1880 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1880 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 2, 1880, with five states holding theirs early between June and October. They coincided with the 1880 presidential election which was won by James A. Garfield, who was a member of the House at the time. Elections were held for 293 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 38 states, to serve in the 47th United States Congress. This was the first time that every state held their regular House elections on or before Election Day. Special elections were also held throughout the year.

Issues such as Civil War loyalties, tariffs, graft and corruption dominated the year's elections, though none became substantive as a national issue. The economy was growing stronger after emerging from a long Depression. It was in this political environment that Garfield's Republican Party gained 19 seats and regained control of the House from the Democratic Party. The Greenback Party, an emerging party of workers and farmers, also lost seats in these elections, after gaining more than a dozen two years earlier.

Election summaries + ↓ 131 10 151 Democratic Gb Republican

State Type Totalseats Democratic Greenback Republican Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Alabama District 8 6 1 1 1 1 Arkansas District 4 4 0 0 California District 4 2 1 0 2 1 Colorado At-large 1 0 0 1 Connecticut District 4 1 0 3 Delaware At-large 1 1 0 0 Florida District 2 1 0 1 Georgia District 9 9 0 0 Illinois District 19 6 0 1 13 1 Indiana District 13 5 1 0 8 2 Iowa District 9 1 1 0 2 8 1 Kansas District 3 0 0 3 Kentucky District 10 9 1 0 1 1 Louisiana District 6 5 1 0 1 1 Maine District 5 0 2 3 Maryland District 6 5 0 1 Massachusetts District 11 1 0 10 Michigan District 9 0 0 9 Minnesota District 3 0 1 0 3 1 Mississippi District 6 5 1 0 1 1 Missouri District 13 7 5 4 3 2 2 Nebraska At-large 1 0 0 1 Nevada At-large 1 1 1 0 0 1 New Hampshire District 3 0 0 3 New Jersey District 7 3 0 4 New York District 33 12 3 0 20 4 North Carolina District 8 7 1 0 1 1 Ohio District 20 5 6 0 15 6 Oregon At-large 1 0 1 0 1 1 Pennsylvania District 27 7 1 2 18 1 Rhode Island District 2 0 0 2 South Carolina District 5 4 1 0 1 1 Tennessee District 10 7 2 0 3 2 Texas District 6 5 1 0 Vermont District 3 0 0 1 3 1 Virginia District 9 7 1 0 2 1 West Virginia District 3 3 0 0 Wisconsin District 8 2 1 0 6 1 Total 293 131 13 10 4 151 16

Early election dates

In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors.Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721. This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the States moved their Congressional elections to this date as well.

In 1880, no states held their elections after Election Day for the first time (California was the last state to hold late elections, in 1878). But 5 states, with 35 seats among them, held their elections before the rest of the states:

June 1 Texas June 7 Oregon September 7 Vermont September 13 Maine October 12 Ohio

Special elections

46th Congress

! | Burwell B. Lewis | | Democratic | 18741876 1878 | | Incumbent resigned October 1, 1880, to become President of the University of Alabama.New member elected in 1880 and seated December 8, 1880.Democratic hold.Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below. | nowrap |

47th Congress

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

! | J. C. S. Blackburn | | 1874

1880 United States House of Representatives elections

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