The 1898 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 8, 1898, with Oregon, Maine, and Vermont holding theirs early in either June or September. They were held during the middle of President William McKinley's first term. Elections were held for 357 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 45 states, to serve in the 56th United States Congress. Special elections were also held throughout the year.
As in many midterm elections, the President's Republican Party lost seats, but was able to hold a majority over the Democratic Party. The Populist Party also lost many seats, as their movement began to decline. This was likely because many Populists rallied behind William Jennings Bryan's increasingly powerful branch of the Democratic Party, which built the rural economic issues advocated by Populists into their platform. As a result, the Democrats won a number of Western seats as well many in the Mid-Atlantic.
Election summaries + ↓ 161 9 187 Democratic Republican
State Type Totalseats Democratic Populist Republican Silver/Silver Rep. Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Alabama District 9 8 1 0 1 1 0 Arkansas District 6 6 0 0 0 California District 7 1 1 0 2 6 3 0 Colorado District 2 0 1 0 1 Connecticut District 4 0 0 4 0 Delaware At-large 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Florida District 2 2 0 0 0 Georgia District 11 11 0 0 0 Idaho At-large 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 Illinois District 22 8 3 0 14 3 0 Indiana District 13 4 0 9 0 Iowa District 11 0 0 11 0 Kansas District+at-large 8 0 1 5 7 5 0 Kentucky District 11 9 2 0 2 2 0 Louisiana District 6 6 0 0 0 Maine District 4 0 0 4 0 Maryland District 6 2 2 0 4 2 0 Massachusetts District 13 3 2 0 10 2 0 Michigan District 12 0 2 0 12 2 0 Minnesota District 7 0 0 7 0 Mississippi District 7 7 0 0 0 Missouri District 15 12 0 3 0 Montana At-large 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 Nebraska District 6 1 1 3 1 2 0 Nevada At-large 1 0 0 0 1 New Hampshire District 2 0 0 2 0 New Jersey District 8 2 2 0 6 2 0 New York District 34 18 12 0 16 12 0 North Carolina District 9 5 4 1 4 3 1 0 North Dakota At-large 1 0 0 1 0 Ohio District 21 6 0 15 0 Oregon District 2 0 0 2 0 Pennsylvania District+2 at-large 30 10 7 0 20 7 0 Rhode Island District 2 0 0 2 0 South Carolina District 7 7 0 0 0 South Dakota At-large 2 0 0 2 2 2 0 Tennessee District 10 8 0 2 0 Texas District 13 12 0 1 0 Utah At-large 1 1 0 0 0 Vermont District 2 0 0 2 0 Virginia District 10 10 4 0 0 4 0 Washington At-large 2 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 West Virginia District 4 1 1 0 3 1 0 Wisconsin District 10 0 0 10 0 Wyoming At-large 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Total 357 161 37 6 16 187 20 3 1
The previous elections of 1896 saw the election of 24 Populists, 2 Silver Republicans, and a Silver Party member.
Special elections
! | William V. Sullivan | | Democratic | 1896 | | Incumbent resigned when appointed U.S. Senator.New member elected July 5, 1898.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
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! | William F. Love | | Democratic | 1896 | | Incumbent died October 16, 1898.New member elected November 29, 1898.Democratic hold. | nowrap | |- ! | John Simpkins | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent died March 27, 1898.Republican hold. | nowrap |
Election dates All the states held their elections November 8, 1898, except for 3 states, with 8 seats among them:
June 6: Oregon September 6: Vermont September 12: Maine
Alabama
! | George W. Taylor | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Jesse F. Stallings | | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Henry D. Clayton Jr. | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! rowspan=2 | | rowspan=2 | William F. Aldrich | rowspan=2 | Republican | rowspan=2 | 1894 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap | |- | Election successfully contested.Incumbent re-elected and seated March 8, 1900. | nowrap |
! | Willis Brewer | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John H. Bankhead | | Democratic | 1886 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Milford W. Howard | | Populist | 1894 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Joseph Wheeler | | Democratic | 1884 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Oscar Underwood | | Democratic | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Arkansas
! | Philip D. McCulloch Jr. | | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John S. Little | | Democratic | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Thomas C. McRae | | Democratic | 1885 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William L. Terry | | Democratic | 1890 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Hugh A. Dinsmore | | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Stephen Brundidge Jr. | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
California
! | John All Barham | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Marion De Vries | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Samuel G. Hilborn | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |
! | James G. Maguire | | Democratic | 1892 | | Incumbent retired to run for California Governor.Republican gain. | nowrap |
! | Eugene F. Loud | | Republican | 1890 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Charles A. Barlow | | Populist | 1900 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. | nowrap |
! | Curtis H. Castle | | Populist | 1896 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. | nowrap |
Colorado
! | John F. Shafroth | | Silver Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John C. Bell | | Populist | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Connecticut
! | E. Stevens Henry | | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Nehemiah D. Sperry | | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Charles A. Russell | | 1886 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Ebenezer J. Hill | | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Delaware
! | L. Irving Handy | | Democratic | 1896 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. | nowrap |
Florida
! | Stephen M. Sparkman | | Democratic | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Robert Wyche Davis | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Georgia
! | Rufus E. Lester | | Democratic | 1888 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | James M. Griggs | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Elijah B. Lewis | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William C. Adamson | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Leonidas F. Livingston | | Democratic | 1890 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Charles L. Bartlett | | Democratic | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John W. Maddox | | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William M. Howard | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Farish Tate | | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William H. Fleming | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William G. Brantley | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Idaho
! | James Gunn | | Populist | 1896 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Silver Republican gain. | nowrap |
Illinois
! | James Robert Mann | | Republican | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William Lorimer | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Hugh R. Belknap | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Daniel W. Mills | | Republican | 1896 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | George E. White | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Henry Sherman Boutell | | Republican | 1897 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | George E. Foss | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
! | Albert J. Hopkins | | Republican | 1885 | Incumbent re-elected | nowrap |
! | Robert R. Hitt | | Republican | 1882 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | George W. Prince | | Republican | 1895 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Walter Reeves | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Joseph Gurney Cannon | | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Vespasian Warner | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Joseph V. Graff | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Benjamin F. Marsh | | Republican | 1876 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William H. Hinrichsen | | Democratic | 1896 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | James A. Connolly | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |
! | Thomas M. Jett | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Andrew J. Hunter | | Democratic | 1896 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | James R. Campbell | | Democratic | 1896 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |
! | Jehu Baker | | Democratic | 1896 | | Incumbent retired.Republican gain. | nowrap |
! | George Washington Smith | | Republican | 1888 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Indiana
! | James A. Hemenway | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Robert W. Miers | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William T. Zenor | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Francis M. Griffith | | Democratic | 1897 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | George W. Faris | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Henry U. Johnson | | Republican | 1890 | | Incumbent retired.Republican hold. | nowrap |
! | Jesse Overstreet | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Charles L. Henry | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent retired.Republican hold. | nowrap |
! | Charles B. Landis | | Republican | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Edgar D. Crumpacker | | Republican | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | George Washington Steele | | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | James M. Robinson | | Democratic | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Lemuel W. Royse | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |
Iowa
! | Samuel M. Clark | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent retired.Republican hold. | nowrap |
! | George M. Curtis | | Republican | 1894 | | Incumbent retired.Republican hold. | nowrap |
! | David B. Henderson | | Republican | 1882 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Thomas Updegraff | | Republican | 1892 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |
! | Robert G. Cousins | | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John F. Lacey | | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | John A. T. Hull | | Republican | 1890 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | William P. Hepburn | | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | Alva L. Hager | | Republican | 1892 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |
! | Jonathan P. Dolliver | | Republican | 1888 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | George D. Perkins | | Republican | 1890 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |
Kansas
! rowspan=2 | | Charles Curtis | | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | rowspan=2 nowrap | |- | Case Broderick | | Republican | 1890 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican loss.
! | Mason S. Peters | | Populist | 1896 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain | nowrap | |- ! | Edwin R. Ridgely | | Populist | 1896 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
! | colspan=3 | None (New district) | | New district.Republican gain. | nowrap |
! | William D. Vincent | | Populist | 1896 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain | nowrap |
! | Nelson B. McCormick | | Populist | 1896