United States House of Representatives elections, 1796

United States House of Representatives elections, 1796

August 12, 1796 - October 15, 1797

All 106 seats to the United States House of Representatives 54 seats were needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Jonathan Dayton[1] Nathaniel Macon Party Federalist Democratic-Republican Leader's seat New Jersey-AL North Carolina-5th Last election 47 seats 59 seats Seats won 57 49 Seat change 10 10

Results:   Federalist majority   Anti-Federalist majority   Even split

Speaker before election Jonathan Dayton Federalist Elected Speaker Jonathan Dayton Federalist

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 5th Congress took place in the various states took place between August 12, 1796 (in North Carolina), and October 15, 1797 (in Tennessee). The first session was convened on May 15, 1797, at the proclamation of the new President of the United States, John Adams. Since Kentucky and Tennessee had not yet voted, they were unrepresented until the second session.

A number of gains for the Federalist Party provided the president with a reliable majority in support of his policies. Many of the Federalist pick-ups in Congress came from the former Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware). New England remained heavily Federalist, whereas the South and West favored Democratic-Republican candidates. Federalist trade and infrastructure policies found widespread approval in the Mid-Atlantic states during this era. With the growth of cities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York, government intervention in the interest of industrialization and mercantilism became more attractive to voting citizens in these areas.

During this period, each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. Elections to a Congress took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when the Congress convened. In some states the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd-numbered year).

Election summaries

During this period, each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. Elections took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when a Congress convened. In some states, the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd-numbered year). The 1st session of the 5th Congress ran May 15 – July 10, 1797,^[1] before the states of Kentucky and Tennessee had their elections, causing those states to be unrepresented in the 1st session.

↓

57	49
Federalist	Democratic-Republican

State	Type	Date	Total seats	Federalist	Democratic- Republican
				Seats	Change	Seats	Change
Connecticut	At-large	September 19, 1796	7	7		0
Delaware	At-large	October 4, 1796	1	1	1	0	1
Georgia	At-large	November 7, 1796	2	0		2
Maryland	District (8)	October 3, 1796	8	6	2	2	2
Massachusetts	District (14)	November 7, 1796[Note 1]	14	11	1	3	1
New Hampshire	At-large	August 29, 1796[Note 2]	4	4	1	0	1
New York	District (10)	December 15, 1796	10	6	2	4	2
North Carolina	District (10)	August 12, 1796	10	1		9
Pennsylvania	District (12[Note 3])	October 11, 1796	13	6	2	7	2
Rhode Island	At-large	August 30, 1796	2	2		0
South Carolina	District (6)	October 11, 1796	6	3	1	3	1
Vermont	District (2)	September 9, 1796[Note 4]	2	1		1
1797 elections
Kentucky	District (2)	September 2, 1797	2	0		2
New Jersey	At-large	January 11, 1797	5	5		0
Tennessee	At-large	October 15, 1797	1	0		1
Virginia	District (19)	March 20, 1797	19	4	2	15	2
Total			106	57 53.8%	10	49 46.2%	10

House seats
Federalist			53.77%
D-R			46.23%

Late elections to the 4th Congress

Tennessee

Tennessee became a state in 1796 near the end of the 4th Congress. Elections for its first representative were held the same year.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Tennessee at-large	None (District created)			Democratic-Republican gain	Andrew Jackson (DR) 98.9% James Rody 1.1%

Complete returns

Connecticut

Connecticut's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Connecticut at-large 7 seats on a general ticket	Previous incumbent James Hillhouse (F) resigned July 1, 1796			Federalist hold	√ Uriah Tracy (F) 13.8% √ Roger Griswold (F) 13.3% √ Joshua Coit (F) 12.1% √ Zephaniah Swift (F) 12.0% √ Nathaniel Smith (F) 11.9% √ Chauncey Goodrich (F) 9.7% √ Samuel W. Dana[Note 5] (F) 7.5% James Davenport[Note 5][Note 6] (F) 6.2% David Daggett (F) 4.7% John Allen[Note 6] (F) 3.3% William Edmond[Note 6] (F) 3.3% Jonathan Treadwell 2.6% Gideon Granger (DR) 2.2%
	Chauncey Goodrich	Federalist	1794	Re-elected
	Joshua Coit	Federalist	1792	Re-elected
	Roger Griswold	Federalist	1794	Re-elected
	Nathaniel Smith	Federalist	1795 (special)	Re-elected
	Zephariah Swift	Federalist	1792	Re-elected
	Uriah Tracy	Federalist	1792	Re-elected

