The 1836–37 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between July 4, 1836, and November 7, 1837. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives, either before or after the first session of the 25th United States Congress convened on September 4, 1837. With Arkansas and Michigan officially achieving statehood in 1836 and 1837, respectively, the size of the House was set at 242 seats.
Though Democrat Martin Van Buren was elected president in November 1836, Democrats lost seats. The newly organizing Whigs benefited from regional candidacies and issues and voter fatigue with outgoing two-term President Andrew Jackson. Jackson, a flamboyant public personality with a record of high-profile leadership and historic military success, often clashed with Congress and the Supreme Court. By comparison, Van Buren, a brilliant partisan organizer and political operative, was less charismatic in looks and demeanor. Voter support for the minor Anti-Masonic and Nullifier parties ebbed, but remained significant. One Independent, John Pope, was elected from Kentucky.[1][2][3]
Special elections are sorted by date then district.
24th Congress
Note: In some sources, parties are listed as "Democrats" and "Whigs." However, they are listed here as "Jacksonian" and "Anti-Jacksonian" (respectively) to conform to the party names as they were regarded during the 24th United States Congress.
Incumbent died December 10, 1835. New member electedin early 1836. Jacksonian hold. Successor seated April 29, 1836.[5] Successor also later elected to the next term; see below.
Seat declared vacant March 29, 1836. Incumbent re-electedAugust 4, 1836.[7] National Republican gain. Incumbent seated December 5, 1836.[5] Incumbent also later elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned February 26, 1836, because of ill-health. New member electedOctober 10, 1836.[8] Nullifier hold. Successor seated December 19, 1836.[5] Successor also elected the same day to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned March 31, 1836. New member electedOctober 11, 1836.[9] National Republican gain. Successor seated December 5, 1836.[5] Successor was not a candidate the same day for the next term; see below.
Incumbent died May 1, 1836. New member electedOctober 11, 1836.[11] Jacksonian hold. Successor seated December 19, 1836.[5] Successor elected the same day for the next term; see below.
Incumbent died September 25, 1836. New member electedOctober 30, 1836.[12] Nullifier gain. Successor seated December 26, 1836.[5] Successor had already been elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned October 30, 1836. New member electedNovember 4, 1836.[13] Jacksonian hold. Successor seated December 5, 1836.[5] Successor had not been a candidate for the next term; see below.
Incumbent died July 31, 1836. New member electedNovember 7, 1836.[14] Jacksonian hold. Successor seated January 7, 1837.[5] Successor was not later elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned March 29, 1836. New member electedNovember 7–9, 1836.[15] Jacksonian hold. Successor seated December 5, 1836.[5] Successor was not a candidate the same day for the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned September 2, 1836. New member electedNovember 9, 1836.[16] National Republican gain. Successor seated December 6, 1836.[5] Successor was not a candidate the same day for the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned November 3, 1836, to become Governor of New Jersey. New member electedNovember 15–16, 1836.[17] National Republican gain. Successor seated December 5, 1836.[5] Successor was not a candidate the same day for the next term; see below.
Incumbent resigned September 1, 1836. New member electedJanuary 2, 1837.[18] National Republican gain. Successor seated January 31, 1837.[5] Successor had already lost election to the next term; see below.
Incumbent died November 26, 1836. New member electedJanuary 2, 1837. National Republican gain.[19] Successor seated January 25, 1837.[5] Successor also later elected to the next term; see below.
Incumbent died March 18, 1837, having just been seated as a new member. New member electedJune 29, 1837. Whig gain. Successor seated September 4, 1837.[20]
Mississippi elected its members in November of odd numbered years (after the beginning of the congressional term). As Congress had been called to meet in September, the governor issued writs for a special election to fill vacancies until the regular election. Incumbents re-electedJuly 18, 1837. Democratic hold. Incumbent successors presented their credentials and were seated September 4, 1837.[20] At their request the question of the validity of their election was referred to the Committee on Elections. The House decided October 3, 1837, they had been elected for the full term.[i]
The new state of Arkansas was admitted to the Union on June 15, 1836, and elected its sole at-large member August 1, 1836. He was seated December 5, 1836,[5] to finish the term that would end the following March.
Connecticut went from six at-large seats to six districts for the first time. Elections were held April 3, 1837, after the new term began but before the Congress convened. All incumbents from the at-large district were re-elected in districts.
A special election was held in Mississippi on July 17–18, 1837. Its winners were Democrats John F. H. Claiborne and Samuel J. Gholson. The first session of the 25th Congress was a special session beginning on September 4, 1837, extending to October 16. In November, Mississippi, held the regular election. Seargent Smith Prentiss, a Vicksburg lawyer and Whig, unexpectedly launched a vigorous, partisan campaign. He and fellow Whig Thomas J. Word won in an upset. Claiborne and Gholson then argued that the July result entitled them to serve full terms. With the Whig Party newly organizing, the closely divided House, in which Anti-Masons, Nullifiers, and the Independent tended to align more with Whigs and to oppose Democrats, agreed to hear Prentiss. He spoke for nine hours over three days, packing the gallery, drawing Senators, and earning a national reputation for oratory and public admiration from leading Whigs including Senators Clay and Webster. The Elections Committee then required a third election. Scheduled for April 1838, it confirmed the November result. Both Whigs were seated in May late in the second session, also serving for the third session.
Incumbent resigned February 26, 1836, because of ill-health. New member elected October 10, 1836. Nullifier hold. Successor also elected the same day to finish the current term.
^Dubin, Michael J. (1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997 (1st ed.). United States of America: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 115. ISBN0-7864-0283-0.
^"SC - District 04". November 17, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2019 – via OurCampaigns.com.