1852 and 1853 United States House of Representatives elections

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 33rd Congress were held at various dates in different states from August 1852 to November 1853.

1852 and 1853 United States House of Representatives elections
August 2, 1852 – November 8, 1853
All 234 seats in the United States House of Representatives
118 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Linn Boyd Joseph R. Chandler
Party Democratic Whig
Leader's seat Kentucky 1st Pennsylvania 2nd
Last election 117 seats 81 seats
Seats won 150 71
Seat change 33 10
Popular vote 1,566,004 1,308,031
Percentage 49.82% 41.61%
Swing 6.51% 0.28%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Free Soil Unionist
Last election 7 seats 14 seats
Seats won 4 5[lower-alpha 1]
Seat change 3 9
Popular vote 125,271 22,139
Percentage 3.99% 0.70%
Swing 0.87% 3.99%
  Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party Southern Rights Independent
Last election 8 seats 4 seats[lower-alpha 2]
Seats won 4[lower-alpha 3] 3[lower-alpha 4]
Seat change 4 1
Popular vote 20,326 87,826
Percentage 0.65% 2.79%
Swing 3.48%
Speaker before election

Linn Boyd
Democratic

 Elected Speaker

Linn Boyd
Democratic

Democrats increased their House majority while electing Franklin Pierce to the Presidency. Though sectionalism remained a problem, the parties unified around the presidential campaign. Two small parties, the Constitutional Unionists and States' Rights parties, collapsed prior to this election, while the anti-slavery Free Soil Party retained four seats. One Independent, Caleb Lyon, was elected from New York.

Election summaries

Following the 1850 Census, the House was reapportioned. In the initial apportionment bill, the number of seats was unchanged at 233,[1] but later one seat was added to California's delegation, increasing the total apportionment to 234, due to returns from California being determined to be incomplete.[2]

↓
158 4 1 71
Democratic FS I Whig
State Type Date Total seats Democratic Free Soil Whig Others
Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change Seats Change
Iowa Districts August 2, 1852 2 1 1 0 1 1 0
Missouri Districts August 2, 1852 7 2 3 1 0 4 1 0
Vermont Districts September 7, 1852 3 1 0 1 0 3 0
Maine Districts September 13, 1852 6 1 3 2 0 3 1 0
Florida At-large October 5, 1852 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
Indiana Districts October 12, 1852 11 1 10 2 0 1 1 0
Ohio Districts October 12, 1852 21 12 1 2 1 7 2 0
Pennsylvania Districts October 12, 1852 25 1 16 1 0 9 0
California At-large November 2, 1852
(Election Day)[lower-alpha 5]		 2 2 0 0 0
Illinois Districts 9 2 5[lower-alpha 6] 1 0 4 3 0
Michigan Districts 4 1 4 3 0 0 2 0
New Jersey Districts 5 4 0 1 0
New York Districts 33 1 21 4 1 1 10 7 1[lower-alpha 7] 1
Wisconsin Districts 3 3 1 0 1 0 0
Delaware At-large November 8, 1852 1 1 0 0 0
Massachusetts Districts November 8, 1852 11 1 1 1 1 9 2 0
South Carolina Districts February 28 – March 1, 1853 6 1 6 1 0 0 0
Late elections (after the March 4, 1853 beginning of the term)
New Hampshire Districts March 8, 1853 3 1 3 1 0 0 2 0
Connecticut Districts April 4, 1853 4 4 1 0 0 1 0
Rhode Island Districts April 6, 1853 2 2 1 0 0 1 0
Virginia Districts May 26, 1853 13 2 13 0 0 2 0
Arkansas Districts August 1, 1853 2 1 2 1 0 0 0
Kentucky Districts August 1, 1853 10 5 0 5 0
Texas Districts August 1, 1853 2 2 0 0 0
North Carolina Districts August 4, 1853 8 1 5 2 0 3 3 0
Tennessee Districts August 4, 1853 10 1 5 2 0 5 1 0
Alabama Districts August 8, 1853 7 6 2 0 1 1 0 1[lower-alpha 8]
Georgia Districts October 3, 1853 8 6 6 0 2 2 0 8[lower-alpha 9]
Louisiana Districts November 1, 1853 4 3 1 0 1 1 0
Maryland Districts November 2, 1853 6 4 2 0 2 2 0
Mississippi District + 1 at-large November 7–8, 1853 5 1 5 5 0 0 0 4[lower-alpha 10]
Total 234 1 158[lower-alpha 6]
67.5%		 28 4
1.7%		 71
30.3%		 15 1
0.4%		 12
Popular vote
Democratic
 
