United States House of Representatives elections, 1870

United States House of Representatives elections, 1870

1868 ← June 6, 1870 – October 6, 1871 → 1872

All 243 seats to the United States House of Representatives 122 seats needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader James Blaine Fernando Wood Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Maine-3rd New York-9th Last election 171 seats 67 seats Seats won 139 104 Seat change 32 37

Speaker before election James Blaine Republican Elected Speaker James Blaine Republican Party (United States) Map of U.S. House elections results from 1870 elections for 42nd Congress

James Blaine
Republican

James Blaine
Republican Party (United States)

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 (including a shady deal for gold speculation that led to a crash in the market and several business deals that saw high-ranking governmental officials gain kickbacks) 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.

The previous election included 5 Conservatives

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:

Niblack subsequently successfully challenged Walls' election, and took Florida's at-large seat on January 29, 1873.