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1850–51 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1848 & 1849 August 5, 1850 – November 4, 1851 1852 & 1853 →
All 233 seats in theUnited States House of Representatives 117 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Linn Boyd Edward Stanly Party Democratic Whig Leader's seat Kentucky 1st North Carolina 8th Last election 113 seats 106 seats Seats won 127[a] 85[b] Seat change 14 21 Popular vote 1,142,783 1,105,286 Percentage 43.31% 41.89% Swing 0.85pp 2.95pp   Third party Fourth party   Party Union Party Southern Rights Party Last election Pre-creation Pre-creation Seats won 10 3 Seat change 10 3 Popular vote 123,727 109,060 Percentage 4.69% 4.13% Swing New Party New Party   Fifth party Sixth party   Party Free Soil Independent Last election 8 seats 3 seats Seats won 4 4[c] Seat change 4 1 Popular vote 82,221 70,262 Percentage 3.12% 2.79% Swing 5.54pp 1.03pp
Results:      Democratic gain     Whig gain      Democratic hold     Whig hold      Free Soil hold     Free Soil gain      Union gain     Southern Rights gain      Independent gain
Speaker before election Howell Cobb Democratic Elected Speaker Linn Boyd Democratic

The1850–51 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 5, 1850, and November 4, 1851. Each state set its own date for its elections to theHouse of Representatives before the first session of the32nd United States Congress convened on December 1, 1851. Elections were held for all 233 seats, representing 31 states.

TheDemocrats gained 17 seats, increasing their majority relative to the rivalWhigs, who lost 22 seats. Incumbent WhigPresidentMillard Fillmore, who succeeded to the Presidency in July 1850 after the death of more charismatic GeneralZachary Taylor, lacked a strong political base. TheCompromise of 1850, which admittedCalifornia alone as a free state in exchange for concessions to slave state interests, began integration of theMexican Cession. It appeared in the short term that Congress had politically feasible options to containsectionalism and to reduce tensions over expandingslavery in the West. This optimism soon would prove unfounded.

TheUnion Party, formed in support of theCompromise of 1850, won 15 seats in the South, while the anti-CompromiseSouthern Rights Party won 8. TheFree Soil Party, which opposed the expansion of slavery into the Western territories, lost five seats and was reduced to four Representatives, all inNew England.

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Democratic		Free Soil		Southern Rights		Union		Whig
				Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Iowa	District	August 5, 1850	2	2		0		0		0		0
Missouri	District	August 5, 1850	5	2[f]	3	0		0		0		3	3
Vermont	District	September 3, 1850	4	1[g]		0		0		0		3
Maine	District	September 9, 1850	7	5		0		0		0		2
Florida	At-large	October 7, 1850	1	0		0		0		0		1
Ohio	District	October 8, 1850	21	11[h]		1	1	0		0		9	1
Pennsylvania	District	October 8, 1850	24[i]	15[j]	6	0	1	0		0		9[k]	4
South Carolina	District	October 14–15, 1850	7	7		0		0		0		0
Illinois	District	November 5, 1850 (Election Day)[l]	7	6		0		0		0		1
Michigan	District		3	1	1	0		0		0		2[m]	1
New Jersey	District		5	4	3	0		0		0		1	3
New York	District		34	17	16	0	1	0		0		17	15
Wisconsin	District		3	2[h]	1	1[n]		0		0		0	1
Massachusetts	District	November 11, 1850	10[o]	1	1	2	1	0		0		7	1
Delaware	At-large	November 12, 1850	1	1	1	0		0		0		0	1
Late elections (after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term)
New Hampshire	District	March 11, 1851	4	2		0	1	0		0		2	1
Rhode Island	District	April 2, 1851	2	1	1	0		0		0		1	1
Connecticut	District	April 7, 1851	4	3	1	0	1	0		0		1
Alabama	District	August 4, 1851	7	4[p]	1	0		0		1	1	2[q]
Arkansas	At-large	August 4, 1851	1	1		0		0		0		0
Indiana	District	August 4, 1851	10	8		0	1	0		0		2	1
Kentucky	District	August 4, 1851	10	5	1	0		0		0		5	1
Texas	District	August 4, 1851	2	2		0		0		0		0
North Carolina	District	August 7, 1851	9	3[r]		0		0		0		6[s]
Tennessee	District	August 7, 1851	11	7[h]		0		0		0		4
California	At-large	September 3, 1851	2[t]	2	1	0		0		0		0
Maryland	District	October 1, 1851	6	2	1	0		0		0		4[u]	1
Georgia	District	October 6, 1851	8	0	4	0		2	2	6	6	0	4
Virginia	District	October 23, 1851	15	13		0		0		0		2
Mississippi	District	November 3–4, 1851	4	0	4	0		1	1	3	3	0
Louisiana	District	November 4, 1851	4	2	1	0		0		0		2	1
Total			233	130[v] 55.8%	17	4 1.7%	5	3 1.3%	3	10 4.3%	10	86[u] 36.9%	22

One district inMassachusetts had been vacant in the 31st Congress. No new seats were added.

The previous election had 1Know-Nothing and 1Independent.

• Iowa's 1st congressional district: 1850
• New Hampshire's 3rd congressional district: 1850
• Ohio's 6th congressional district: 1851
• Louisiana's 3rd congressional district: 1850
• Massachusetts's 1st congressional district: 1850

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2020)

Elections were held August 4, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

The election was held August 4, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

California's members were elected late, at-large statewide, September 3, 1851. There were nevertheless seated with the rest of the House at the beginning of the first session.

Elections were held April 7, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

The election was held November 12, 1850.

The election was held October 7, 1850.

Elections were held October 6, 1851.

Elections were held November 5, 1850.

Elections were held August 4, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held August 5, 1850.

Elections were held August 4, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held November 4, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held September 9, 1850.

Elections were held October 1, 1851 elections were after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the new term, but still before the Congress convened in December 1851.

Elections were held November 11, 1850, but at least one district's elections went to multiple ballots into 1851.

Elections were held November 5, 1850.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

Elections were held November 3–4, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held August 5, 1850.

Elections were held March 11, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held November 5, 1850.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

Elections were held November 5, 1850.

Elections were held August 7, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held October 8, 1850.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

Elections were held October 8, 1850.

Elections were held April 2, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held October 14–15, 1850.

Elections were held August 7, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

District	Incumbent			This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Tennessee 1	Andrew Johnson	Democratic	1842	Incumbent re-elected.	▌YAndrew Johnson (Democratic) 57.52% ▌Landon Carter Haynes (Democratic) 42.48%[30]
Tennessee 2	Albert G. Watkins	Whig	1849	Incumbent re-elected.	YAlbert G. Watkins (Whig) 78.65% ▌[FNU] Hurley (Democratic) 17.57% ▌J. D. Dickinson (Whig) 3.78%[31]
Tennessee 3	Josiah M. Anderson	Whig	1849	Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain.	▌YWilliam M. Churchwell (Democratic) 50.06% ▌Josiah M. Anderson (Whig) 49.94%[32]
Tennessee 4	John H. Savage	Democratic	1849	Incumbent re-elected.	▌YJohn H. Savage (Democratic) 57.20% ▌Jefferson D. Goodpasture (Whig) 42.80%[33]
Tennessee 5	George W. Jones	Democratic	1842	Incumbent re-elected.	▌YGeorge W. Jones (Democratic) 100%[34]
Tennessee 6	James H. Thomas	Democratic	1847	Incumbent lost re-election. Independent Democratic gain.	▌YWilliam H. Polk (Independent Democratic) 56.13% ▌James H. Thomas (Democratic) 43.87%[35]
Tennessee 7	Meredith P. Gentry	Whig	1845	Incumbent re-elected.	▌YMeredith P. Gentry (Whig) 100%[36]
Tennessee 8	Andrew Ewing	Democratic	1849	Incumbent retired. Whig gain.	▌YWilliam Cullom (Whig) 55.63% ▌J. J. Southall (Democratic) 44.37%[37]
Tennessee 9	Isham G. Harris	Democratic	1849	Incumbent re-elected.	▌YIsham G. Harris (Democratic) 59.47% ▌I. G. Hornberger (Whig) 40.53%[38]
Tennessee 10	Frederick P. Stanton	Democratic	1845	Incumbent re-elected.	▌YFrederick P. Stanton (Democratic) 51.81% ▌Walter S. Coleman (Whig) 48.19%[39]
Tennessee 11	Christopher H. Williams	Whig	1849	Incumbent re-elected.	▌YChristopher H. Williams (Whig) 100%[40]

Elections were held August 4, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

Elections were held September 3, 1850.

Elections were held October 23, 1851, after the March 4, 1851 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1851.

Elections were held November 5, 1850.

• 1850 United States elections
  • List of United States House of Representatives elections (1824–1854)
  • 1850–51 United States Senate elections
• 31st United States Congress
• 32nd United States Congress

• 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. RetrievedJanuary 21, 2015.

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

• 1850 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1851 United States House of Representatives elections
• John C. Breckinridge

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