States held the 1854âÂÂ55 United States House of Representatives elections between August 4, 1854, and November 6, 1855 during President Franklin Pierce's term. Each state set a date to elect the 234 members and five non-voting delegates of the United States House of Representatives. In a critical defeat for the governing Democratic Party, opposition groups won more than 150 seats and control of the House, signaling the collapse of the Second Party System.
This midterm election was among the most disruptive in American history, auguring a political realignment. Both major parties, the Democratic Party and the Whig Party, rivals for roughly 20 years, lost critical voter support. Northern voters strongly opposed to the KansasâÂÂNebraska Act shifted sharply against the Democrats. The Whigs also lost seats despite the continuing Democratic Party split in New York, the most populous state, as the Whigs disintegrated nationally over the issue of slavery.
The elected majority temporarily coalesced as the Opposition Party. This transitional umbrella party included Whigs, Free Soil members, American Party members or Know Nothings, the People's Party of Indiana, Anti-Nebraska candidates, disaffected Northern Democrats, and members of the nascent Republican Party, which soon would absorb most of these factions and replace the Whigs to rival the Democrats.
Candidates opposed to the Democratic Party won widely in the Northern United States through November 1854. The American Party, ignoring slavery and opposing immigration (particularly by Catholics from Ireland and Germany) won seats from both major parties, but to the net loss of Democrats, in New England and the Southern United States from November 1854 into 1855.
Congress had passed the KansasâÂÂNebraska Act in May 1854 after aggressive sponsorship by the Pierce Administration and Democrats led by Senator Stephen Douglas, including radical pro-slavery legislators. With widely foreseen risks and immediately negative results, the Act discredited the Democratic Party, fueling new partisan and sectional rancor. The Act repealed the 1820 Missouri Compromise and triggered the violent Bleeding Kansas conflict, creating uncertainty on the Western frontier by abruptly making slavery potentially legal in territories originally comprising the northern portion of the Louisiana Purchase. Contemporary settlers of these territories then were expected to determine the status of slavery locally. This idea appealed to Democratic politicians and to some voters, but proved unworkable particularly in Kansas where more numerous Northern settlers and geographically closer Southern settlers violently disputed the status of slavery. Even some proslavery legislators and voters, particularly Southern Whigs, felt that repealing the Missouri Compromise was politically reckless, and that attempting to push slavery by law and force into territories where most settlers predictably were unlikely to want it could endanger slavery nationally, or even in the South. These fears proved prescient.
More than 21 representatives vied for the post of speaker of the House. After two months and 133 ballots, American Party representative Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts, also a Free Soiler, defeated Democrat William Aiken of South Carolina by plurality, 103âÂÂ100. To date, Banks is the only third party Speaker in House history.
|- ! | Azariah Boody | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent resigned October 13, 1853.<br/>New member elected January 4, 1854.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Henry A. Muhlenberg | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent died January 9, 1854.<br/>New member elected February 4, 1854.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Brookins Campbell | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent died December 25, 1853.<br/>New member elected March 9, 1854.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Zeno Scudder | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent resigned March 4, 1854.<br/>New member elected April 3, 1854.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | John F. Snodgrass | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent died June 5, 1854.<br/>New member elected August 3, 1854.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Gilbert Dean | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent resigned July 3, 1854.<br/>New member elected November 7, 1854.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Gerrit Smith | | Free Soil | 1852 | | Incumbent resigned August 7, 1854.<br/>New member elected November 7, 1854.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Presley Ewing | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent died September 27, 1854.<br/>New member elected November 13, 1854.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Henry Morris | | Know Nothing | 1854 | | Incumbent resigned September 20, 1855.<br/>New member elected November 6, 1855.<br/>Know Nothing hold. | nowrap |
Alabama elected its members on August 6, 1855.
|- ! | Philip Phillips | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | James Abercrombie | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | James F. Dowdell | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Russell Smith | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | George S. Houston | | Democratic | 1843 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Williamson R. W. Cobb | | Democratic | 1847 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Sampson Willis Harris | | Democratic | 1847 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Arkansas elected its members on August 4, 1854.
|- ! | Alfred B. Greenwood | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edward A. Warren | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Democratic hold. | nowrap |
California elected its members on September 6, 1854.
|- ! rowspan=2 | <br/> | Milton S. Latham | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent withdrew.<br/>Democratic hold. | rowspan=2 nowrap |
|- | James A. McDougall | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic hold.
