United States House of Representatives elections, 1898

United States House of Representatives elections, 1898

November 8, 1898
All 357 seats to the U.S. House of Representatives 179 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader David Henderson James Richardson Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Iowa-3rd Tennessee-5th Last election 210 seats 124 seats Seats won 189 161 Seat change 21 37   Third party Fourth party   Leader John Calhoun Bell Party Populist Silver Last election 22 seats 1 seat Seats won 6 1 Seat change 16
Speaker before election Thomas Reed Republican Elected Speaker David Henderson Republican

Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1898 for members of the 56th Congress, and took place in the middle of President William McKinley's first term.

As in many midterm elections, the President's Republican Party lost seats, but was able to hold a majority over the Democratic Party. The Populist Party also lost many seats, as their movement began to decline. This was likely because many Populists rallied behind William Jennings Bryan's increasingly powerful branch of the Democratic Party, which built the rural economic issues advocated by Populists into their platform. As a result, the Democrats won a number of Western seats as well many in the Mid-Atlantic.

Election summaries

↓

187	2	1	6	161
Republican	SR	S	P	Democratic

State	Type	Total seats	Republican		Democratic		Populist		Silver/ Silver Republican
			Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Alabama	District	9	1		8	1	0	1	0
Arkansas	District	6	0		6		0		0
California	District	7	6	3	1	1	0	2	0
Colorado	District	2	0		0		1		1
Connecticut	District	4	4		0		0		0
Delaware	At-large	1	1	1	0	1	0		0
Florida	District	2	0		2		0		0
Georgia	District	11	0		11		0		0
Idaho	At-large	1	0		0		0	1	1	1
Illinois	District	22	14	3	8	3	0		0
Indiana	District	13	9		4		0		0
Iowa	District	11	11		0		0		0
Kansas	District +at-large	8	7	5	0		1	5	0
Kentucky	District	11	2	2	9	2	0		0
Louisiana	District	6	0		6		0		0
Maine	District	4	4		0		0		0
Maryland	District	6	4	2	2	2	0		0
Massachusetts	District	13	10	2	3	2	0		0
Michigan	District	12	12	2	0	2	0		0
Minnesota	District	7	7		0		0		0
Mississippi	District	7	0		7		0		0
Missouri	District	15	3		12		0		0
Montana	At-large	1	0		1	1	0		0	1
Nebraska	District	6	2		1	1	3	1	0
Nevada	At-large	1	0		0		0		1
New Hampshire	District	2	2		0		0		0
New Jersey	District	8	6	2	2	2	0		0
New York	District	34	16	12	18	12	0		0
North Carolina	District	9	3	1	5	4	1	4	0
North Dakota	At-large	1	1		0		0		0
Ohio	District	21	15		6		0		0
Oregon	District	2	2		0		0		0
Pennsylvania	District +2 at-large	30	20	7	10	7	0		0
Rhode Island	District	2	2		0		0		0
South Carolina	District	7	0		7		0		0
South Dakota	At-large	2	2	2	0		0	2	0
Tennessee	District	10	2		8		0		0
Texas	District	13	1		12		0		0
Utah	At-large	1	0		1		0		0
Vermont	District	2	2		0		0		0
Virginia	District	10	0	4	10	4	0		0
Washington	At-large	2	2	2	0	1	0		0	1
West Virginia	District	4	3	1	1	1	0		0
Wisconsin	District	10	10		0		0		0
Wyoming	At-large	1	1	1	0	1	0		0
Total		357	187 52.4%	20	161 45.1%	37	6 1.7%	16	3 0.8%	1

House seats
Republican			52.38%
Democratic			45.10%
Populist			1.68%
Silver Republican			0.56%
Silver			0.28%

The previous election of 1896 saw the election of 24 Populists, 2 Silver Republicans, and a Silver Party member.

House seats by party holding plurality in state   80.1-100% Democratic     80.1-100% Republican   60.1-80% Democratic     60.1-80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic   Up to 60% Populist   Up to 60% Republican

Net gain in party representation   6+ Democratic gain     6+ Republican gain   3-5 Democratic gain     3-5 Republican gain   1-2 Democratic gain   1-2 Populist gain   1-2 Republican gain   no net change

Early election dates

In 1898, three states, with 8 seats among them, held elections early:

• June 6 Oregon
• September 6 Vermont
• September 12 Maine

Complete returns

Party abbreviations

• D: Democratic
• I: Independent
• Pop: Populist
• R: Republican
• Sil: Silver
• SL: Socialist Labor
• SR: Silver Republican

California

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1898

District	Incumbent	Party	Elected	Status	Opponent
California 1	John All Barham	Republican	1894	Re-elected	John All Barham (R) 61.1% Emmet Seawell (D) 38.9%
California 2	Marion De Vries	Democratic	1896	Re-elected	Marion De Vries (D) 55.3% Frank D. Ryan (R) 44.7%
California 3	Samuel G. Hilborn	Republican	1894	Defeated in primary Republican hold	Victor H. Metcalf (R) 57.3% John Aubrey Jones (D) 39.1% Thomas F. Burns (SL) 3.6%
California 4	James G. Maguire	Democratic	1892	Ran for governor Republican gain	Julius Kahn (R) 50% James H. Barry (D) 44.1% W. J. Martin (SL) 3.7% Joseph P. Kelly (I) (D) 2.2%
California 5	Eugene F. Loud	Republican	1890	Re-elected	Eugene F. Loud (R) 51.8% William Craig (D) 44.3% E. T. Kingsley (SL) 3.9%
California 6	Charles A. Barlow	Populist	1900	Lost re-election Republican gain	Russell J. Waters (R) 52.6% Charles A. Barlow (Pop) 44.9% James T. Van Ransselear (SL) 2.5%
California 7	Curtis H. Castle	Populist	1896	Lost re-election Republican gain	James C. Needham (R) 50.1% Curtis H. Castle (Pop) 49.9%

Florida

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 1898

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Florida 1	Stephen M. Sparkman	Democratic	1894	Re-elected	Stephen M. Sparkman (D) 84.2% E. R. Gunby (R) 15.8%
Florida 2	Robert Wyche Davis	Democratic	1896	Re-elected	Robert Wyche Davis (D) 71.8% H. L. Anderson (R) 28.2%

South Carolina

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1898

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
South Carolina 1	William Elliott	Democratic	1886 1896	Re-elected	William Elliott (D) 66.5% George W. Murray (R) 33.5%
South Carolina 2	W. Jasper Talbert	Democratic	1892	Re-elected	W. Jasper Talbert (D) 97.0% B. P. Chatfield (R) 2.9% Others 0.1%
South Carolina 3	Asbury Latimer	Democratic	1892	Re-elected	Asbury Latimer (D) 96.6% John R. Tolbert (R) 3.3% Others 0.1%
South Carolina 4	Stanyarne Wilson	Democratic	1894	Re-elected	Stanyarne Wilson (D) 96.4% P. S. Suber (R) 3.6%
South Carolina 5	Thomas J. Strait	Democratic	1892	Lost primary Democratic hold	David E. Finley (D) 100%
South Carolina 6	James Norton	Democratic	1897 (special)	Re-elected	James Norton (D) 96.9% J. H. Evans (R) 3.1%
South Carolina 7	J. William Stokes	Democratic	1894	Re-elected	J. William Stokes (D) 89.8% James Weston (R) 10.2%

See also

• United States Senate elections, 1898
• 56th United States Congress

External links

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