United States House of Representatives elections, 1888

United States House of Representatives elections, 1888

November 6, 1888[Note 1]

All 332[Note 2] seats to the United States House of Representatives 167 seats needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Thomas Brackett Reed John G. Carlisle Party Republican Democratic Last election 154 seats[Note 3] 167 seats Seats won 179[1][Note 4] 152[1][Note 4] Seat change 25 15

Speaker before election John Carlisle Democratic Elected Speaker Thomas Reed Republican

Elections to the United States House of Representatives in 1888 were held to choose members of the 51st Congress, and were held at the same time as the election of President Benjamin Harrison.

Harrison's Republican Party gained a majority in the House at the expense of the Democratic Party, even though incumbent President Grover Cleveland actually received more votes than Harrison. The issue of tariffs played a key role in this election. The Democrats, with the support of farmers and laborers, wanted to lower tariffs in order to promote free trade, while the Republicans, backed by industry and big business, believed that higher tariffs were necessary to protect American manufacturing. Especially in industrializing regions, voters chose the Republican view on tariffs, as they gave the party a slim majority in the House. In addition, Lewis P. Featherstone was elected as a Labor Party member to Arkansas's 1st congressional district.

Election summaries

Seven seats were added, for the six new states of, in order of admission (number of House seats for each new state listed in parentheses): North Dakota (1), South Dakota (2), Montana (1), Washington (1), Idaho (1), and Wyoming (1).

↓

179	1	152
Republican	La	Democratic

State	Type	Total seats	Republican	Democratic
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	8	1	1	7	1
Arkansas	District	5[Note 5]	1		3
California	District	6	4		2
Colorado	At-large	1	1		0
Connecticut	District	4	3	1	1	1
Delaware	At-large	1	0		1
Florida	District	2	0		2
Georgia	District	10	0		10
Illinois	District	20	13	1	7	1
Indiana	District	13	3	4	10	4
Iowa	District	11[Note 6]	10	1	1
Kansas	District	7	7		0
Kentucky	District	11	2	1	9	1
Louisiana	District	6	1	1	5	1
Maine[Note 7]	District	4	4		0
Maryland	District	6	3	2	3	2
Massachusetts	District	12	10	2	2	2
Michigan	District	11	9	3	2	3
Minnesota	District	5	5	3	0	3
Mississippi	District	7	0		7
Missouri	District	14	4	2	10	2
Nebraska	District	3	3	1	0	1
Nevada	At-large	1	1		0
New Hampshire	District	2	2	1	0	1
New Jersey	District	7	4	1	3	1
New York	District	34	19	1	15	1
North Carolina	District	9[Note 8]	3	2	6	2
Ohio	District	21	16	1	5	1
Oregon[Note 7]	At-large	1	1		0
Pennsylvania	District[Note 9]	28	21	1	7	1
Rhode Island	District	2	2		0
South Carolina	District	7	1	1	6	1
Tennessee	District	10	3	1	7	1
Texas	District	11	0		11
Vermont[Note 7]	District	2	2		0
Virginia	District	10[Note 10]	4	2	6	3
West Virginia	District	4	2	1	2	1
Wisconsin	District	9[Note 10]	7		2	1
1889 elections (New States)
Montana	At-large	1	1	1	0
North Dakota	At-large	1	1	1	0
South Dakota	At-large	2	2	2	0
Washington	At-large	1	1	1	0
1890 elections (New States)
Idaho	At-large	1	1	1	0
Wyoming	At-large	1	1	1	0
Total[Note 2]		332	179[1] 53.9%	17	152[1] 45.8%	6

House seats
Republican			53.92%
Democratic			45.78%
Labor			0.30%

The previous election had 4 third-party candidates, 2 Labor, 1 Greenback, and 1 Independent.

Election dates

In 1888, three states, with 7 seats among them, held elections early:

• June 6 Oregon
• September 4 Vermont
• September 10 Maine

The States admitted in 1889 all held their first election on October 1.

Wyoming's first election was held on September 11, 1890, for both the 51st Congress and the 52nd Congress. Idaho held two elections simultaneously on October 1, 1890, one for the 51st Congress and the other for the 52nd Congress.

Complete returns

• D: Democratic
• I: Independent
• KN: Know-Nothing
• L: Labor
• Pr: Prohibition
• R: Republican
• S: Socialist

Arkansas

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Arkansas 1	Poindexter Dunn	Democratic	1878	Retired Democratic hold	William H. Cate (D) 51.9% Lewis P. Featherstone (L) 47.4% Others 0.6%
Arkansas 2	Clifton R. Breckinridge	Democratic	1882	Re-elected	Clifton R. Breckinridge (D) 51.2% John M. Clayton (R) 48.8%
Arkansas 3	Thomas C. McRae	Democratic	1884	Re-elected	Thomas C. McRae (D) 59.7% John Ansley (L) 40.3%
Arkansas 4	John H. Rogers	Democratic	1884	Re-elected	John H. Rogers (D) 57.8% Isaac McCacken (I) 42.2%
Arkansas 5	Samuel W. Peel	Democratic	1884	Re-elected	Samuel W. Peel (D) 68.9% Edward P. Watson (I) 22.0% John Gates (R) 9.1%

In the 1st district, initial returns showed William H. Cate (D) winning the election, but the election was contested by Lewis P. Featherstone (L), and on Mary 5, 1890, was declared the winner.

In the 2nd district, Clifton R. Breckinridge (D) was initially declared re-elected. John M. Clayton successfully contested the election, but was assassinated before the contest was complete, so the House declared the seat vacant. Breckinridge was then re-elected November 4, 1890 to finish the term.

California

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
California 1	Thomas Larkin Thompson	Democratic	1886	Lost re-election Republican gain	John J. De Haven (R) 49.9% Thomas L. Thompson (D) 49% W. D. Reynolds (I) 1.1%
California 2	Marion Biggs	Democratic	1886	Re-elected	Marion Biggs (D) 50.6% John A. Eagon (R) 46.6% S. M. McLean (Pr) 2.4% J. F. McSwain (I) 0.4%
California 3	Joseph McKenna	Republican	1884	Re-elected	Joseph McKenna (R) 56.0% Ben Morgan (D) 41.2% W. W. Smith (Pr) 1.9% S. Solon Holl (I) 1.0%
California 4	William W. Morrow	Republican	1884	Re-elected	William W. Morrow (R) 50.8% Robert Ferral (D) 48.6% Frank M. Pixley (S) 0.6%
California 5	Charles N. Felton	Republican	1884	Retired Democratic gain	Thomas J. Clunie (D) 49.3% Timothy G. Phelps (R) 49.2% Henry French (I)
California 6	William Vandever	Republican	1886	Retired Republican hold	William Vandever (R) 52.5% Reel B. Terry (D) 43.7% J. G. Miller (Pr) 3.5% Alfred Daggett (KN) 0.2%

Florida

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Florida 1	Robert H. M. Davidson	Democratic	1876	Re-elected	Robert H. M. Davidson (D) 67.1% H. R. Benjamin (R) 32.9%
Florida 2	Charles Dougherty	Democratic	1884	Retired Democratic hold	Robert Bullock (D) 53.5% Frederick S. Goodrich (R) 46.5%

