The 1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 6, 1870, and October 6, 1871. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 42nd United States Congress convened on March 4, 1871. They occurred in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's first term. Elections were held for all 243 seats, representing 37 states.

With Grant's administration rocked by a number of scandals (including a shady deal for gold speculation that led to a crash in the market and several business deals that saw highranking governmental officials gain kickbacks) and Reconstruction winding down, his Republican Party lost seats to the opposition Democratic Party but retained an overall majority. Also, since white-supremacist governments controlled by the Democratic Party were reestablishing themselves in some portions of the Southern United States, the Democrats were able to make huge gains in this election.

Election summaries + ↓ 104 139 Democratic Republican

State Type Totalseats Democratic Republican Seats Change Seats Change Mississippi District 5 0 5 Alabama District 6 3 1 3 1 Arkansas District 3 1 2 California District 3 0 2 3 2 Connecticut District 4 1 3 Delaware At-large 1 1 0 Florida At-large 1 1 1 0 1 Georgia District 7 4 3 Illinois District+ 1 at-large 14 6 2 8 2 Indiana District 11 5 1 6 1 Iowa District 6 0 6 Kansas At-large 1 0 1 Kentucky District 9 9 0 Louisiana District 5 0 5 Maine District 5 0 5 Maryland District 5 5 0 Massachusetts District 10 0 10 Michigan District 6 1 1 5 1 Minnesota District 2 0 1 2 1 Missouri District 9 4 2 5 2 Nebraska At-large 1 0 1 Nevada At-large 1 1 1 0 1 New Hampshire District 3 3 3 0 3 New Jersey District 5 2 1 3 1 New York District 31 16 3 15 3 North Carolina District 7 5 4 2 4 Ohio District 19 5 1 14 1 Oregon At-large 1 1 0 Pennsylvania District 24 11 3 13 3 Rhode Island District 2 0 2 South Carolina District 4 0 4 Tennessee District 8 6 6 2 6 Texas District 4 4 3 0 3 Vermont District 3 0 3 Virginia District 8 5 5 3 West Virginia District 3 2 2 1 2 Wisconsin District 6 2 1 4 1 Total 243 104 37 139 32

The previous election included 5 Conservatives

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 1870, there remained 12 States that held elections before Election Day, and 4 that held it after at this time:

Early elections: December 1, 1869: Mississippi (Mississippi was a special case, having held elections for both the 41st Congress upon readmission and for the 42nd Congress on the same day) June 6: Oregon August 4: North Carolina September 6: Vermont September 12: Maine October 11: Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania October 25: West Virginia November 1: South Carolina Late elections: March 14, 1871: New Hampshire April 4, 1871: Connecticut August 6, 1871: Montana Territory September 6, 1871: California October 6, 1871: Texas

Special elections

! | William Smyth | | Republican | 1868 | | Incumbent died September 30, 1870.New member elected December 6, 1870.Republican hold.Winner was not elected to the next term. | nowrap | |- ! |- ! |- ! | Benjamin F. Hopkins | | Republican | 1866 | | Incumbent died January 1, 1870.New member elected February 15, 1870.Republican hold. | nowrap | |- ! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | Joseph W. Clift (R) had presented credentials as a Member-elect to the 41st United States Congress, but was not permitted to qualify.Republican gain.Winner was not a candidate for election to the next term. | nowrap |

Alabama

! | Alfred Eliab Buck | | Republican | 1869 | | Incumbent retired.Republican hold. | nowrap | |- ! | Charles W. Buckley | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Robert Stell Heflin | | Republican | 1869 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

! | Charles Hays | | Republican | 1869 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Peter M. Dox | | Democratic | 1869 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | William Crawford Sherrod | | Democratic | 1869 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |

|}Guide to U.S. elections (6th ed (Online-Ausg.) ed.). Washington, D.C: CQ Press. 2010. .

Arizona Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

Arkansas

! | Logan Roots | | Republican | 1868 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Anthony A. C. Rogers | | Democratic | 1868 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Republican gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Thomas Boles | | Republican | 1868 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Liberal Republican gain. | nowrap |

California

! | Samuel Beach Axtell | | Democratic | 1867 | | Incumbent retired.Republican gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Aaron A. Sargent | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | James A. Johnson | | Democratic | 1867 | | Incumbent retired.Republican gain. | nowrap |

Colorado Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

Connecticut

! | Julius L. Strong | | 1869 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Stephen Kellogg | | 1869 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Henry H. Starkweather | | 1867 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | William Barnum | | 1867 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

Dakota Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

Delaware

! | Benjamin T. Biggs | | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

District of Columbia See Non-voting delegates, below.