Four vacancies occurred during the 5th Congress, two of which were before the Congress met when Zephariah Swift declined to serve in the 5th Congress and Uriah Tracy resigned after being elected to the Senate. These two vacancies were filled by John Allen and James Davenport. The third occurred when James Davenport (F) died on August 3, 1797, and was replaced by William Edmond (F). The fourth occurred when Joshua Coit (F) died on September 5, 1798, and was replaced by Jonathan Brace (F).

An unsuccessful motion was made to expel Roger Griswold after a fight with Matthew Lyon of Vermont.

Delaware

Delaware's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Delaware at-large	John Patten	Democratic-Republican	1794	Retired Federalist gain	√ James A. Bayard (F) 56.3% William Perry (DR) 43.7%

Georgia

Georgia's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Georgia at-large 2 seats on a general ticket	Abraham Baldwin	Democratic-Republican	1789	Re-elected	√ Abraham Baldwin (DR) 35.8% √ John Milledge (DR) 33.1% Thomas P. Carnes (F) 18.7% Francis Willis (DR) 10.5% George Nailor (DR) 1.8%<
	John Milledge	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected

Kentucky

Kentucky's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Kentucky 1 Known as the Southern District	Christopher Greenup	Democratic-Republican	1792	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ Thomas Terry Davis (DR)[Note 7]
Kentucky 2 Known as the Northern District	Alexander D. Orr	Democratic-Republican	1792	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ John Fowler (DR)[Note 7] Notley Conn Edmund Bollock

Maryland

Maryland's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Maryland 1	George Dent	Federalist	1792	Re-elected	√ George Dent (F) 99.7% Philip Key 0.3%
Maryland 2	Richard Sprigg, Jr.	Democratic-Republican	1796 (special)	Re-elected	√ Richard Sprigg, Jr. (DR) 100%
Maryland 3	William Craik	Federalist	1796 (special)	Re-elected	√ William Craik (F) 51.0% Benjamin Edwards 49.0%
Maryland 4	Thomas Sprigg	Democratic-Republican	1792	Retired Federalist gain	√ George Baer, Jr. (F) 72.1% Samuel Ringgold (DR) 27.9%
Maryland 5	Samuel Smith	Democratic-Republican	1792	Re-elected	√ Samuel Smith (DR) 100%
Maryland 6	Gabriel Christie	Democratic-Republican	1792	Lost re-election Federalist hold	√ William Matthews (F) 51.5% Gabriel Christie (DR) 48.5%
Maryland 7	William Hindman	Federalist	1792	Re-elected	√ William Hindman (F) 62.6% Robert Wright (DR) 37.4%
Maryland 8	William V. Murray	Federalist	1790	Retired Federalist hold	√ John Dennis (F) 100%

Massachusetts

Massachusetts's results by district

Maine District of Massachusetts's results by district

Massachusetts' electoral law required a majority for election, necessitating additional trials in three districts.

