Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in Pennsylvania on October 9, 1798, for the 6th Congress.
Background Thirteen Representatives (7 Democratic-Republicans and 6 Federalists) had been elected in 1796. One seat had changed from Federalist to Democratic-Republican in a special election in 1797. Two more seats, one held by a Democratic-Republican and one by a Federalist, had become vacant in August, 1798, and were still vacant at the time of the 1798 elections
Congressional districts Pennsylvania was divided into 12 districts, one of which (the ) was a plural district, with 2 Representatives. These districts remained in use until redistricting after the census of 1800. The consisted of the City of Philadelphia The consisted of Philadelphia County The consisted of Chester and Delaware Counties The (2 seats) consisted of Montgomery, Bucks and Northampton Counties The consisted of Berks and Luzerne County The consisted of Northumberland and Dauphin Counties The consisted of Lancaster County The consisted of York County The consisted of Mifflin and Cumberland County The consisted of Bedford, Huntingdon and Franklin Counties The consisted of Westmoreland and Fayette Counties The consisted of Allegheny and Washington Counties
The counties that made up the 5th district did not border each other. That district was therefore made up of two separate pieces rather than being a single contiguous entity
Note: Many of these counties covered much larger areas than they do today, having since been divided into numerous counties. The boundaries of the districts are based on the counties' 1790 borders.
Election results There were two vacancies and 11 incumbents at the time of the 1798 elections. The two vacancies were filled by special elections held at the same time as the general election. Blair McClenachan (DR) of the and William Findley (DR) of the did not run for re-election. The remaining 9 incumbents (5 Democratic-Republicans and 4 Federalists) ran for re-election. 8 Democratic-Republicans and 5 Federalists were elected, a net increase of 1 seat for the Democratic-Republicans over the 1796 elections.
+1796 United States House election results District Democratic-Republican Federalist Samuel Miles 371 30.5% Robert WalnAlso won special election in 5th Congress 865 69.5% Michael Leib 1,129 56.5% Anthony Morris 870 43.5% John Pearson 1,514 28.7% Richard Thomas (I) 3,760 71.3% 2 seats Robert Brown 5,372 31.1% John Chapman (I) 3,605 20.9% Peter Muhlenberg 4,935 28.6% Jacob Eyerly 3,288 19.0% Anthony Morris 78 0.5% Joseph Hiester (I) 3,361 69.3% Daniel Clymer 1,492 30.7% John A. Hanna (I) 3,052 66.3% Daniel Smith 1,544 33.7% William Barton 407 22.5% John W. Kittera (I) 1,403 77.5% Thomas Hartley (I) 3,857 85.4% Henry Slagle 659 14.6% Andrew Gregg (I) 2,618 57.8% James Armstrong 1,912 42.2% David Bard (I) 935 20.3% Henry Woods 2,546 55.4% Thomas Johnson 1,117 24.3% John Smilie 1,782 46.0% William Todd 1,265 21.3% James Guthrie 826 21.3% Albert Gallatin (I) 3,926 58.8% John Woods 2,750 41.2% (special) Samuel Miles 380 30.5% Robert Waln 866 69.5% (special) Robert Brown 5,109 62.1% Jacob Eyerly 3,120 37.9%
Special election Thomas Hartley (F) of the 8th district died on December 21, 1800. A special election was held January 15, 1801 to fill the vacancy.
+1801 United States House election results District Democratic-Republican Other John Stewart 476 87.8% Scattering 66 12.2%
Stewart had already been elected in the 1800 elections
See also United States House of Representatives elections, 1798 and 1799 List of United States representatives from Pennsylvania
References Electoral data are from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project