1890 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1890 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 4, 1890, with five states holding theirs early in between June and October. They occurred in the middle of President Benjamin Harrison's term. Elections were held for 332 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 44 states, to serve in the 52nd United States Congress. Special elections were also held throughout the year.

A stagnant economy which became worse after the Panic of 1890, combined with a lack of support for then-Representative William McKinley's (defeated in the election) steep tariff act, which favored large industries at the expense of consumers, led to a sharp defeat for Harrison's Republican Party, giving a large majority to the Democratic Party and presaging Harrison's defeat in the 1892 United States presidential election. The Republican-controlled Congress was highly criticized for its lavish spending, and it earned the unflattering nickname of The Billion Dollar Congress. The Democrats promised to cut the outlandish budget.

Aggressive Republican promotion of controversial English-only education laws enacted by Wisconsin and Illinois in 1889, accompanied by a surge in nativist and anti-Catholic sentiment within the state parties, had greatly hollowed out the party's support base in these former strongholds. A rare multi-confessional alliance of mainly German clergy rallied their flocks in defense of language and faith to the Democratic Party, which tore through incumbent Republican majorities in both states, capturing a total of 11 formerly Republican seats between them alone. Bitterly divisive struggles over temperance laws had also been alienating immigrants from the increasingly prohibitionist Republican Party across the Midwest more broadly. Dramatic losses in the previous year's gubernatorial elections in Iowa and Ohio (which would lose another 14 Republican congressional seats between them during this election) were due in no small part to wet immigrant communities, especially Germans, expressing their resentment toward Republican efforts to ban or otherwise curtail alcohol consumption by throwing their support behind the Democratic candidates.

This election also saw the Populist Party, a coalition of farmers and laborers who wanted to overhaul the nation's financial system, make a small mark on Congress.

Special elections

: June 21, 1890: William W. Dickerson (D) elected to finish the term of John G. Carlisle (D), who had resigned May 26, 1890 when elected U.S. senator. Democratic hold. Dickerson: 8,412 (63.95%), Wesley M. Rardin (R) 4,742 (36.05%). : December 9, 1890: Thomas J. Geary (D) elected to finish the term of John J. De Haven (R), who had resigned October 1, 1890. Democratic gain.

: James P. Walker (D) died July 19, 1890, and Robert H. Whitelaw (D) was elected November 4, 1890. Democratic hold.

Election summaries + ↓ 238 8 86 Democratic P Republican

State Type Totalseats Democratic Populist Republican Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Alabama District 8 8 1 0 0 1 Arkansas District 5 5 2 0 1 0 1 California District 6 2 0 4 Colorado At-large 1 0 0 1 Connecticut District 4 3 2 0 1 2 Delaware At-large 1 1 0 0 Florida District 2 2 0 0 Georgia District 10 10 0 0 Idaho At-large 1 0 0 1 Illinois District 20 14 7 0 6 7 Indiana District 13 11 1 0 2 1 Iowa District 11 6 5 0 5 5 Kansas District 7 0 5 5 2 5 Kentucky District 11 10 1 0 1 1 Louisiana District 6 6 1 0 0 1 Maine District 4 0 0 4 Maryland District 6 6 3 0 0 3 Massachusetts District 12 7 5 0 5 5 Michigan District 11 8 6 0 3 6 Minnesota District 5 3 3 1 1 1 4 Mississippi District 7 7 0 0 Missouri District 14 14 4 0 0 4 Montana At-large 1 1 1 0 0 1 Nebraska District 3 1 1 2 2 0 3 Nevada At-large 1 0 0 1 New Hampshire District 2 2 2 0 0 2 New Jersey District 7 5 2 0 2 2 New York District 34 23 8 0 11 8 North Carolina District 9 8 2 0 1 2 North Dakota At-large 1 0 0 1 Ohio District 21 14 9 0 7 9 Oregon At-large 1 0 0 1 Pennsylvania District 28 11 4 0 17 4 Rhode Island District 2 2 2 0 0 2 South Carolina District 7 7 0 0 South Dakota At-large 2 0 0 2 Tennessee District 10 8 1 0 2 1 Texas District 11 11 0 0 Vermont District 2 0 0 2 Virginia District 10 10 4 0 0 4 Washington At-large 1 0 0 1 West Virginia District 4 4 2 0 0 2 Wisconsin District 9 8 6 0 1 6 Wyoming At-large 1 0 0 1 Total 332 238 74 8 9 86 83 The previous election of 1888 saw the election of one Labor Party representative in Arkansas.

Early election dates In 1890, five states, with 9 seats among them, held elections early:

June 3 Oregon September 2 Vermont September 8 Maine September 11 Idaho October 1 Wyoming

Idaho and Wyoming held elections for both the outgoing 51st Congress and the incoming 52nd Congress in 1890, having been admitted that year, and held future elections on the standard election day.

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

There were two elections to the new state of Idaho.

51st Congress

52nd Congress

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

! | John F. Lacey | | Republican | 1888

1890 United States House of Representatives elections

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