Florida

Niblack subsequently successfully challenged Walls's election and was seated from Florida's at-large district on January 29, 1873. |- ! rowspan=2 | | rowspan=2 | Charles M. Hamilton | rowspan=2 | Republican | rowspan=2 | 1868 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap | |- | | Election successfully contested.New member seated January 29, 1873.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

Georgia

Despite not being formally readmitted, members elected on April 20, 1868, were seated to fill the vacant seats for the remainder of the 40th congress. However, these members were not permitted to qualify for the 41st congress under the same election and all seats were thus vacant at the time of the 1870 election. Georgia was formally readmitted on July 15, 1870.

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

! rowspan=2 | | rowspan=2 colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Democratic gain. | nowrap | |- | | Election successfully challenged. Member was not permitted to qualify and opponent was seated after votes from Calhoun and Sumter counties were omitted.New member seated December 22, 1870.Republican gain. | nowrap |

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Republican gain. | nowrap |

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Republican gain. | nowrap |

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

Idaho Territory See Non-voting delegates, below.

Illinois

! | Norman B. Judd | | Republican | 1866 | | Incumbent retired.Republican hold. | nowrap |

! | John F. Farnsworth | | Republican | 1862 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Horatio C. Burchard | | Republican | 1869 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | John B. Hawley | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Ebon C. Ingersoll | | Republican | 1864 | | Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

! | Burton C. Cook | | Republican | 1864 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Jesse H. Moore | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Shelby M. Cullom | | Republican | 1864 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

! | Thompson W. McNeely | | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Albert G. Burr | | Democratic | 1866 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |

! | Samuel S. Marshall | | Democratic | 1864 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | John B. Hay | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | John M. Crebs | | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | John A. Logan | | Republican | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected but resigned before start of term to become U.S. Senator. | nowrap |

Indiana

! | William E. Niblack | | Democratic | 1864 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Michael C. Kerr | | Democratic | 1864 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | William S. Holman | | Democratic | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | George W. Julian | | Republican | 1860 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |

! | John Coburn | | Republican | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Daniel W. Voorhees | | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Godlove S. Orth | | Republican | 1862 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic gain. | nowrap |

! | James Noble Tyner | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | John P. C. Shanks | | Republican | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | William Williams | | Republican | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Jasper Packard | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

Iowa

! | George W. McCrary | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | William Smyth | | Republican | 1868 | | Incumbent died.Republican hold. | nowrap |

! | William B. Allison | | Republican | 1862 | | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.Republican hold. | nowrap |

! | William Loughridge | | Republican | 1866 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |

! | Francis W. Palmer | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Charles Pomeroy | | Republican | 1868 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |

Kansas

! | Sidney Clarke | | Republican | 1864 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |

Kentucky

! | Lawrence S. Trimble | | Democratic | 1865 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Democratic hold. | nowrap |

! | William N. Sweeney | | Democratic | 1868 | | Incumbent declined renomination.Democratic hold. | nowrap |

! | Joseph Horace Lewis | | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | J. Proctor Knott | | Democratic | 1867 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |

! | Boyd Winchester | | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Thomas L. Jones | | Democratic | 1867 | | Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. | nowrap |

! | James B. Beck | | Democratic | 1867 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | George Madison Adams | | Democratic | 1867 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | John McConnell Rice | | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

Louisiana

! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | New member elected.Republican gain. | nowrap |

! | Lionel Allen Sheldon | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Chester Bidwell Darrall | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Joseph P. Newsham | | Republican | 1868 | | Incumbent retired.Republican hold. | nowrap |

! | Frank Morey | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

Maine

! | John Lynch | | Republican | 1864 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Samuel P. Morrill | | Republican | 1868 | | Incumbent lost renomination.Republican hold. | nowrap |

! | James G. Blaine | | Republican | 1862 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | John A. Peters | | Republican | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |

! | Eugene Hale | | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected.