1888 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1888 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 6, 1888, with three states holding theirs early between June and September. They occurred at the same time as the election of President Benjamin Harrison. Elections were initially held for 325 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 38 states, to serve in the 51st United States Congress. Six new states would later join the union and increase the House to 332 seats. Special elections were also held throughout the year.

Harrison's Republican Party gained a majority in the House at the expense of the Democratic Party, even though incumbent President Grover Cleveland actually received more votes counted than Harrison. However, as in other elections in the period, widespread vote suppression and electoral fraud was common on behalf of Democrats and against black Republicans in the Southern United States. The Republican House majority in uncontested elections unseated a number of initially reported as victorious Democratic candidates in favor of Republican candidates who contested their election loss.

The issue of tariffs played a key role in this election. The Democrats, with the support of farmers and laborers, wanted to lower tariffs in order to promote free trade, while the Republicans, backed by industry and big business, believed that higher tariffs were necessary to protect American manufacturing. Especially in industrializing regions, voters chose the Republican view on tariffs, as they gave the party a slim majority in the House.

Hamilton D. Coleman’s win in the Second District would prove the last time until 1972 that a Republican won any House seat in Louisiana, for the disenfrachisement of almost all blacks in the 1890s would leave that state completely devoid of Republican support until after the Dixiecrat bolt.

Election summaries Seven seats were added, for the six new states of, in order of admission (number of House seats for each new state listed in parentheses): North Dakota (1), South Dakota (2), Montana (1), Washington (1), Idaho (1), and Wyoming (1).

+ ↓ 179 1 152 Republican Democratic

StateTypeTotalseats Republican DemocraticOthersSeatsChangeSeatsChange Seats Change Alabama District 8 1 1 7 1 0 Arkansas District 5 1 3 1 1 California District 6 4 2 0 Colorado At-large 1 1 0 0 Connecticut District 4 3 1 1 1 0 Delaware At-large 1 0 1 0 Florida District 2 0 2 0 Georgia District 10 0 10 0 Illinois District 20 13 1 7 1 0 Indiana District 13 3 4 10 4 0 Iowa District 11 10 1 1 0 1 Kansas District 7 7 0 0 Kentucky District 11 2 1 9 1 0 Louisiana District 6 1 1 5 1 0 Maine District 4 4 0 0 Maryland District 6 3 2 3 2 0 Massachusetts District 12 10 2 2 2 0 Michigan District 11 9 3 2 3 0 Minnesota District 5 5 3 0 3 0 Mississippi District 7 0 7 0 Missouri District 14 4 2 10 2 0 Nebraska District 3 3 1 0 1 0 Nevada At-large 1 1 0 0 New Hampshire District 2 2 1 0 1 0 New Jersey District 7 4 1 3 1 0 New York District 34 19 1 15 1 0 North Carolina District 9 3 2 6 2 0 1 Ohio District 21 16 1 5 1 0 Oregon At-large 1 1 0 0 Pennsylvania District 28 21 1 7 1 0 Rhode Island District 2 2 0 0 South Carolina District 7 1 1 6 1 0 Tennessee District 10 3 1 7 1 0 Texas District 11 0 11 0 Vermont District 2 2 0 0 Virginia District 10 4 2 6 3 0 1 West Virginia District 4 2 1 2 1 0 Wisconsin District 9 7 2 1 0 1 1889 elections (New States) Montana At-large 1 1 1 0 0 North Dakota At-large 1 1 1 0 0 South Dakota At-large 2 2 2 0 0 Washington At-large 1 1 1 0 0 1890 elections (New States) Idaho At-large 1 1 1 0 0 Wyoming At-large 1 1 1 0 0 Total 332 179 17 152 6 1 5

The previous election had 4 third-party candidates, 2 Labor, 1 Greenback, and 1 Independent.

Election dates All states elected their members November 6, 1888 except, three states, with 7 seats among them:

June 6: Oregon September 4: Vermont September 10: Maine

Alabama

Arizona Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

Arkansas

In the , initial returns showed William H. Cate (Democratic) winning the election, but the election was contested by Lewis P. Featherstone (Labor), and on May 5, 1890, he was declared the winner.

In the , Clifton R. Breckinridge (Democratic) was initially declared re-elected. John M. Clayton successfully contested the election, but was assassinated before the contest was complete, so the House declared the seat vacant. Breckinridge was subsequently re-elected November 4, 1890 to finish the term.

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

! | Adoniram J. Holmes | | Republican | 1882

1888 United States House of Representatives elections

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