Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in Pennsylvania on October 11, 1796, for the 5th Congress.

Background Thirteen Representatives (9 Democratic-Republicans and 4 Federalists) had been elected in 1794. One Representative, Daniel Hiester (DR) of the resigned on July 1, 1796. His seat was vacant at the time of the 1796 election, and was filled in a special election held at the same time.

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

Election results 11 incumbents (7 Democratic-Republicans and 4 Federalists) ran for re-election. Frederick Muhlenberg (DR) of the did not run for re-election. Of the incumbents who ran for re-election, 9 (5 Democratic-Republicans and 4 Federalists) were re-elected. Overall, 7 Democratic-Republicans and 6 Federalists were elected, a net gain of 2 seats for the Federalists.

+1796 United States House election results District Democratic-Republican Federalist John Swanwick (I) 1,507 51.3% Edward Tilgham 1,432 48.7% Blair McClenachan 1,182 60.2% Robert WalnElected in subsequent special election 795 39.8% William Gibbons 1,143 47.1% Richard Thomas 1,282 52.9% 2 seats Peter Muhlenberg 1,148 13.0% Samuel Sitgreaves (I) 3,752 42.6% John Richards (I) 1,081 12.3% John Chapman 2,214 25.2% Robert Lollar 604 6.9% Joseph Hiester 1,538 43.2% George Ege 2,028 56.8% John A. Hanna 898 74.3% John Carson 255 21.1% Samuel Maclay (I) 56 4.6% John W. Kittera (I) 1,679 95.6% William Webb 77 4.4% Thomas Hartley (I) 1,502 100% Andrew Gregg (I) 1,141 53.8% James Wallace 168 7.9% William Irvine 678 32.0% Thomas Kennedy 49 2.3% Robert Whitehill 86 4.1% David Bard 1,581 45.1% William M. Brown 862 24.6% Abraham Smith 1,062 30.3% William Findley (I) 2,090 79.3% James Findley 546 20.7% Albert Gallatin (I) 2,522 61.7% John Woods 1,079 26.4% Thomas Stokely 486 11.9% (special) Joseph Hiester 1,553 43.2% George Ege 2,039 56.8%

Special Elections George Ege (F) of the resigned in October, 1797 and was replaced in a special election held October 10, 1797

+1797 Special election District Democratic-Republican Federalist Joseph Hiester 1,259 100%

With Hiester's election, the Democratic-Republicans gained 1 seat, increasing their majority to 8-5

John Swanwick (DR) of the died on August 1, 1798, and Samuel Sitgreaves (F) of the resigned on August 29, 1798. Special elections were held in those districts on October 9, 1798, the same day as the elections to the 6th Congress.

+1798 Special elections District Democratic-Republican Federalist Samuel Miles 380 30.5% Robert Waln 866 69.5% Robert Brown 5,109 62.1% Jacob Everly 3,120 37.9%

Both also won election to the 6th Congress. The 1st district changed from Democratic-Republican to Federalist while the 4th district changed from Federalist to Democratic-Republican, leaving no net change in seats for the remainder of the 5th Congress.

References Electoral data are from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project