1870 and 1871 United States House of Representatives elections
Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1870 and 1871 to elect Representatives for the 42nd Congress, and were held in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's first term.
With Grant's administration rocked by a number of scandals and Reconstruction winding down, his Republican Party lost seats to the opposition Democratic Party but retained an overall majority. Also, since the Democratic Party controlled governments were reestablishing themselves in some portions of the South, the Democrats were able to make huge gains in this election.
Special elections
Election summaries
Election dates
In 1845, Congress passed a law providing for a uniform nationwide date for choosing Presidential electors. This law did not affect election dates for Congress, which remained within the jurisdiction of State governments, but over time, the States moved their Congressional elections to this date as well. In 1870, there remained 12 States that held elections before Election Day, and 4 that held it after at this time:- Early elections:
- *December 1, 1869: Mississippi
- *June 6: Oregon
- *August 4: North Carolina
- *September 6: Vermont
- *September 12: Maine
- *October 11: Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania
- *October 25: West Virginia
- *November 1: South Carolina
- Late elections:
- *March 14, 1871: New Hampshire
- *April 4, 1871: Connecticut
- * August 6, 1871: [|Montana Territory]
- *September 6, 1871: California
- *October 6, 1871: Texas
California
| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Status | Opponent |
| Samuel Beach Axtell | Democratic | 1867 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican Gain. | ||
| Aaron Sargent | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| James A. Johnson | Democratic | 1867 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican Gain. |
Florida
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Charles M. Hamilton | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. |
Niblack subsequently successfully challenged Walls's election and was seated from Florida's at-large district on January 29, 1873.
Ohio
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Peter W. Strader | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain | ||
| Job E. Stevenson | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Robert C. Schenck | Republican | 1862 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain | ||
| William Lawrence | Republican | 1864 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain | ||
| William Mungen | Democratic | 1866 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold | ||
| John Armstrong Smith | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| James J. Winans | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold | ||
| John Beatty | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Edward F. Dickinson | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain | ||
| Erasmus D. Peck | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| John Thomas Wilson | Republican | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Philadelph Van Trump | Democratic | 1866 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| George W. Morgan | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Martin Welker | Republican | 1864 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold | ||
| Eliakim H. Moore | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold | ||
| John Bingham | Republican | 1864 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Jacob A. Ambler | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| William H. Upson | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| James A. Garfield | Republican | 1862 | Incumbent re-elected. |