District		Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
						First ballot	Second ballot	Third ballot
Massachusetts 1 Known as the 1st Western District		Previous incumbent Theodore Sedgwick (F) resigned in June upon being elected to the Senate			Democratic-Republican gain	√ Thomson J. Skinner[Note 5] (DR) 56.4% Ephraim Williams (F) 43.6%
Massachusetts 2 Known as the 2nd Western District		William Lyman	Democratic-Republican	1792	Lost re-election Federalist gain	William Shepard (F) 46.3% Sam Hinshaw 23.9% William Lyman (DR) 21.4% John Williams 4.0% Nahum Park 2.0% Scattering 2.4%	√ William Shepard (F) 100%
Massachusetts 3 Known as the 3rd Western District		Samuel Lyman	Federalist	1794	Re-elected	√ Samuel Lyman (F) 83.3% Daniel Bigelow (DR) 16.7%
Massachusetts 4 Known as the 4th Western District		Dwight Foster	Federalist	1792	Re-elected	√ Dwight Foster (F) 80.8% Levi Lincoln Sr. (DR) 19.2%
Massachusetts 5 Known as the 1st Southern District		Nathaniel Freeman Jr.	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected	√ Nathaniel Freeman Jr. (DR) 82.1% Peleg Coffin Jr. (F) 17.9%
Massachusetts 6 Known as the 2nd Southern District		John Reed Sr.	Federalist	1794	Re-elected	√ John Reed Sr. (F) 78.8% Edward H. Robbins (F) 21.2%
Massachusetts 7 Known as the 3rd Southern District		George Leonard	Federalist	1788 1794	Retired Federalist hold	Elisha May (F) 45.3% Stephen Bullock (F) 28.3% Laban Wheaton (F) 26.4%	Stephen Bullock (F) 35.8% Laban Wheaton (F) 32.7% Elisha May (F) 31.5%	√ Stephen Bullock (F) 56.7% Elisha May (F) 28.3% Laban Wheaton (F) 15.1%
Massachusetts 8 Known as the 1st Middle District		Fisher Ames	Federalist	1788	Retired Federalist hold	√ Harrison Gray Otis (F) 57.0% James Bowdoin (DR) 43.0%
Massachusetts 9 Known as the 2nd Middle District		Joseph Bradley Varnum	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected	√ Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR) 69.0% Ebenezer Bridge (F) 16.8% Samuel Dexter (F) 14.3%
Massachusetts 10 Known as the 3rd Middle District		Previous incumbent Benjamin Goodhue (F) resigned in June 1796 upon being elected to the Senate			Federalist hold	√ Samuel Sewall[Note 5] (F) 67.9% Loammi Baldwin (F) 22.1%
Massachusetts 11 Known as the 4th Middle District		Theophilus Bradbury	Federalist	1794	Re-elected	√ Theophilus Bradbury (F) 100%
District of Maine	Massachusetts 12 Known as the 1st Eastern District	Henry Dearborn	Democratic-Republican	1792	Lost re-election Federalist gain	Isaac Parker (F) 40.5% Henry Dearborn (DR) 31.7% John Bowman 27.8%	Isaac Parker (F) 48.2% Henry Dearborn (DR) 33.8% John Bowman 18.0%	√ Isaac Parker (F) 52.6% Henry Dearborn (DR) 47.5%
	Massachusetts 13 Known as the 2nd Eastern District	Peleg Wadsworth	Federalist	1792	Re-elected	√ Peleg Wadsworth (F) 100%
	Massachusetts 14 Known as the 3rd Eastern District	George Thatcher	Federalist	1788	Re-elected	√ George Thatcher (F) 100%

In the 11th district, Theophilus Bradbury (F) resigned July 24, 1797, which vacancy was filled in a special election by Bailey Bartlett (F)^[1]

New Hampshire

New Hampshire's results by district

In 1796, New Hampshire had a single at-large district with 4 seats. Each voter cast 4 votes and a majority of voters (12.5% of votes) was required to be elected. Since only three candidates received a majority, a run-off was held between the candidates in fourth and fifth place to fill the remaining seat.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates[Note 8]
					First ballot	Second ballot
New Hampshire at-large 4 seats on a general ticket	Jeremiah Smith	Federalist	1790	Re-elected	√ Jeremiah Smith (F) 25.0% √ Abiel Foster (F) 24.3% √ William Gordon (F) 14.9% Jonathan Freeman (F) 9.5% Peleg Sprague[Note 6] (F) 4.4% Woodbury Langdon (DR) 4.2% John Prentice 4.1% Thomas Cogwell 3.4% Nathaniel Peabody 2.3% John Bellows 2.1% Joseph Cilley 1.9% Nathaniel Rogers 1.9%	√ Jonathan Freeman (F) 72.5% Peleg Sprague[Note 6] (F) 27.5%
	Nicholas Gilman	Federalist	1788	Retired Federalist hold
	John Samuel Sherburne	Democratic-Republican	1792	Retired Federalist gain
	Abiel Foster	Federalist	1794	Re-elected

Jeremiah Smith (F) resigned July 26, 1797, and a special election was held to fill the resulting vacancy, which elected Peleg Sprague (F).

