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1888 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1886 June 6, September 4, September 10, and November 6, 1888[a] 1890 →
All 332 seats in theUnited States House of Representatives[b] 167 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Thomas Brackett Reed John G. Carlisle Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Maine 1st Kentucky 6th Last election 152 seats 167 seats Seats won 179[1][c] 152[1][c] Seat change 27 15 Popular vote 5,408,259 5,558,964 Percentage 47.36% 48.68% Swing 2.37pp 0.56pp   Third party Fourth party   Party Labor Independent Last election 2 seats 2 seats[d] Seats won 1[1] 0 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 161,225 61,520 Percentage 1.41% 0.54% Swing 0.33pp 1.54pp
Map of U.S. House elections results from 1888 elections for 51st Congress on election day (a number of Southern seats were later successfully contested and the results overturned)
Speaker before election John Carlisle Democratic ElectedSpeaker Thomas Reed Republican

The1888 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 ofPresidentBenjamin Harrison. Elections were initially held for 325 seats of theUnited States House of Representatives, representing 38 states, to serve in the51st United States Congress. Six new states would laterjoin the union and increase the House to 332 seats. Special elections were also held throughout the year.

Harrison'sRepublican Party gained a majority in the House at the expense of theDemocratic Party, even though incumbent PresidentGrover Cleveland actually received more votes counted than Harrison. However, as in other elections in the period, widespreadvote suppression andelectoral fraud was common on behalf of Democrats and against black Republicans in theSouthern 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 promotefree 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 inthe Second District would prove the last time until1972 that a Republican won any House seat in Louisiana,^[2] forthe disenfrachisement of almost all blacks in the 1890s would leave that state completely devoid of Republican support until after theDixiecrat bolt.^[3]

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), andWyoming (1).

State	Type	Total seats	Republican		Democratic		Others
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	8	1	1	7	1	0
Arkansas	District	5	1		3		1[f]	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[g]
Kansas	District	7	7		0		0
Kentucky	District	11	2	1	9	1	0
Louisiana	District	6	1	1	5	1	0
Maine[h]	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[i]
Ohio	District	21	16	1	5	1	0
Oregon[h]	At-large	1	1		0		0
Pennsylvania	District[j]	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[h]	District	2	2		0		0
Virginia	District	10	4	2	6	3	0	1[k]
West Virginia	District	4	2	1	2	1	0
Wisconsin	District	9	7		2	1	0	1[k]
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[b]		332	179[1] 53.9%	17	152[1] 45.8%	6	1 0.3%	5

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

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

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

In the1st district, initial returns showedWilliam H. Cate (Democratic) winning the election, but the election was contested byLewis P. Featherstone (Labor), and on May 5, 1890, he was declared the winner.

In the2nd district,Clifton R. Breckinridge (Democratic) was initially declared re-elected.John M. Claytonsuccessfully 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.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

In the7th district, Elliott was initially declared re-elected, but Miller successfully challenged the election and was seated in his place in September 1890.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

Wisconsin elected nine members of congress on Election Day, November 6, 1888.^[37][38]

SeeNon-voting delegates, below.

• 1888 United States elections
  • 1888 United States presidential election
  • 1888–89 United States Senate elections
• 50th United States Congress
• 51st 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)

• 1888 United States House of Representatives elections
• Presidency of Benjamin Harrison

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