1842–43 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1842–43 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 1, 1842, and November 8, 1843. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 28th United States Congress convened on December 4, 1843. The exception was Maryland, which held theirs so late that they ran into February 1844. These elections occurred during President John Tyler's term. The congressional reapportionment based on the 1840 United States census unusually decreased the number of House seats, from 242 down to 223.

After Whig President William Henry Harrison died within a month of taking office, his successor as president, John Tyler was only nominally a Whig who had not been properly validated for alignment to Whig policy. Effectively an independent, Tyler was disliked by politicians and was unpopular with voters of both parties, leaving the Whigs unexpectedly leaderless and in visible disarray.

Despite the improving economy, rural voters favored Democrats, again rejecting Whig economic nationalism. The Whig Party lost 69 seats and their sizeable majority from the 1840 election, almost half their House delegation (one of the Whigs who won re-election was William Wright of New Jersey, elected as an "Independent Whig").

The Democrats won a majority, flipping 48 Whig seats (this includes Henry Nes of Pennsylvania, elected as an Independent Democrat). In Rhode Island, the Law and Order Party, formed in response to the Dorr Rebellion, won both of Rhode Island's two seats.

Apportionment Act of 1842

Apportionment was based on the census of 1840 and was unusual in that the number of House seats was decreased, from 242 to 223: this came after the Apportionment Act of 1842 mandated that all members be elected from single-member contiguous districts, thus abolishing plural districts and at-large districts. Four states that did not comply with this new law delayed redistricting under a grandfather clause.

Election summaries

+ ↓ 148 2 73 Democratic Whig

State Type Date Total seats Democratic Whig Law and Order Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Missouri At-large August 1, 1842 5 3 5 3 0 0 Tennessee District August 3, 1842 11 2 6 1 5 3 0 Illinois District August 7, 1842 7 4 6 4 1 0 Arkansas At-large October 3, 1842 1 1 0 0 Georgia At-large October 3, 1842 8 1 8 8 0 9 0 New Jersey District October 8, 1842 5 1 4 4 1 5 0 Delaware At-large November 8, 1842 1 0 1 0 New York District November 8, 1842 34 6 24 4 10 10 0 Massachusetts District November 14, 1842 10 2 2 1 8 3 0 South Carolina District February 20–21, 1843 7 2 7 1 0 1 0 New Hampshire At-large March 3, 1843 4 1 4 1 0 0 Late elections after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term Connecticut District April 5, 1843 4 2 4 4 0 6 0 Virginia District April 27, 1843 15 6 12 2 3 8 0 Louisiana District July 3–5, 1843 4 1 4 3 0 2 0 North Carolina District August 3, 1843 9 4 5 4 4 0 Alabama District August 7, 1843 7 2 6 1 1 1 0 Indiana District August 7, 1843 10 3 8 7 2 4 0 Kentucky District August 7, 1843 10 3 5 3 5 6 0 Rhode Island District August 29, 1843 2 0 0 2 2 2 Vermont District September 5, 1843 4 1 1 1 3 2 0 Maine District September 11, 1843 7 1 5 1 2 2 0 Ohio District October 10, 1843 21 2 12 5 9 3 0 Pennsylvania District October 10, 1843 24 4 12 3 12 1 0 Mississippi At-large November 6–7, 1843 4 2 4 2 0 0 Michigan District November 8, 1843 3 2 3 3 0 1 0 Maryland District February 14, 1844 6 2 0 2 6 0 Total 223 19 148 50 73 71 2 2

Special elections

27th Congress

28th Congress

Alabama

Alabama gained 2 seats, going from 5 to 7 members. Elections were held August 7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term. In the 1841 elections, Alabama briefly used at-large general-ticket elections, but in these elections it returned to districts.

Arkansas

Arkansas stayed at 1 seat, electing its one member at-large October 3, 1842.

Connecticut

Connecticut lost 2 seats, reduced from 6 to 4 members. Elections were held April 5, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1843.

Delaware

Delaware stayed at 1 seat, electing its one member at-large November 8, 1842.

The election was decided by a nine-vote margin.

Florida Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

Georgia

Georgia lost 1 seat, going from 9 to 8 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket October 3, 1842.

Illinois

Illinois gained 4 seats, going from 3 to 7 members. Elections were held August 7, 1842.

Indiana

Indiana gained 3 seats, going from 7 to 10 members. Elections were held August 7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.

Kentucky

Kentucky lost 3 seats, going from 13 to 10 members. Elections were held August 7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.

Louisiana

Louisiana gained 1 seats, going from 3 to 4 members. Elections were held July 3–5, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.

Maine

Maine lost 1 seat, going from 8 to 7 members. Elections were held September 11, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.

Maryland

Maryland lost 2 seats, going from 8 to 6 members. Elections were held February 14, 1844, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term.

Maryland's elections to the next Congress were held February 14, 1844, after the 1842–1843 election cycle was passed and almost after the next Congress completed.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts lost 2 seats, going from 12 to 10 members. Elections were held November 14, 1842, but some districts' elections stretched to multiple ballots into 1843 and very early 1844.

Fourth ballot

Seventh ballot

Third ballot

Sixth ballot

Sixth ballot

Michigan

Michigan gained 2 seats, going from 1 to 3 members. Elections were held from districts November 8, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term, having previously elected a single member at-large.

Mississippi

Mississippi gained 2 seats, going from 2 to 4 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket November 6–7, 1843, after the March 4, 1843 beginning of the term. Due to a banking crisis in Mississippi, the state Democratic party was split into two factions; the Redemptions, which favored the repudiation of bank bonds, and Anti-Redemptions, which opposed it.

Missouri

Missouri gained 3 seats, going from 2 to 5 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket August 1, 1842.

! rowspan=5 |

| rowspan=5 nowrap |

New Hampshire

New Hampshire lost 1 seat, going from 5 to 4 members. Elections were held at-large on a general ticket March 3, 1843.

! rowspan=4 |

New Jersey

New Jersey lost 1 seats, going from 6 to 5 members. Elections were held from districts October 8, 1842, having previously elected them at-large.

New York

1842–43 United States House of Representatives elections

Bron en licentie