1890 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1890 for members of the 52nd Congress, taking place in the middle of President Benjamin Harrison's term.

1890 United States House of Representatives elections

June 3, 1890 – November 4, 1890
All 332 seats in the United States House of Representatives 167 seats needed for a majority
Leader Charles Crisp Thomas Reed Jerry Simpson Party Democratic Republican Populist Leader's seat Georgia 3rd Maine 1st Kansas 7th Last election 152 seats 179 seats 0 seats Seats won 238[1][lower-alpha 1] 86[1][lower-alpha 1] 8[1][lower-alpha 1] Seat change 86 93 8 Popular vote 4,945,756 4,173,605 182,797 Percentage 50.71% 42.80% 1.87% Swing 2.03% 4.56% New
Map of U.S. House elections results from 1890 elections for 52nd Congress
Speaker before election Thomas Reed Republican Elected Speaker Charles Crisp Democratic

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. Democrats promised to cut the outlandish budget.

Furthermore, 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.[2] 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.[3]

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

• Kentucky 6: 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%).[4]
• California 1: 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.
• Iowa 7
• Missouri 14: 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	Total seats	Democratic		Populist		Republican
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	8	8	1	0		0	1
Arkansas	District	5	5	2	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	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[lower-alpha 3]	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[lower-alpha 3]	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[lower-alpha 3]	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[lower-alpha 3]	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[lower-alpha 3]	At-large	1	0		0		1
Total		332	238[5] 71.7%	74	8[5] 2.4%	9	86[5] 25.9%	83

Popular vote Democratic   50.71% Republican   42.80% Populist   1.87% Others   4.62%

House seats Democratic   71.69% Republican   25.90% Populist   2.41%

The previous election of 1888 saw the election of one Labor Party representative in Arkansas.

[[File:52 us house membership.png|thumb|500px| House seats by party holding plurality in state   80+% Democratic     80+% Republican   60+% to 80% Democratic   60+% to 80% Populist   60+% to 80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic     Up to 60% Republican ]]

[[File:52 us house changes.png|thumb|500px| Net gain in party representation   6+ Democratic gain     6+ Republican gain   3-5 Democratic gain   3-5 Populist gain   3-5 Republican gain   1-2 Democratic gain   1-2 Populist gain   1-2 Republican gain   no net change ]]

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

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
California 1	Vacant			Incumbent resigned October 1, 1890. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Thomas J. Geary (Democratic) 49.3% John A. Barham (Republican) 48.8% L. B. Scranton (Prohibition) 1.9%
California 2	Marion Biggs	Democratic	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Anthony Caminetti (Democratic) 49% George I. Blanchard (Republican) 48.6% J. S. Witherell (Prohibition) 2.4%
California 3	Joseph McKenna	Republican	1884	Incumbent re-elected.	Joseph McKenna (Republican) 55.4% John P. Irish (Democratic) 42.5% O. O. Felkner (Prohibition) 2.1%
California 4	William W. Morrow	Republican	1884	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	John T. Cutting (Republican) 49.2% Robert Ferral (Democratic) 45.1% Thomas V. Cator (Socialist) 5.6% Joseph Rowell (Prohibition) 0.2%
California 5	Thomas J. Clunie	Democratic	1888	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain.	Eugene F. Loud (Republican) 52.8% Thomas J. Clunie (Democratic) 45.9% E. F. Howe (Prohibition) 1.3%
California 6	William Vandever	Republican	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	William W. Bowers (Republican) 51.1% W. J. Curtis (Democratic) 44.1% O. R. Dougherty (Prohibition) 4.8%

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Florida 1	Robert H. M. Davidson	Democratic	1876	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Stephen R. Mallory Jr. (Democratic) 78.5% Harrison Reed (Republican) 21.5%
Florida 2	Robert Bullock	Democratic	1888	Incumbent re-elected.	Robert Bullock (Democratic) 58.8% Joseph Stripling (Republican) 41.2%

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

The Ohio Legislature redistricted the state between censuses. Coupled with other Democratic gains, this redistricting gave the Democrats a nine-seat net gain.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates[6]
Ohio 1	Benjamin Butterworth	Republican	1884	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	Bellamy Storer (Republican) 53.7% Otway Cosgrove (Democratic) 46.3%
Ohio 2	John A. Caldwell	Republican	1888	Incumbent re-elected.	John A. Caldwell (Republican) 60.6% Alexander Long (Democratic) 39.4%
Ohio 3	Elihu S. Williams	Republican	1886	Incumbent retired. Republican loss.	George W. Houk (Democratic) 53.3% Henry Lee Morey (Republican) 46.7%
	Henry Lee Morey Redistricted from the 7th district	Republican	1888	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.
Ohio 4	Samuel S. Yoder	Democratic	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Martin K. Gantz (Democratic) 51.8% William P. Orr (Republican) 48.2%
Ohio 5	George E. Seney	Democratic	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Fernando C. Layton (Democratic) 55.8% Lawrence W. Stroup (Republican) 44.2%
Ohio 6	Melvin M. Boothman	Republican	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Dennis D. Donovan (Democratic) 52.4% Joseph H. Brigham (Republican) 47.6%
Ohio 7	William E. Haynes Redistricted from the 10th district	Democratic	1888	Incumbent re-elected.	William E. Haynes (Democratic) 51.6% James M. Ashley (Republican) 48.4%
Ohio 8	Robert P. Kennedy	Republican	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Darius D. Hare (Democratic) 50.3% Charles Foster (Republican) 49.7%
Ohio 9	William C. Cooper	Republican	1884	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican loss.	Joseph H. Outhwaite (Democratic) 54.1% Thomas B. Wilson (Republican) 45.9%
	Joseph H. Outhwaite Redistricted from the 13th district	Democratic	1884	Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 10	Open seat			New seat. New member elected. Republican gain.	Robert E. Doan (Republican) 54.4% John Quincy Smith (Democratic) 45.6%
Ohio 11	Albert C. Thompson	Republican	1886	Lost renomination. New member elected. Democratic gain.	John M. Pattison (Democratic) 55.0% DeWitt Clinton Loudon (Republican) 45.0%
Ohio 12	Jacob J. Pugsley	Republican	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	William H. Enochs (Republican) 63.2% Ezra V. Dean (Democratic) 36.8%
Ohio 13	Open seat			New seat. New member elected. Democratic gain.	James I. Dungan (Democratic) 52.4% William T. Lewis (Republican) 47.6%
Ohio 14	Charles Preston Wickham	Republican	1886	Incumbent retired. Republican loss.	James W. Owens (Democratic) 54.9% Samuel Slade (Republican) 45.1%
	James W. Owens Redistricted from the 16th district	Democratic	1888	Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 15	Charles H. Grosvenor	Republican	1886	Lost renomination. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Michael D. Harter (Democratic) 55.2% George L. Sackett (Republican) 44.8%
Ohio 16	William McKinley Redistricted from the 18th district	Republican	1886	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	John G. Warwick (Democratic) 50.4% William McKinley (Republican) 49.6%
Ohio 17	Open seat			New seat. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Albert J. Pearson (Democratic) 51.2% Christian L. Poorman (Republican) 58.8%
Ohio 18	Joseph D. Taylor Redistricted from the 17th district	Republican	1886	Incumbent re-elected.	Joseph D. Taylor (Republican) 59.1% Henry H. McFadden (Democratic) 40.9%
Ohio 19	Ezra B. Taylor	Republican	1880	Incumbent re-elected.	Ezra B. Taylor (Republican) 61.9% Thomas E. Hoyt (Democratic) 38.1%
Ohio 20	Martin L. Smyser	Republican	1888	Lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold.	Vincent A. Taylor (Republican) 60.6% Harlan L. Stewart (Democratic) 39.4%
Ohio 21	Theodore E. Burton	Republican	1888	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	Tom L. Johnson (Democratic) 55.3% Theodore E. Burton (Democratic) 44.7%

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
South Carolina 1	Samuel Dibble	Democratic	1882	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	William H. Brawley (Democratic) 84.2% William D. Crum (Republican) 15.7% Others 0.1%
South Carolina 2	George D. Tillman	Democratic	1878	Incumbent re-elected.	George D. Tillman (Democratic) 85.5% Seymour E. Smith (Republican) 14.3% Others 0.2%
South Carolina 3	James S. Cothran	Democratic	1886	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	George Johnstone (Democratic) 91.4% John R. Tolbert (Republican) 8.2% Others 0.4%
South Carolina 4	William H. Perry	Democratic	1884	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	George W. Shell (Democratic) 81.9% J. F. Ensor (Republican) 17.8% Others 0.3%
South Carolina 5	John J. Hemphill	Democratic	1882	Incumbent re-elected.	John J. Hemphill (Democratic) 87.1% G. G. Alexander (Republican) 12.2% Others 0.7%
South Carolina 6	George W. Dargan	Democratic	1882	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	Eli T. Stackhouse (Democratic) 78.8% Edmund H. Deas (Republican) 20.5% Others 0.7%
South Carolina 7	Thomas E. Miller	Republican	1888[lower-alpha 4]	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	William Elliott (Democratic) 44.4% Thomas E. Miller (Republican) 38.8% E. M. Brayton (Independent Republican) 16.5% Others 0.3%

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Republican Clarence D. Clark was elected over Democrat George T. Buck in a single ballot both to finish the current term (ending 1891) and the next term (beginning 1891).[7]

Non-voting delegates

51st Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Delegate	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Oklahoma Territory at-large	New seat			New seat. New delegate elected to finish the current term. Republican gain.	David Archibald Harvey (Republican)[8] [data unknown/missing]

52nd Congress

District	Incumbent			This race
	Delegate	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Arizona Territory at-large
New Mexico Territory at-large
Oklahoma Territory at-large	New seat			New seat. New delegate elected to the next term. Republican gain.	David Archibald Harvey (Republican)[9] [data unknown/missing]

See also

• 1890 United States elections
  • 1890 and 1891 United States Senate elections
• 51st United States Congress
• 52nd United States Congress

Notes

1. Dubin (pp. 293–94) counts 235 Democrats, 88 Republicans, and 8 Populists at the opening of the 52nd Congress.
2. One Labor Party member had been elected in 1888.
3. Elections held early.
4. After disputed election.

References

1. Martis, p. 144–145.
2. Jensen, Richard J. (1971). "5: The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict, 1888-1896". Education, the Tariff, and the Melting Pot. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 122–153. ISBN 9780226398259.
3. Jensen, p. ch. 4: Iowa, Wet or Dry?. pp. 89-121.
4. "Our Campaigns - KY - District 06 Special Election Race - Jun 21, 1890". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
5. Martis.
6. Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 592, 593.
7. "Our Campaigns - WY At-Large Race - Sep 11, 1890". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
8. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=299870
9. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=264142

Bibliography

• Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses. McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0786402830.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (January 1, 1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0029201701.
• Moore, John L., ed. (1994). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (Third ed.). Congressional Quarterly Inc. ISBN 978-0871879967.
• "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, House of United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.

External links

• Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)