Connecticut elected its members on April 2, 1855.
|- ! | James T. Pratt | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Colin M. Ingersoll | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Nathan Belcher | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Origen S. Seymour | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
Delaware elected its member on November 14, 1854.
|- ! | George R. Riddle | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
Florida elected its member on October 2, 1854.
|- ! | Augustus Maxwell | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Georgia elected its members on October 1, 1855.
|- ! | James Lindsay Seward | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alfred H. Colquitt | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Jack Bailey | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | William B. W. Dent | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Elijah W. Chastain | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Junius Hillyer | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | David A. Reese | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alexander H. Stephens | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Democrat.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Illinois elected its members on November 7, 1854.
|- ! | Elihu B. Washburne | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Republican.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Wentworth | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Jesse O. Norton | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Republican.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | James Knox | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William A. Richardson | | Democratic | 1847 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Richard Yates | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | James C. Allen | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected.<br/>Winner subsequently unseated. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Henry Bissell | | Independent<br/>Democrat | 1848 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Anti-Nebraska Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Willis Allen | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
Indiana elected its members on October 10, 1854.
|- ! | Smith Miller | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Hayden English | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Cyrus L. Dunham | | Democratic | 1849 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Jim Lane | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel W. Parker | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas A. Hendricks | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John G. Davis | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Daniel Mace | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Norman Eddy | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Ebenezer M. Chamberlain | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Andrew J. Harlan | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />People's gain. | nowrap |
Iowa elected its members on August 7, 1854.
|- ! | Bernhart Henn | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Vandever | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Whig hold. | nowrap |
Kentucky elected its members on August 6, 1855.
|- ! | Linn Boyd | | Democratic | 1839 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Benjamin E. Grey | | Whig | 1851 | | Incumbent retired or lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Francis Bristow | | Whig | 1854 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | James Chrisman | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Clement S. Hill | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Milton Elliott | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Preston | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election as a Democrat.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John C. Breckinridge | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! rowspan=2 | | Leander Cox | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Know Nothing.<br>Know Nothing gain. | rowspan=2 nowrap | |- | Richard H. Stanton<br> | | Democratic | 1849 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br>Democratic loss.
|- ! | colspan=3 | Vacant | | Incumbent redistricted to the .<br>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
Louisiana elected its members on November 5, 1855.
|- ! | William Dunbar | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Theodore G. Hunt | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Perkins Jr. | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Roland Jones | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
Maine elected its members on September 11, 1854.
|- ! | Moses Macdonald | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel Mayall | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | E. Wilder Farley | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel P. Benson | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Republican.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Israel Washburn Jr. | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Republican.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas J. D. Fuller | | Democratic | 1848 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Maryland elected its members on November 6, 1865.
|- ! | John Rankin Franklin | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Jacob Shower | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Joshua Van Sant | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | William T. Hamilton | | Democratic | 1849 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Henry May | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Augustus Rhodes Sollers | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Massachusetts elected its members on November 12, 1854.
|- ! | Thomas D. Eliot | | Whig | 1854 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel L. Crocker | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | J. Wiley Edmands | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel H. Walley | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Appleton | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Charles W. Upham | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Nathaniel P. Banks | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Know Nothing.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Tappan Wentworth | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alexander DeWitt | | Free Soil | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected as a Know Nothing.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edward Dickinson | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Z. Goodrich | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
Michigan elected its members on November 7, 1854.
|- ! | David Stuart | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | David A. Noble | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel Clark | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Hestor L. Stevens | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
Mississippi elected its members on November 5âÂÂ6, 1855.
|- ! | Daniel B. Wright | | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William S. Barry | | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Barksdale<br/> | | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Otho R. Singleton<br /> | | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (new seat) | | New seat.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
Missouri elected its members on August 7, 1854.
|- ! | Thomas H. Benton | | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alfred W. Lamb | | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | James J. Lindley | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Mordecai Oliver | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John G. Miller | | Whig | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John S. Phelps | | Democratic | 1844 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel Caruthers | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
New Hampshire elected its members on March 13, 1855.
|- ! | George W. Kittredge | | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | George W. Morrison | | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Harry Hibbard | | 1849 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
New Jersey elected its members on November 7, 1854.
|- ! | Nathan T. Stratton | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Charles Skelton | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel Lilly | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | George Vail | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alexander C. M. Pennington | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
New York elected its members on November 7, 1854.
|- ! | James Maurice | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Thomas W. Cumming | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Hiram Walbridge | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Michael Walsh | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap | |- ! | William M. Tweed | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap | |- ! | John Wheeler | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | William A. Walker | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Francis B. Cutting | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! |Jared V. Peck | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap | |- ! | William Murray | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Theodoric R. Westbrook | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Isaac Teller | | Whig | 1854 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap | |- ! | Russell Sage | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Rufus W. Peckham | |Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Charles Hughes | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | George A. Simmons | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Bishop Perkins | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap | |- ! | Peter Rowe | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! |George W. Chase | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap | |- ! | Orsamus B. Matteson | |Whig | nowrap | | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Henry Bennett | |Whig | 1848 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Gerrit Smith | | Free Soil | 1852 | | Incumbent resigned August 7, 1854.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Caleb Lyon | | Independent | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Daniel T. Jones | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Edwin B. Morgan | | Whig | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Andrew Oliver | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | John J. Taylor | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | George Hastings | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Davis Carpenter | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Benjamin Pringle | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Thomas T. Flagler | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Solomon G. Haven | | Whig | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Reuben Fenton | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
North Carolina elected its members on August 9, 1855.