Ohio

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates[2]
Ohio 1	Benjamin Butterworth	Republican	1884	Re-elected	Benjamin Butterworth (R) 52.6% Otway Cosgrove (D) 47.4%
Ohio 2	Charles Elwood Brown	Republican	1884	Retired Republican hold	John A. Caldwell (R) 51.9% Clinton W. Gerard (D) 48.1%
Ohio 3	Elihu S. Williams	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Elihu S. Williams (R) 50.5% George W. Houk (D) 49.5%
Ohio 4	Samuel S. Yoder	Democratic	1886	Re-elected	Samuel S. Yoder (D) 60.6% Robert L. Mattingly (R) 39.4%
Ohio 5	George E. Seney	Democratic	1886	Re-elected	George E. Seney (D) 57.9% Wilson Vance (R) 42.1%
Ohio 6	Melvin M. Boothman	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Melvin M. Boothman (R) 50.1% Gaylord M. Saltzgaber (D) 49.9%
Ohio 7	James E. Campbell	Democratic	1886	Retired Republican gain	Henry Lee Morey (R) 51.2% John M. Pattison (D) 48.8%
Ohio 8	Robert P. Kennedy	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Robert P. Kennedy (R) 54.2% Andrew R. Bohn (D) 45.8%
Ohio 9	William C. Cooper	Republican	1884	Re-elected	William C. Cooper (R) 53.0% John S. Braddock (R) 47.0%
Ohio 10	Jacob Romeis	Republican	1884	Lost Re-election Democratic gain	William E. Haynes (D) 51.5% Jacob Romeis (R) 48.5%
Ohio 11	Albert C. Thompson	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Albert C. Thompson (R) 56.8% Joseph W. Shinn (D) 43.2%
Ohio 12	Jacob J. Pugsley	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Jacob J. Pugsley (R) 50.9% Lawrence T. Neal (D) 49.1%
Ohio 13	Joseph H. Outhwaite	Democratic	1884	Re-elected	Joseph H. Outhwaite (D) 52.7% John B. Neil (R) 47.3%
Ohio 14	Charles P. Wickham	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Charles P. Wickham (R) 51.5% David L. Wadsworth (D) 48.5%
Ohio 15	Charles H. Grosvenor	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Charles H. Grosvenor (R) 53.5% John P. Spriggs (D) 46.5%
Ohio 16	Beriah Wilkins	Democratic	1886	Retired Democratic hold	James W. Owens (D) 55.2% Edwin L. Lybarger (R) 44.8%
Ohio 17	Joseph D. Taylor	Republican	1886	Re-elected	Joseph D. Taylor (R) 56.9% William Lawrence (D) 43.1%
Ohio 18	William McKinley	Republican	1886	Re-elected	William McKinley (R) 54.4% George P. Ikirt (D) 45.6%
Ohio 19	Ezra B. Taylor	Republican	1880 (s)	Re-elected	Ezra B. Taylor (R) 67.5% Henry Apthorp (D) 32.5%
Ohio 20	George W. Crouse	Republican	1886	Retired Republican Hold	Martin L. Smyser (R) 52.9% Calvin P. Humphrey (D) 47.1%
Ohio 21	Martin A. Foran	Democratic	1882	Retired Republican gain	Theodore E. Burton (R) 50.8% Tom L. Johnson (D) 49.2%

South Carolina

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
South Carolina 1	Samuel Dibble	Democratic	1882	Re-elected	Samuel Dibble (D) 86.7% S. W. McKinlay (R) 13.1% Others 0.2%
South Carolina 2	George D. Tillman	Democratic	1878	Re-elected	George D. Tillman (D) 86.8% Seymour E. Smith (R) 11.4% Others 1.8%
South Carolina 3	James S. Cothran	Democratic	1886	Re-elected	James S. Cothran (D) 99.8% Others 0.2%
South Carolina 4	William H. Perry	Democratic	1884	Re-elected	William H. Perry (D) 99.9% Others 0.1%
South Carolina 5	John J. Hemphill	Democratic	1882	Re-elected	John J. Hemphill (D) 99.7% Others 0.3%
South Carolina 6	George W. Dargan	Democratic	1882	Re-elected	George W. Dargan (D) 95.7% Others 4.3%
South Carolina 7	William Elliott	Democratic	1884	Re-elected	William Elliott (D) 54.1% Thomas E. Miller (R) 45.4% Others 0.5%

In the 7th district, Elliott was initially declared re-elected, but Miller successfully challenged the election and was seated in his place in September, 1890.

See also

• United States presidential election, 1888
• United States Senate elections, 1888
• 51st United States Congress

Notes

1. Three states held early elections. Six new states were admitted during this Congress, holding their elections in 1889 and 1890.
2. Includes late elections.
3. Included 2 Independent Republicans.
4. There are significant discrepancies between the party counts provided by Martis (pp. 142–43) and Dubin (p. 285) in regards to the 51st Congress, mainly due to the fact that Martis counts the results of many later contested elections (which were generally decided in favor of the challenging Republican candidate, resulting in the unseating of a number of Democratic members). Dubin records 169 Republicans and 161 Democrats on the first day of the 1st session of the 51st Congress; Dubin reports 177 Republicans, 154 Democrats, and one Labor Party member at the start of the 2nd session of the 51st Congress, figures that nearly match Martis' numbers.
5. After a contested election, Lewis P. Featherstone of the Labor Party was declared the winner of AR-01.
6. Previous election had 1 Greenback Party Representative.
7. Elections held early.
8. Previous election had 1 Independent.
9. At-large seat eliminated in redistricting.
10. Previous election had 1 Labor Party representative.

References

1. Martis, pp. 142–143.
2. Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 567, 568.

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)