New Jersey

New Jersey's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates[Note 8]
New Jersey at-large 5 seats on a general ticket	Thomas Henderson	Federalist	1794	Lost re-election Federalist hold	√ Jonathan Dayton (F) 15.8% √ Mark Thomson (F) 10.4% √ James H. Imlay (F) 9.6% √ James Schureman (F) 9.3% √ Thomas Sinnickson (F) 9.1% Aaron Kitchell (DR) 8.6% Joseph Bloomfield (DR) 5.5% James Linn (DR) 5.3% Ebenezer Elmer (DR) 4.8% John Condit (DR) 4.6% William Crane (F) 3.5% Joseph Cooper (DR) 3.5% William Helms (DR) 2.8% Thomas Lowrey (F) 1.5% Jonathan Elmer (F) 1.3%
	Aaron Kitchell	Federalist	1794 (special)	Lost re-election Federalist hold
	Jonathan Dayton	Federalist	1791	Re-elected
	Isaac Smith	Federalist	1794	Retired Federalist hold
	Mark Thomson	Federalist	1794	Re-elected

New York

New York's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
New York 1	Jonathan Nicoll Havens	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected	√ Jonathan Nicoll Havens (DR) 66.0% Selah Strong (F) 34.0%
New York 2	Edward Livingston	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected	√ Edward Livingston (DR) 56.6% James Watson (F) 43.3%
New York 3	Philip Van Courtlandt	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ Philip Van Courtlandt (DR) 50.3% Samuel Haight (F) 49.7%
New York 4	John Hathorn	Democratic-Republican	1794	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ Lucas Elmendorf (DR) 56.1% Conrad E. Elmendorf (F) 43.9%
New York 5	Theodorus Bailey	Democratic-Republican	1793	Lost re-election Federalist gain	√ David Brooks (F) 54.5% Theodorus Bailey (DR) 45.5%
New York 6	Ezekiel Gilbert	Federalist	1793	Retired Federalist hold	√ Hezekiah L. Hosmer (F) 57.7% John P. Van Ness (DR) 42.3%
New York 7	John E. Van Alen	Federalist	1793	Re-elected	√ John E. Van Alen (F) 57.9% John Woodworth (DR) 42.1%
New York 8	Henry Glen	Federalist	1793	Re-elected	√ Henry Glen (F) 77.7% Peter Swart (DR) 22.3%
New York 9	John Williams	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected as a Federalist Federalist gain	√ John Williams (F) 62.8% James Gordon (F) 27.3% Douw I. Fonda (DR) 10.0%
New York 10	William Cooper	Federalist	1794	Lost re-election Federalist hold	√ James Cochran (F) 50.6% William Cooper (F) 48.7% Charles Williamson (DR) 0.7%

North Carolina

North Carolina's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
North Carolina 1	James Holland	Democratic-Republican	1795	Lost re-election Democratic-Republican hold	√ Joseph McDowell (DR)[Note 7] James Holland
North Carolina 2	Matthew Locke	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ Matthew Locke (DR) 56.9% Nathaniel Alexander (DR) 27.1% Robert Irwin (F) 15.8% Others 0.2%
North Carolina 3	Jesse Franklin	Democratic-Republican	1795	Lost re-election Democratic-Republican hold	√ Robert Williams (DR)[Note 7] Jesse Franklin (DR)
North Carolina 4	Previous incumbent Absalom Tatom (DR) resigned June 1, 1796, William F. Strudwick (F) won special election to 4th Congress			Retired Democratic-Republican gain	√ Richard Stanford (DR)[Note 7] Absalom Tatom (DR) William Sheppard (F) Stephen Moore (F)
North Carolina 5	Nathaniel Macon	Democratic-Republican	1791	Re-elected	√ Nathaniel Macon (DR)[Note 7]
North Carolina 6	James Gillespie	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ James Gillespie (DR)[Note 7] William H. Hill (F) James Keenan Gabriel Holmes (I)
North Carolina 7	William B. Grove	Federalist	1791	Re-elected	√ William B. Grove (F) 73.4% Duncan MacFarland (DR) 26.6%
North Carolina 8	Dempsey Burges	Democratic-Republican	1795	Re-elected	√ Dempsey Burges (DR)[Note 7] Joseph Riddick (DR) James Gregory (F) James Brown (F)
North Carolina 9	Thomas Blount	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ Thomas Blount (DR)[Note 7] Willis Alston (F)
North Carolina 10	Nathan Bryan	Democratic-Republican	1795	Re-elected	√ Nathan Bryan (DR) 54.1% Richard D. Spaight[Note 6] (DR) 45.9%

Nathan Bryan (DR) of the 10th district died June 4, 1798, and was replaced in a special election by Richard Dobbs Spaight (DR)

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates[2]
Pennsylvania 1	John Swanwick	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected	√ John Swanwick (DR) 51.3% Edward Tilghman (F) 48.7%
Pennsylvania 2	Frederick Muhlenberg	Democratic-Republican	1788	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ Blair McClenachan (DR) 60.2% Robert Waln (F) 39.8%
Pennsylvania 3	Richard Thomas	Federalist	1794	Re-elected	√ Richard Thomas (F) 52.9% William Gibbons (DR) 47.1%
Pennsylvania 4 Plural district with 2 seats	Samuel Sitgreaves	Federalist	1794	Re-elected	√ Samuel Sitgreaves (F) 42.6% √ John Chapman (F) 25.2% Peter Muhlenberg (DR) 13.0% John Richards (DR) 12.3% Robert Lollar (DR) 6.9%
	John Richards	Democratic-Republican	1794	Lost re-election Federalist gain
Pennsylvania 5	Incumbent Daniel Hiester (DR) resigned before the end of the Fourth Congress.			Federalist gain	√ George Ege[Note 5] (F) 56.8% Joseph Hiester[Note 6] (DR) 43.2%
Pennsylvania 6	Samuel Maclay	Democratic-Republican	1794	Lost re-election Democratic-Republican hold	√ John A. Hanna (DR) 74.3% John Carson (F) 21.1% Samuel Maclay (DR) 4.6%
Pennsylvania 7	John W. Kittera	Federalist	1791	Re-elected	√ John W. Kittera (F) 95.6% William Webb (F) 4.4%
Pennsylvania 8	Thomas Hartley	Federalist	1788	Re-elected	√ Thomas Hartley (F) (100%)
Pennsylvania 9	Andrew Gregg	Democratic-Republican	1791	Re-elected	√ Andrew Gregg (DR) 53.8% William Irvine (DR) 32.0% James Wallace (F) 7.9% Robert Whitehall (DR) 4.1% Thomas Kennedy (F) 2.3%
Pennsylvania 10	David Bard	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected	√ David Bard (DR) 45.1% Abraham Smith (DR) 30.3% William M. Brown (F) 24.6%
Pennsylvania 11	William Findley	Democratic-Republican	1791	Re-elected	√ William Findley (DR) 79.3% James Findley (F) 20.7%
Pennsylvania 12	Albert Gallatin	Democratic-Republican	1794	Re-elected	√ Albert Gallatin (DR) 61.7% John Woods (F) 26.4% Thomas Stokely (F) 11.9%

Three vacancies occurred during the 5th Congress. The first occurred when George Ege (F) of the 5th district resigned in October 1797, and was replaced by Joseph Hiester (DR). The second occurred when Samuel Sitgreaves (F) of the 4th district resigned upon being appointed Commissioner to Great Britain and was replaced by Robert Brown (DR). The third occurred in the 1st district when John Swanwick (DR) died on August 1, 1798, and was replaced by Robert Waln (F).

Rhode Island

Rhode Island's results by district

Rhode Island had an at-large district with two seats, each of which were elected separately.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Rhode Island at-large seat A	Benjamin Bourne	Federalist	1790	Re-elected	√ Benjamin Bourne (F) 99.9% Others 0.1%
Rhode Island at-large seat B	Francis Malbone	Federalist	1792	Retired Federalist hold	√ Christopher G. Champlin (F) 51.4% William Greene (F) 48.4% Others 0.2%

Benjamin Bourne (F) resigned before the end of the 4th Congress but after being re-elected, and a special election was held to fill the resulting vacancies in both the 4th and 5th Congresses, which was won by Elisha R. Potter (F). Potter himself subsequently resigned sometime after July 1797, and was replaced in a second special election by Thomas Tillinghast (F).

South Carolina

South Carolina's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
South Carolina 1 Also known as the Charleston district	William L. Smith	Federalist	1788	Re-elected	√ William L. Smith (F) 84.8% Robert Simons (DR) 13.6% John Rutledge (DR) 1.6%
South Carolina 2 Also known as the Beaufort district	Wade Hampton	Democratic-Republican	1794	Retired Federalist gain	√ John Rutledge, Jr. (F) 87.3% Elnathan Haskell (DR) 16.7%
South Carolina 3 Also known as the Georgetown district	Lemuel Benton	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ Lemuel Benton (DR) 63.3% Tristam Thomas (F) 24.4% Joseph Blyth (F) 12.3%
South Carolina 4 Also known as the Camden district	Richard Winn	Democratic-Republican	1793	Lost re-election Democratic-Republican hold	√ Thomas Sumter (DR) 50.7% Richard Winn (F[Note 9]) 49.3%
South Carolina 5 Also known as the Ninety-Six district	Robert Goodloe Harper	Federalist	1794	Re-elected	√ Robert Goodloe Harper (F) 67.6% William Butler (DR) 32.4%
South Carolina 6 Also known as the Washington district	Samuel Earle	Democratic-Republican	1794	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ William Smith (DR) 37.0% Abraham Nott (F) 32.5% William Will (DR) 25.4% Samuel Lowrie (F) 2.6% Robert Anderson (DR) 2.5%

One vacancy occurred during the 5th Congress in the 1st district when William L. Smith (F) resigned on July 10, 1797, and was replaced in a special election by Thomas Pinckney (F).

Tennessee

Tennessee's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Tennessee at-large	Former incumbent Andrew Jackson (DR) had been elected to the Senate			Democratic-Republican hold	√ William C. C. Claiborne (DR)[Note 7] John Rhea (DR) John Carter

Vermont

Vermont's results by district

Due to Vermont's election law requiring a majority to secure a congressional seat, the 1st district required three ballots to choose a winner.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates[Note 8]
					First ballot	Second ballot	Third ballot
Vermont 1 Known as the Western District	Israel Smith	Democratic-Republican	1791	Lost re-election Democratic-Republican hold	Matthew Lyon (DR) 40.7% Israel Smith (DR) 22.1% Samuel Williams 7.3% Nathaniel Chipman (F) 7.1% Isaac Tichenor (F) 6.5% Gideon Olin (DR) 4.5% Enoch Woodbridge 4.3% Jonas Galusha (DR) 3.4% Daniel Chipman (F) 2.0% Samuel Hitchcock 1.2% Others 1.0%	Matthew Lyon (DR) 46.7% Samuel Hitchcock 25.7% Israel Smith (DR) 21.4% Samuel Williams 2.9% Gideon Olin (DR) 1.1% Others 2.3%	√ Matthew Lyon (DR) 55.1% Samuel Hitchcock 29.4% Israel Smith (DR) 8.9% Jonas Galusha (DR) 3.9% Samuel Williams 0.7% Scattering 2.1%
Vermont 2 Known as the Eastern District	Daniel Buck	Federalist	1794	Re-elected	√ Daniel Buck (F) 97.1% Scattering 2.9%

Daniel Buck in the 2nd district resigned before the start of Congress and was replaced by Lewis R. Morris (F)

