1878 United States elections

1878 United States elections

← 1876          1877          1878          1879          1880 → Midterm elections
Election day	November 5
Incumbent president	Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)
Next Congress	46th
Senate elections
Overall control	Democratic gain
Seats contested	26 of 76 seats[1]
Net seat change	Democratic +6[2]
House elections
Overall control	Democratic hold
Seats contested	All 293 voting seats
Net seat change	Democratic -14[2]
1878 House of Representatives election results   Democratic seat   Republican seat   Independent seat

The 1878 United States elections occurred in the middle of Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes's term, during the Third Party System. It was the first election following the end of the Reconstruction Era, and Redeemers had gained back control of most Southern governments following the Compromise of 1877. Members of the 46th United States Congress were chosen in this election. Democrats won control of the Senate for the first time since the start of the Civil War.

In the House, Democrats and Republicans both lost seats to the Greenback Party and a group of independent Democrats, with the Democrats retaining only a plurality.^[3] Democrat Samuel J. Randall won re-election as Speaker of the House through a coalition of Democrats and smaller parties.

In the Senate, Democrats picked up several seats, taking control of the chamber for the first time since 1861.^[4]

See also

• 1878–79 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1878–79 United States Senate elections

References

1. Not counting special elections.
2. Congressional seat gain figures only reflect the results of the regularly-scheduled elections, and do not take special elections into account.
3. "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
4. "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate. Retrieved 25 June 2014.