 49.82%
Whig
 
 41.61%
Free Soil
 
 3.99%
Unionist
 
 0.70%
States' Rights
 
 0.65%
Independent
 
 2.79%
Others
 
 0.44%
House seats
Democratic
 
 64.10%
Whig
 
 30.34%
Unionist
 
 2.14%
Free Soil
 
 1.71%
Southern Rights
 
 1.71%
Independent
 
 1.28%

California
See also: List of United States Representatives from California

Note: From statehood to 1864, California's representatives were elected at-large, with the top two vote-getters winning election from 1849 to 1858; in 1860 when California gained a seat in the House the top three vote-getters were elected.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
California at-large
2 seats on a general ticket		 Edward C. Marshall Democratic 1851 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.
Joseph W. McCorkle Democratic 1851 Incumbent lost renomination.
New member elected.
Democratic hold.

Florida
Main article: 1852 United States House of Representatives election in Florida
See also: List of United States Representatives from Florida
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Florida at-large Edward C. Cabell Whig 1846 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Democratic gain.

Massachusetts
See also: List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts

The elections were held November 8, 1852. However, many of the districts went to a December 13, 1852 second ballot.

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates
Massachusetts 1 Zeno Scudder
Redistricted from the 10th district		 Whig 1851 Incumbent re-elected on the second ballot. First ballot (November 8, 1852):

Second ballot (December 13, 1852):
Massachusetts 2
Massachusetts 3
Massachusetts 4
Massachusetts 5
Massachusetts 6
Massachusetts 7
Massachusetts 8
Massachusetts 9
Massachusetts 10
Massachusetts 11

Wisconsin
See also: List of United States Representatives from Wisconsin
District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Results Candidates[6]
Wisconsin 1 Charles Durkee Free Soil 1848 Incumbent lost re-election.
New member elected.
Democratic gain.
Wisconsin 2 Ben C. Eastman Democratic 1850 Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 3 James Duane Doty Ind. Democratic 1848 Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Democratic gain.

Non-voting delegates
District Incumbent This race
Delegate Party First elected Results Candidates
Minnesota Territory Henry Hastings Sibley Democratic 1848 (Wisconsin Territory: Special)
1849 (Wisconsin Territory: Eliminated)
1849 (Minnesota Territory)		 Incumbent retired.
New delegate elected.
Democratic hold.
New Mexico Territory Richard H. Weightman Democratic 1851 Incumbent retired.
New delegate elected in 1853.
Democratic hold.
Oregon Territory Joseph Lane Democratic 1851 Incumbent re-elected.

See also

Notes
  1. Includes three Union Whigs and two Union Democrats.
  2. Included three Independent Democrats and one Independent Whig.
  3. Includes four Southern Rights Democrats.
  4. Includes one Independent, one Independent Democrat, and the Benton Independent.
  5. In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform date for choosing presidential electors (see: Statutes at Large, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 721). Congressional elections were unaffected by this law, but the date was gradually adopted by the states for Congressional elections as well.
  6. Includes 1 Independent Democrat, William Henry Bissell, elected to IL-08.
  7. Caleb Lyon was elected to NY-23 as an Independent.
  8. Previous election had 1 Constitutional Union member.
  9. Previous election had 6 Constitutional Union and 2 States' Rights.
  10. Previous election had 3 Constitutional Union and 1 States' Rights.
  11. Full name unpublished in source, presumably Alexander Wilkin (Whig)

References
  1. 9 Stat. 432
  2. 10 Stat. 25
  3. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=115027
  4. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=728611
  5. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=728612
  6. "Official Vote on Members of Congress". The Weekly Wisconsin. December 8, 1852. p. 3. Retrieved May 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Greeley, Horace (February 22, 1868). "The Tribune Almanac for the Years L838 to L868, Inclusive: Comprehending the Politician's Register and the Whig Almanac, Containing Annual Election Returns by States and Counties ... Political Essays ... &c., Making a Connected Political History for Thirty Years". New York tribune – via Google Books.
  8. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=278566

Bibliography
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