Virginia

Virginia's results by district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Virginia 1	Robert Rutherford	Democratic-Republican	1793	Lost re-election Federalist gain	√ Daniel Morgan (F)[Note 7] Robert Rutherford (DR)
Virginia 2	Andrew Moore	Democratic-Republican	1789	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ David Holmes (DR) 60.4% John Steele (F) 27.5% John Bowyer (DR) 12.1%
Virginia 3	George Jackson	Democratic-Republican	1795	Lost re-election Federalist gain	√ James Machir (F) 45.4% George Jackson (DR) 28.7% John Mitchell (DR) 20.1% Thomas Wilson (F) 5.7%
Virginia 4	Francis Preston	Democratic-Republican	1793	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ Abram Trigg (DR)[Note 7]
Virginia 5	George Hancock	Federalist	1793	Retired Democratic-Republican gain	√ John J. Trigg (DR)[Note 7]
Virginia 6	Isaac Coles	Democratic-Republican	1793	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ Matthew Clay (DR)[Note 7]
Virginia 7	Abraham B. Venable	Democratic-Republican	1790	Re-elected	√ Abraham B. Venable (DR)[Note 7]
Virginia 8	Thomas Claiborne	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ Thomas Claiborne (DR) 62.3% Jesse Browne (F) 37.7%
Virginia 9	William B. Giles	Democratic-Republican	1790	Re-elected	√ William B. Giles (DR)[Note 7]
Virginia 10	Carter B. Harrison	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ Carter B. Harrison (DR) 55.4% Edwin Gray (F) 44.6%
Virginia 11	Josiah Parker	Federalist	1789	Re-elected	√ Josiah Parker (F)[Note 7]
Virginia 12	John Page	Democratic-Republican	1789	Lost re-election Federalist gain	√ Thomas Evans (F)[Note 7] John Page (DR)
Virginia 13	John Clopton	Democratic-Republican	1795	Re-elected	√ John Clopton (DR)[Note 7] Burwell Bassett (F)
Virginia 14	Samuel J. Cabell	Democratic-Republican	1795	Re-elected	√ Samuel J. Cabell (DR)[Note 7]
Virginia 15	James Madison Jr.	Democratic-Republican	1789	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ John Dawson (DR)[Note 7] Thomas Posey (F)
Virginia 16	Anthony New	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ Anthony New (DR) 70.6% Carter Braxton Jr. (F) 29.3% Robert P. Waring 0.1%
Virginia 17	Richard Brent	Democratic-Republican	1795	Re-elected	√ Richard Brent (DR) 100% Leven Powell (F)[Note 10]
Virginia 18	John Nicholas	Democratic-Republican	1793	Re-elected	√ John Nicholas (DR)[Note 7] John Blackwell (F) William Fitzhugh (F)
Virginia 19	John Heath	Democratic-Republican	1793	Retired Democratic-Republican hold	√ Walter Jones (DR)[Note 7] Burgess Ball (F)

Morgan's election in the 1st district was unsuccessfully challnged by Rutherford.^[1]

One vacancy occurred during the 5th Congress on October 2, 1798, when William B. Giles (DR) of the 9th district resigned on the grounds of ill health and in protest against the Alien and Sedition Acts. He was replaced in a special election by Joseph Eggleston (DR).

See also

• United States elections, 1796
  • List of United States House of Representatives elections, 1789–1822
  • United States Senate elections, 1796 and 1797
  • United States presidential election, 1796
• 4th United States Congress
• 5th United States Congress

Notes

1. Massachusetts electoral law required a majority for election, two additional trials were required in 3 districts held January 16, 1797 and April 3, 1797
2. New Hampshire electoral law required a majority for election, a subsequent election was held to fill one seat held November 7, 1796
3. Includes 1 plural district
4. Vermont electoral law required a majority for election, two additional trials were held in one district on December 11, 1796 and February 7, 1797
5. Won special election to fill vacancy in 4th Congress
6. Elected in subsequent special election
7. Source does not give numbers of votes or has incomplete data
8. Only candidates with at least 1% of the vote listed
9. Although Winn had run as a Democratic-Republican in the previous election, the source used stated that he'd run as a Federalist in this election, however, by the time he returned to Congress in 1801 he was a Democratic-Republican again
10. The source used does not list votes for Powell, but provides a citations stating "Col. Powell of Loudoun was expected to have been a candidate on this occasion; but from the present ill state of his health, it was understood he had declined and consequently had but a few votes." Columbian Mirror and Alexandria Gazette. March 21, 1797.

References

1. Fifth Congress (membership roster)
2. Wilkes University Elections Statistics Project

Bibliography

• "A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825". Tufts Digital Library, Tufts University. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
• Dubin, Michael J. (March 1, 1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses. McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0786402830.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (January 1, 1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989. Macmillan Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0029201701.
• "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives* 1789–Present". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 21, 2015.

External links

• Office of the Historian (Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)