States held the 1852–53 United States House of Representatives elections between August 2, 1852, and November 8, 1853. Each state set a date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 33rd United States Congress convened on December 5, 1853.
The Democrats increased their House majority, while the Whigs underperformed. Effects of the Compromise of 1850 temporarily reduced sectional tensions. Both major parties aimed to unify around the 1852 Presidential campaign, but only the Democrats succeeded, electing compromise candidate Franklin Pierce, a Northerner favorable to Southern interests, to the Presidency.
Two small parties, the Union and Southern Rights parties, collapsed, while the Free Soil Party, opposing slavery in the Western territories, retained four seats. One Independent, Caleb Lyon, was elected from New York.
Election summaries Following the 1850 census, the House was reapportioned. In the initial apportionment bill, the number of seats was unchanged, but later one seat was added to California's delegation, increasing the size of the House to 234 seats.
+ ↓ 158 4 1 71 Democratic FS I Whig
State Type Date Total seats Democratic Free Soil Whig Others Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Iowa Districts August 2, 1852 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 Missouri Districts August 2, 1852 7 2 3 1 0 4 1 0 Vermont Districts September 7, 1852 3 1 0 1 0 3 0 Maine Districts September 13, 1852 6 1 3 2 0 3 1 0 Florida At-large October 5, 1852 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 Indiana Districts October 12, 1852 11 1 10 2 0 1 1 0 Ohio Districts October 12, 1852 21 12 1 2 1 7 2 0 Pennsylvania Districts October 12, 1852 25 1 17 2 0 8 1 0 California At-large November 2, 1852(Election Day) 2 2 0 0 0 Illinois Districts 9 2 5 1 0 4 3 0 Michigan Districts 4 1 4 3 0 0 2 0 New Jersey Districts 5 4 0 1 0 New York Districts 33 1 21 4 1 1 10 7 1 1 Wisconsin Districts 3 3 2 0 1 0 0 1 Delaware At-large November 8, 1852 1 1 0 0 0 Massachusetts Districts November 8, 1852 11 1 1 1 1 9 2 0 South Carolina Districts February 28 – March 1, 1853 6 1 6 1 0 0 0 Late elections (after the March 4, 1853 beginning of the term) New Hampshire Districts March 8, 1853 3 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 Connecticut Districts April 4, 1853 4 4 1 0 0 1 0 Rhode Island Districts April 6, 1853 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 Virginia Districts May 26, 1853 13 2 13 0 0 2 0 Arkansas Districts August 1, 1853 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 Kentucky Districts August 1, 1853 10 5 0 5 0 Texas Districts August 1, 1853 2 2 0 0 0 North Carolina Districts August 4, 1853 8 1 5 2 0 3 3 0 Tennessee Districts August 4, 1853 10 1 5 2 0 5 1 0 Alabama Districts August 8, 1853 7 6 2 0 1 1 0 1 Georgia Districts October 3, 1853 8 6 6 0 2 2 0 8 Louisiana Districts November 1, 1853 4 3 1 0 1 1 0 Maryland Districts November 2, 1853 6 4 2 0 2 1 0 1 Mississippi District + 1 at-large November 7–8, 1853 5 1 5 5 0 0 0 4 Total 234 1 158 28 4 71 15 1 12
Alabama
! | John Bragg | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap | |- ! | James Abercrombie | | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap | |- ! | Sampson Willis Harris | | Democratic | 1847 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap | |- ! | William Russell Smith | | Union | 1851 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Democrat.Democratic gain. | nowrap | |- ! | George S. Houston | | Democratic | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap | |- ! | Williamson R. W. Cobb | | Democratic | 1847 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap | |- ! | Alexander White | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Arkansas
! | rowspan=2 | Robert W. Johnson | rowspan=2 | rowspan=2 | 1846 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap | |- ! | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
California
Note: From statehood to 1864, California's representatives were elected at-large, with the top two vote-getters winning election from 1849 to 1858; in 1860 when California gained a seat in the House the top three vote-getters were elected.
! rowspan=2 | | Edward C. Marshall | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | rowspan=2 nowrap |
| Joseph W. McCorkle | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Democratic hold.
Connecticut
! | Charles Chapman | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Colin M. Ingersoll | | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Chauncey F. Cleveland | | 1849 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | Origen S. Seymour | | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Delaware Election was held November 8, 1852.
! | George R. Riddle | | Democratic | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Florida
! | Edward C. Cabell | | Whig | 1846 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Georgia
! | Joseph W. Jackson | | Southern Rights | 1850 | |Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | James Johnson | | Constitutional Union | 1851 | |Incumbent lost re-election as a Whig.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Jack Bailey | | Southern Rights | 1851 | |Incumbent re-elected as a Democrat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Charles Murphey | | Constitutional Union | 1851 | |Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Elijah W. Chastain | | Constitutional Union | 1851 | |Incumbent re-elected as a Democrat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Junius Hillyer | | Constitutional Union | 1851 | |Incumbent re-elected as a Democrat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Whig gain. | nowrap |
! rowspan=2 | | Alexander H. Stephens
| | Constitutional Union | 1843 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Whig.Whig gain. | rowspan=2 nowrap |
| Robert Toombs | | Constitutional Union | 1844 | |Incumbent retired.Constitutional Union loss.
Illinois
! | Thompson Campbell
| | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Orlando B. Ficklin | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired. Whig gain. | nowrap |
! | Richard S. Molony | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired. Whig gain. | nowrap |
! | William Alexander Richardson | | Democratic | 1847 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
! | Richard Yates Sr.
| | Whig | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | William Henry Bissell
| | Democratic | 1848 | | Incumbent re-elected as an Independent Democrat.Independent Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Willis Allen | | Democratic | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
Indiana
! | James Lockhart | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! rowspan=2 | | Cyrus L. Dunham
| | Democratic | 1840 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap rowspan=2 | |- | John L. Robinson | | Democratic | 1847 | |Incumbent retired.Democratic loss.
! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Samuel W. Parker | | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap | |- ! rowspan=2 | | Thomas A. Hendricks | | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap rowspan=2 |
| Willis A. Gorman | | Democratic | 1849 | |Incumbent retired.Democratic loss.
! | John G. Davis | | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
! | Daniel Mace | | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap | Daniel Mace (Democratic) 54.4% Robert Gregory (Whig) 45.6%
! | Graham N. Fitch | | Democratic | 1849 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | Samuel Brenton | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Iowa
! | Bernhart Henn | | Democratic | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
! | Lincoln Clark | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Whig gain. | nowrap |
Kentucky
! | Linn Boyd | | Democratic | 1839 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Benjamin E. Grey | | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Presley Ewing | | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William Thomas Ward | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | James W. Stone | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Whig gain. | nowrap |
! | Addison White | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | William Preston | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John C. Breckinridge | | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John Calvin Mason | | Democratic | 1849 | | Incumbent retired.Whig gain. | nowrap |
! | Richard H. Stanton | | Democratic | 1849 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Louisiana
! | Louis St. Martin | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap | |- ! | Joseph Aristide Landry | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Whig hold. | nowrap |
! | Alexander G. Penn | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | John Moore | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap | Roland Jones (Democratic) 56.8%
[FNU] Smith (Whig) 43.2%
Maine
! | Moses Macdonald | | Democratic | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John Appleton | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | Robert Goodenow | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Whig hold. | nowrap |
! | Isaac Reed | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.Whig hold. | nowrap |
! rowspan=2 | | Israel Washburn Jr. | | Whig | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap rowspan=2 |
| Ephraim K. Smart | | Democratic | 1850 | |Incumbent retired.Democratic loss.
! | Thomas J. D. Fuller | | Democratic | 1848 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
Maryland
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Massachusetts
The elections were held November 8, 1852. However, many of the districts went to a December 13, 1852 second ballot.
! | Zeno Scudder | | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected on the second ballot. | nowrap | Second ballot
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Michigan
! | Ebenezer J. Penniman | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Charles E. Stuart | | 1847 1848 1850 | | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | James L. Conger | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | colspan=3 | None | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Mississippi
Elections held late, from November 7 to 8, 1853
! data-sort-value=0 | | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Benjamin D. Nabers | | Union | 1851 | | Incumbent lost re-election as a Whig.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | John A. Wilcox | | Union | 1851 | | Incumbent lost re-election as a Whig.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | John D. Freeman | | Union | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Albert G. Brown | | Southern Rights | 1847 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap | Wiley P. Harris (Democratic) 100%
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Elections held late, on August 4, 1853.
! rowspan=2 | | Andrew Johnson | | Democratic | 1842 | |Incumbent retired to run for Governor.Democratic loss. | rowspan=2 nowrap | |- | Albert G. WatkinsRedistricted from the | | Whig | 1849 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain.
! | William M. ChurchwellRedistricted from the | | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New seat.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! rowspan=2 | | John H. Savage | | Democratic | 1849 | |Incumbent retired.Democratic loss. | rowspan=2 nowrap | |- | William CullomRedistricted from the | | Whig | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected.
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