|- ! | Henry M. Shaw | | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas Hart Ruffin | | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William S. Ashe | | 1849 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Sion H. Rogers | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Kerr Jr. | | Whig | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Richard C. Puryear | | Whig | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | F. Burton Craige | | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas L. Clingman | | 1843<br>1845 <br>1847 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Ohio elected its members on October 10, 1854.
|- ! | David T. Disney | | 1848 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Scott Harrison | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Lewis D. Campbell | | Whig | 1848 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Matthias H. Nichols | | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alfred Edgerton | | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Andrew Ellison | | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Aaron Harlan | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Moses Bledso Corwin | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Frederick W. Green | | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John L. Taylor | | 1846 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas Ritchey | | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edson B. Olds | | 1848 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | William D. Lindsley | | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Harvey H. Johnson | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | William R. Sapp | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edward Ball | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Wilson Shannon | | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | George Bliss | | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Edward Wade | | Free Soil | 1852 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Joshua Reed Giddings | | Free Soil | 1843 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Andrew Stuart | | Democratic | 1848 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Anti-Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
Pennsylvania elected its members on October 10, 1854.
|- ! | Thomas B. Florence | | Democratic | 1848 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Joseph R. Chandler | | Whig | 1848 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Robbins | | Democratic | 1848 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Henry Witte | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John McNair | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Everhart | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel A. Bridges | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | J. Glancy Jones | | Democratic | 1854 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Isaac E. Hiester | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Independent Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Ner Middleswarth | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Christian M. Straub | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Hendrick B. Wright | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Asa Packer | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Galusha A. Grow | | Democratic | 1850 | |Incumbent re-elected as a Free Soil Democrat.<br/>Free Soil Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | James Gamble | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | William H. Kurtz | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel L. Russell | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | John McCulloch | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Augustus Drum | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John L. Dawson | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | David Ritchie | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas M. Howe | | Whig | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Michael C. Trout | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Whig gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Carlton Brandage Curtis | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Dick | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Rhode Island elected its members on April 4, 1855.
|- ! | Thomas Davis | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Benjamin B. Thurston | | Democratic | 1851 | | Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John McQueen | | Democratic | 1849 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Aiken Jr. | | Democratic | 1850 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Laurence M. Keitt | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Preston Brooks | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | James L. Orr | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William W. Boyce | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
Elections held late, on August 2, 1855.
|- ! | Nathaniel G. Taylor | | Whig | 1854 (special) | |Incumbent lost re-election as a Know Nothing.<br />Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | | William M. Churchwell | | Democratic | 1851 | |Incumbent retired.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Samuel A. Smith | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | William Cullom | | Whig | 1851 | |Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Charles Ready | | Whig | 1853 | |Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | George W. Jones | | Democratic | 1842 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|- ! | Robert M. Bugg | | Whig | 1853 | |Incumbent retired.<br />Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Felix Zollicoffer | | Whig | 1853 | |Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Emerson Etheridge | | Whig | 1853 | |Incumbent re-elected to a new party.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Frederick P. Stanton | | Democratic | 1845 | |Incumbent retired.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | George W. Smyth | | Democratic | 1853 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Peter Hansborough Bell | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | James Meacham | | Whig | 1849 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Andrew Tracy | | Whig | 1852 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Whig hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Alvah Sabin | | Whig | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Thomas H. Bayly | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | John Millson | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | John S. Caskie | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | William Goode | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Thomas S. Bocock | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Paulus Powell | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | William Smith | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Charles J. Faulkner | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | John Letcher | | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Zedekiah Kidwell | | Democratic | 1853 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Charles S. Lewis | | Democratic | 1854 <small>(special)</small> | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Know Nothing gain. | nowrap | |- ! | Henry A. Edmundson | | Democratic | 1849 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap | |- ! | Fayette McMullen | | Democratic | 1849 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Daniel Wells Jr. | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Ben C. Eastman | | Democratic | 1850 | | Incumbent retired.<br />Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | John B. Macy | | Democratic | 1852 | | Incumbent lost re-election.<br />Republican gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (new seat) | | New seat.<br/>Pro-Slavery gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (new seat) | | New seat.<br/>Anti-Nebraska Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! rowspan=2 | | rowspan=2 | John Wilkins Whitfield | rowspan=2 | Pro-Slavery | rowspan=2 | 1854 | Incumbent re-elected.<br/>Incumbent subsequently unseated. | nowrap |
|- | | Incumbent did not contest.<br/>Free State gain.<br/>Winner subsequently not seated. | nowrap |
|- ! | Henry M. Rice | | Democratic | 1852 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Napoleon B. Giddings | | Anti-Nebraska Democratic | 1854 | | Incumbent retired.<br/>Nebraska gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Joseph Lane | | Democratic | 1851 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |