States held the 1846âÂÂ47 United States House of Representatives elections between August 2, 1846 and November 2, 1847 during President James K. Polk's term. Each state set a date for its elections to the House of Representatives. From 29 states, 228 elected Representatives were seated, including the first from the new states of Iowa and Texas, when the first session of the 30th United States Congress convened on December 6, 1847.
The Whigs won a change in partisan control of the House from the rival Democrats. The Whigs gained seats in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states. Representatives of the minor, nativist Know Nothing Party and independents won a few seats.
The MexicanâÂÂAmerican War, which the incumbent House had voted overwhelmingly to approve, was the main issue. The war had much stronger voter support in the West, South, and among Democrats than in the East, North, and among Whigs. Voters widely, accurately believed that the United States would win the war relatively easily and would make large territorial gains. Anticipating victory, Representative David Wilmot, Democrat of Pennsylvania, proposed that Congress act to ban slavery in these projected new territories. Congress ultimately rejected the Wilmot Proviso, but not quickly, smoothly, or without significant public controversy. Protracted debate aggravated sectional tensions. The repeated failure of Congress, and later also the President and Supreme Court, over the next decade to definitively resolve the issue of slavery in the territories would become a major cause of the Civil War.
This was the last time the Whig Party won a House majority, though candidates opposed to the Democratic Party would win a large majority in the realigning 1854 election. Notable freshmen included Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, elected as a Whig to his only term.
The trend toward single-member districts culminated, as no multi-member districts featured.
In 1845, partly motivated by the successful 1844 test of the electric telegraph between Washington and Baltimore, a major technological change enabling news and information to be transmitted almost instantaneously regardless of distance, Congress established a uniform date for choosing Presidential electors. Gradually, states would align nearly all elections with this date, though as of this election, only three states had done so.
Two House seats were added for the new state of Wisconsin, which was unrepresented for most of the first session.
|- ! | Washington Poe | | Whig | 1844 | | Member-elect declined the seat.<br/>New member elected January 5, 1846.<br/>Democratic gain.<br>Winner later lost re-election to the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Slidell | | Democratic | 1843 | | Incumbent resigned November 10, 1845.<br>New member elected January 5, 1846.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner later re-elected to the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Taylor | | Democratic | 1843 | | Incumbent died January 17, 1846.<br>New member elected February 9, 1846.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner later re-elected to the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | William L. Yancey | | Democratic | 1844 | | Incumbent resigned September 1, 1846.<br>New member elected October 12, 1846.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! <br/> | Sterling Price | | Democratic | 1844 | | Incumbent resigned August 12, 1846, to serve in the MexicanâÂÂAmerican War.<br/>New member elected October 31, 1846.<br/>Democratic hold.<br/>Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | Richard P. Herrick | | Whig | 1844 | | Incumbent died June 20, 1846.<br>New member elected November 3, 1846.<br>Whig hold.<br>Winner not elected the same day to the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | Felix G. McConnell | | Democratic | 1843 | | Incumbent died September 10, 1846.<br>New member elected November 9, 1846.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner later re-elected to the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | Archibald Yell | | Democratic | 1836<br/>1838 <br/>1844 | | Incumbent resigned July 1, 1846, to serve in the United States Volunteers.<br/>New member elected December 14, 1846.<br/>Whig gain.<br/>Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! <br/> | Jefferson Davis | | Democratic | 1845 | | Incumbent resigned October 28, 1846, to serve in the MexicanâÂÂAmerican War.<br>New member elected December 21âÂÂ22, 1846.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edward D. Baker | | Whig | 1844 | | Incumbent resigned January 15, 1847 to join the Illinois Volunteer Infantry.<br/>New member elected January 20, 1847.<br/>Whig hold.<br/>Winner was not a candidate for the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | Stephen A. Douglas | | Democratic | 1842 | | Incumbent resigned March 3, 1847, after being elected to the U.S. Senate.<br>New member elected August 2, 1847.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner later re-elected to the next term. | nowrap |
|- ! | George Dromgoole | | Democratic | 1835<br>1841 <br>1843 | | Incumbent died April 27, 1847.<br>New member elected August 5, 1847.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner later re-elected to the next term. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edward Bradley | | 1846 | | Incumbent died August 5, 1847.<br>New member elected November 2, 1847.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner later lost re-election to the next term. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas L. Hamer | | Democratic | 1832<br>1838 <br>1846 | | Incumbent died December 2, 1846.<br>New member elected November 8, 1847.<br>Democratic hold.<br>Winner later re-elected to the next term. | nowrap |
Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
|- ! | Edmund S. Dargan | | Democratic | 1845 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Henry W. Hilliard | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | James L. F. Cottrell | | Democratic | 1846 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Winter Payne | | Democratic | 1843 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | George S. Houston | | Democratic | 1841 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Reuben Chapman | | Democratic | 1835 | | Incumbent retired to run for governor.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Franklin W. Bowdon | | Democratic | 1846 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Arkansas elected its sole member August 3, 1846.
|- ! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | Rep. Archibald Yell (D) resigned July 1, 1846 to serve in the United States Volunteers.<br/>Democratic hold.<br/>Winner was not elected to finish the current term; see above. | nowrap |
Elections were held April 5, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
|- ! | James Dixon | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel D. Hubbard | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John A. Rockwell | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Truman Smith | | Whig | 1839<br>1843 <br>1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
The election was held November 10, 1846.
|- ! | John W. Houston | | Whig | 1844 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
The election was held October 5, 1846.
|- ! | William H. Brockenbrough | | Democratic | 1845 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
Elections were held October 5, 1846.
