage (Democratic) 23.26%

James W. Davis (Independent) 11.34%

James G. Miller (Prohibition) 2.71%


 * }

New Mexico Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

South Carolina
! SC's 1st congressional district
 * Joseph Rainey
 * | Republican
 * 1870 (special)
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Joseph Rainey (Republican) 51.4%

Samuel Lee (Ind. Republican) 48.6%

! SC's 2nd congressional district
 * Alonzo J. Ransier
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Independent Republican gain. Election was later successfully challenged, declared vacant, and a special election was then held.
 * nowrap |

✅ Edmund W. M. Mackey (Ind. Republican) 54.1%

Charles W. Buttz (Republican) 45.9%

! SC's 3rd congressional district
 * Robert B. Elliott
 * | Republican
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent resigned November 1, 1874, to serve as sheriff. new member elected. Republican hold
 * nowrap |

✅ Solomon L. Hoge (Republican) 56.1%

Samuel McGowan (Conservative) 43.9%

! SC's 4th congressional district
 * Alexander S. Wallace
 * | Republican
 * 1868
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Alexander S. Wallace (Republican) 53.2%

Joseph B. Kershaw (Conservative) 46.8%

! SC's 5th congressional district
 * Richard H. Cain Redistricted from the SC's at-large congressional district
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.
 * nowrap |

✅ Robert Smalls (Republican) 79.4%

J. P. M. Epping (Ind. Republican) 19.9%

Others 0.7%


 * }

Tennessee
! TN's 1st congressional district
 * Roderick R. Butler
 * | Republican
 * 1867
 * |Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ William McFarland (Democratic) 55.54%

Roderick R. Butler (Republican) 44.46%

! TN's 2nd congressional district
 * Jacob M. Thornburgh
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Jacob M. Thornburgh (Republican) 51.54%

Alfred Caldwell (Democratic) 48.47%

! TN's 3rd congressional district
 * William Crutchfield
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * |Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ George G. Dibrell (Democratic) 65.71%

D. M. Nelson (Republican) 31.60%

William B. Stokes (Independent) 2.70%

! TN's 4th congressional district
 * colspan=3 | None (new district)
 * | New district. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ John W. Head (Democratic) 100%

! TN's 5th congressional district
 * John M. Bright Redistricted from the Tn's 4th congressional district.
 * | Democratic
 * 1870
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ John M. Bright (Democratic) 72.48%

William H. Wisener (Republican) 27.16%

J. D. Putnam (Independent) 0.36%

! TN's 6th congressional district
 * Horace Harrison Redistricted from the Tn's 5th congressional district.
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ John F. House (Democratic) 62.40%

Horace Harrison (Republican) 37.60%

! TN's 7th congressional district
 * Washington C. Whitthorne Redistricted from the Tn's 7th congressional district.
 * | Democratic
 * 1870
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Washington C. Whitthorne (Democratic) 78.13%

Theodore H. Gibbs (Republican) 14.32%

G. W. Blackburn (Independent Republican) 7.55%

! TN's 8th congressional district
 * John D. C. Atkins Redistricted from the Tn's 7th congressional district.
 * | Democratic
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ John D. C. Atkins (Democratic) 66.36%

T. C. Muse (Republican) 33.64%

! TN's 9th congressional district
 * David A. Nunn Redistricted from the Tn's 8th congressional district.
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * |Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ William P. Caldwell (Democratic) 72.05%

David A. Nunn (Republican) 27.95%

! TN's 10th congressional district
 * Barbour Lewis Redistricted from the Tn's 9th congressional district.
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * ✅ H. Casey Young (Democratic) 60.38%

Barbour Lewis (Republican) 39.62%


 * }

Utah Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

Washington Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

West Virginia
! WV's 1st congressional district
 * John J. Davis
 * | Independent Democratic
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Benjamin Wilson (Democratic) 50.33%

Nathan Goff Jr. (Republican) 49.67%

! WV's 2nd congressional district
 * John Hagans
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent lost re-election as an Independent. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Charles J. Faulkner (Democratic) 57.51%

Alexander Boteler (Republican) 40.32%

John Hagans (Independent) 2.17%

! WV's 3rd congressional district
 * Frank Hereford
 * | Democratic
 * 1870
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ Frank Hereford (Democratic) 63.59%

John Witcher (Republican) 36.41%


 * }

Wisconsin
! WI's 1st congressional district
 * Charles G. Williams
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Charles G. Williams (Republican) 56.9%

Nicholas D. Fratt (Democratic) 43.1%

! WI's 2nd congressional district
 * Gerry Whiting Hazelton
 * | Republican
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.
 * nowrap |

✅ Lucien B. Caswell (Republican) 50.5%

Amasa G. Cook (Democratic) 49.5%

! WI's 3rd congressional district
 * J. Allen Barber
 * | Republican
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.
 * nowrap |

✅ Henry S. Magoon (Republican) 52.7%

Charles F. Thompson (Democratic) 47.3%

! WI's 4th congressional district
 * Alexander Mitchell
 * | Democratic
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent retired. new member elected. Democratic hold.
 * nowrap |

✅ William Pitt Lynde (Democratic) 55.8%

Harrison Ludington (Republican) 44.2%

! WI's 5th congressional district
 * Charles A. Eldredge
 * | Democratic
 * 1862
 * | Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Democratic hold.
 * nowrap |

✅ Samuel D. Burchard (Democratic) 61.5%

Hiram Barber (Republican) 38.5%

! WI's 6th congressional district
 * Philetus Sawyer
 * | Republican
 * 1864
 * | Incumbent retired. new member elected. Republican hold.
 * nowrap |

✅ Alanson M. Kimball (Republican) 50.2%

Gabriel Bouck (Democratic) 49.8%

! WI's 7th congressional district
 * Jeremiah McLain Rusk
 * | Republican
 * 1870
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap |

✅ Jeremiah McLain Rusk (Republican) 57.4%

David C. Fulton (Democratic) 42.6%

! WI's 8th congressional district
 * Alexander S. McDill
 * | Republican
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap |

✅ George W. Cate (Democratic) 50.0%

Alexander S. McDill (Republican) 50.0%


 * }

Wyoming Territory
See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates
! Arizona Territory At-large

! Dakota Territory At-large
 * Moses K. Armstrong
 * | Democratic
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Jefferson P. Kidder (Republican) 67.74%

Moses K. Armstrong (Democratic) 32.26%

! Colorado Territory At-large
 * Jerome B. Chaffee
 * | Republican
 * 1870
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.
 * nowrap | ✅ Thomas M. Patterson (Democratic) 56.3%

Henry P. H. Bromwell (Republican) 44.7%

! Idaho Territory At-large
 * John Hailey
 * | Democratic
 * 1872
 * | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Independent gain. Result successfully contested. Democratic hold.
 * nowrap | ✅ Stephen S. Fenn (Democratic) 51.02%

Thomas W. Bennett (Independent) 48.98%

! Montana Territory At-large
 * Martin Maginnis
 * | Democratic
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ Martin Maginnis (Democratic) 55.57%

Cornelius Hedges (Republican) 44.43%

! New Mexico Territory At-large

! Utah Territory At-large

! Washington Territory At-large

! Wyoming Territory At-large
 * William R. Steele
 * | Democratic
 * 1872
 * Incumbent re-elected.
 * nowrap | ✅ William R. Steele (Democratic) 56.53%

Joseph M. Carey (Republican) 43.47%


 * }