United States House of Representatives elections, 1882

United States House of Representatives elections, 1882

November 7, 1882
All 325 seats to the United States House of Representatives 163 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John G. Carlisle J. Warren Keifer Party Democratic Republican Last election 131 seats 151 seats Seats won 199 118 Seat change 59 29   Third party Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Luman Hamlin Weller Party Readjuster Greenback Independent Last election 0 seats 10 seats 1 seats Seats won 4 2 2 Seat change 4 8 1
Speaker before election Joseph Keifer Republican Elected Speaker John Carlisle Democratic

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1882 for the 48th Congress, during President Chester A. Arthur's term.

Arthur's Republican Party was badly defeated, losing its majority to the opposition Democratic Party after a campaign that focused on the resistance of Republican leaders to reforming the Spoils system under which government jobs were handed to supporters of winning candidates. After the election, Arthur agreed with the Democrats to pass the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing a professional civil service. However, his actions were too late, as the image of the Republican Party as corrupt was already engrained in the minds of voters. This election also saw the decline of the pro-paper money Greenback Party, and the pick up of several Virginian seats by the Readjuster Party which promoted fiscal responsibility and shunned elitism, though the Virginia-based Readjuster Party all but disappeared following this election.

Election summaries

Following the 1880 Census, 32 new seats were apportioned. Three States lost 1 seat each, 13 States had no change in apportionment, 14 States gained 1 seat each, 6 States gained 2 seats, 1 State gained 4 seats, and 1 State gained 5 seats. Several States that gained one or more seats did not redistrict immediately, electing the new Representatives at-large, while one state (Maine) which lost a Representative also delayed redistricting, electing all of its Representatives at-large for this Congress only.

↓

196	3	4	2	2	1	117
Democratic	ID	Rj	I	Gb	IR	Republican

State	Type	Total seats		Democratic		Republican		Others
		Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	8		7	1	1		0
Arkansas	District + at-large	5	1	5	1	0		0
California	District + 2 at-large	6	2	6	4	0	2	0
Colorado	At-large	1		0		1		0
Connecticut	District	4		3	2	1	2	0
Delaware	At-large	1		1		0		0
Florida	District	2		1		1		0
Georgia	District + at-large	10	1	10	1	0		0
Illinois	District	20	1	9	3	11	2	0
Indiana	District	13		10	5	3	5	0
Iowa	District	11	2	3	2	7	1	1	1
Kansas	District + 4 at-large	7	4	0		7	4	0
Kentucky	District	11	1	9		2	1	0
Louisiana	District	6		5		1		0
Maine	At-large	4	1	0		4	1	0	2
Maryland	District	6		4	1	2	1	0
Massachusetts	District	12	1	3	2	9	1	0
Michigan	District	11	2	6	6	5	4	0
Minnesota	District	5	2	0		5	2	0
Mississippi	District	7	1	5	1	1	1	1	1
Missouri	District	14	1	14	6	0	1	0	4
Nebraska	District	3	2	0		3	2	0
Nevada	At-large	1		1		0		0
New Hampshire	District	2	1	0		2	1	0
New Jersey	District	7		3		4		0
New York	District + at-large	34	1	21	1	13	1	0	1
North Carolina	District + at-large	9	1	7		2	1	0
Ohio	District	21	1	15	10	6	9	0
Oregon	At-large	1		0		1		0
Pennsylvania	District + at-large	28	1	12	5	15	3	1	1
Rhode Island	District	2		0		2		0
South Carolina	District	7	2	6	1	1	1	0
Tennessee	District	10		8	1	2	1	0
Texas	District	11	5	10	5	0		1
Vermont	District	2	1	0		2	1	0
Virginia	District + at-large	10	1	6	1	0	2	4	4
West Virginia	District	4	1	3		1	1	0
Wisconsin	District	9	1	6		3	1	0
Total		325	32	199 61.2%	59	118 36.3%	26	8 2.8%	2

House seats
Democratic			61.23%
Republican			36.31%
Readjuster			1.23%
Greenback			0.62%
Independent			0.62%

There were a total of 8 Representatives elected from third parties, 4 from the Virginia-based Readjuster Party, 2 from the declining Greenback Party, and 2 Independents. The previous election of 1880 had had 10 Greenbacks and 1 Independent.

House seats by party holding plurality in state   80+ to 100% Democratic     80+ to 100% Republican   60+ to 80% Democratic     60+ to 80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic   Up to 60% Readjuster   Up to 60% Republican

Net gain in party representation   6+ Democratic gain     6+ Republican gain   3-5 Democratic gain   3-5 Readjuster gain   3-5 Republican gain   1-2 Democratic gain   1-2 Independent gain   1-2 Republican gain   no net change

Early election dates

In 1882, five states, with 39 seats among them, held Congressional elections before the rest of the Union:

• June 5 Oregon
• September 5 Vermont
• September 8 Maine
• October 10 Iowa and Ohio

All races

Party abbreviations

• D: Democratic
• GB: Greenback
• I: Independent
• IR: Independent Republican
• L: Labor Party
• Pr: Prohibition
• R: Republican
• Re: Readjuster

A slash between two abbreviations indicates a fusion ticket

California

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1882

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
California 1	William Rosecrans	Democratic	1880	Re-elected	William Rosecrans (D) 59.5% Paul Neuman (R) 38.8% James McMillan Shafter (Pr) 1.5% H. S. Fitch (GB) 0.2%
California 2	Horace F. Page	Republican	1872	Lost re-election Democratic gain	James Budd (D) 50.5% Horace F. Page (R) 48.1% J. L. Coles (Pr) 1.2% F. J. Woodward (GB) 0.2%
California 3	Campbell P. Berry	Democratic	1879	Retired Democratic hold	Barclay Henley (D) 51.3% John J. De Haven (R) 45.8% H. S. Graves (Pr) 2% W. O. Howe (GB) 0.9%
California 4	Romualdo Pacheco	Republican	1876	Retired Democratic gain	Pleasant B. Tully (D) 54.4% George L. Woods (R) 43.3% M. V. Wright (Pr) 1.5% Isaac Kinley (GB) 0.8%
California at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	None (New seat)			New seat Democratic gain	John R. Glascock (D) 26.5% Charles A. Sumner (D) 26.5% William W. Morrow (R) 22.4% Henry Edgerton (R) 22.3% A. B. Hotchkiss (Pr) 0.8% Jesse Yarnell (Pr) 0.8% Warren Chase (GB) 0.3% Stephen Maybell (GB) 0.3%
	None (New seat)			New seat Democratic gain

Florida

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 1882

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Florida 1	Robert H. M. Davidson	Democratic	1876	Re-elected	Robert H. M. Davidson (D) 51.5% Emory F. Skinner (R) 32.2% D. L. McKinnon (IR) 16.3%
Florida 2	Horatio Bisbee, Jr.	Republican	1880	Re-elected	Horatio Bisbee, Jr. (R) 50.5% Jesse J. Finley (D) 49.5%

South Carolina

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1882

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
South Carolina 1	John S. Richardson	Democratic	1878	Retired Democratic hold	Samuel Dibble (D) 56.9% J. B. Campbell (GB/L) 43.1%
South Carolina 2	George D. Tillman Redistricted from the 5th district	Democratic	1878	Re-elected	George D. Tillman (D) 67.8% E. M. Brayon (GB/L) 31.9% Others 0.3%
South Carolina 3	D. Wyatt Aiken	Democratic	1876	Re-elected	D. Wyatt Aiken (D) 84.6% T. H. Russell (GB/L) 15.4%
South Carolina 4	John H. Evins	Democratic	1876	Re-elected	John H. Evins (D) 71.8% D. R. Elkins (GB/L) 27.2%
South Carolina 5	None (open seat)			Democratic hold	John J. Hemphill (D) 56.0% E. B. C. Cash (GB/L) 44.0%
South Carolina 6	None (District created)			New seat Democratic gain	George W. Dargan (D) 64.7% Edmund H. Deas (R) 21.7% A. H. Bowen (GB/L) 13.6%
South Carolina 7	None (District created)			New seat Republican gain	Edmund W. M. Mackey (R) 64.8% Samuel Lee (IR) 35.2%

See also

• United States Senate elections, 1882
• 48th United States Congress

Bibliography

• Republican Congressional Committee, The Republican Campaign Text Book for 1882 (1882).

External links

• Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)