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Elections were held August 3, 1846.
|- ! | Robert Smith | | Democratic | 1842 | |Incumbent re-elected.<br />Independent Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John A. McClernand | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Orlando B. Ficklin | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Wentworth | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Stephen A. Douglas | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Joseph P. Hoge | | Democratic | 1842 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edward D. Baker | | Whig | 1844 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold.<br/>Incumbent then resigned early, leading to a special election. | nowrap |
Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
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Elections for the new state were held October 26, 1846.
|- ! rowspan=2 | <br/> | colspan=3 | New state | | New seat.<br/>New member elected October 26, 1846.<br/>Democratic gain.<br/>Winner (Leffler) was later elected in the to the next term, see below. | rowspan=2 nowrap | |- | colspan=3 | New state | | New seat.<br/>New member elected October 26, 1846.<br/>Democratic gain.<br/>Winner (Hastings) would not be a candidate for the next term, see below.
Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
|- ! | colspan=3 | New seat | | New district.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! rowspan=2 | | Shepherd Leffler<br/> | | Democratic | 1846 | Incumbent re-elected. | rowspan=2 nowrap |
|- | S. Clinton Hastings<br/> | | Democratic | 1846 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic loss.
Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
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Elections were held November 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
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Elections were held September 14, 1846.
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Elections were held October 6, 1847 elections were after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the new term, but still before the Congress convened in December 1847.
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Elections were held November 9, 1846.
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|- ! | Julius Rockwell | | Whig | 1844 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Quincy Adams | | Whig | 1830 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
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Elections were held November 3, 1846.
|- ! | Robert McClelland | | 1843 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John S. Chipman | | 1844 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | James B. Hunt | | 1843 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
Elections were held November 1âÂÂ2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
|- ! | Jacob Thompson | | Democratic | 1839 | | Incumbent redistricted from the .<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New district.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Robert W. Roberts | | Democratic | 1843 | | Incumbent redistricted from the .<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (new district) | | New district.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Elections were held August 2, 1846. All five seats remained Democratic. Three of the members retired.
|- ! | James B. Bowlin<br/> | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! rowspan=2 | | William McDaniel<br/> | | Democratic | 1846 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | rowspan=2 nowrap | |- | James H. Relfe<br/> | | Democratic | 1842 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic loss.
|- ! | colspan=3 | New district | | New district.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | New district | | New district.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! rowspan=2 | | John S. Phelps<br/> | | Democratic | 1844 | Incumbent re-elected. | rowspan=2 nowrap | |- | Leonard H. Sims<br/> | | Democratic | 1844 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic loss.
Elections were held March 9, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. Two of the districts had run-off elections in July 1847.
|- ! | colspan=3 | Vacant seat due to the failure to elect. | | Independent gain. | nowrap | Second ballot <br/>
|- ! | Moses Norris Jr.<br/> | | Democratic | 1843 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Mace Moulton<br/> | | Democratic | 1845 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap | Second ballot <br/>
|- ! | James Hutchins Johnson<br/> | | Democratic | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Elections were held November 3, 1846.
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Elections were held November 3, 1846.
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Elections were held August 5, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
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Elections were held October 13, 1846.
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Elections were held October 13, 1846.
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Elections were held April 7, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
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Elections were held October 12âÂÂ13, 1846.
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Elections were held August 2, 1847.
|- ! | Andrew Johnson | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William M. Cocke | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John H. Crozier | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alvan Cullom | | Democratic | 1842 | |Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | George W. Jones | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Barclay Martin | | Democratic | 1845 | |Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Meredith P. Gentry | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edwin H. Ewing | | Whig | 1845 <small>(special)</small> | |Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Lucien B. Chase | | Democratic | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Frederick P. Stanton | | Democratic | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Milton Brown | | Whig | 1841 | |Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
Elections for the 29th Congress were held in March 1846.
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (new state) | | New district.<br/>Democratic gain.<br/>Winner was also elected to the next term; see below. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (new state) | | New district.<br/>Democratic gain.<br/>Winner was also elected to the next term; see below. | nowrap |
Elections for the 30th United States Congress were held November 2, 1846.
|- ! | David S. Kaufman | | Democratic | 1846 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Timothy Pilsbury | | Democratic | 1846 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Elections were held September 1, 1846.
|- ! | Solomon Foot | | Whig | 1843 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Jacob Collamer | | Whig | 1843 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | Second ballot
|- ! | George P. Marsh | | Whig | 1843 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Paul Dillingham | | 1843 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
Third ballot
Elections were held April 22, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847.
|- ! | Archibald Atkinson | | 1843 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | George Dromgoole | | 1835<br/>1841 <small>(retired)</small><br/>1843 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Tredway | | 1845 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edmund W. Hubard | | 1841 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Shelton Leake | | 1845 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Seddon | | 1845 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas H. Bayly | | 1844 <small>(special)</small> | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Robert M. T. Hunter | | 1835<br/>1843 <small>(lost)</small><br/>1845 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Pendleton | | Whig | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Henry Bedinger | | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | James McDowell | | 1846 <small>(special)</small> | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Augustus A. Chapman | | 1843 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | George W. Hopkins | | 1835 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Joseph Johnson | | 1823<br/>1827 <small>(lost)</small><br/>1833 <small>(special)</small><br/>1833 <small>(retired)</small><br/>1835<br/>1841 <small>(retired)</small><br/>1845 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | William G. Brown Sr. | | 1845 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
See Non-voting delegates, below.
|- ! | Morgan Lewis Martin | | Democratic | 1844 or 1845 | | Incumbent was not renominated.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |