July 3, 1826 - August 30, 1827 1828 → 113 100 Start date 1826 | 104 seats 109 seats 9 9 | |
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Winner Andrew Stevenson | ||
Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 20th Congress were held at various dates in each state in 1826 and 1827 during John Quincy Adams' term in office.
Contents
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Non voting delegates
- References
In these midterm campaigns, the aftershock of the contested 1824 presidential election remained a major issue. The former Democratic-Republican Party had split into two parties, the Jacksonians, supporting Andrew Jackson (which would later become the Democratic Party) and the Adams men or Anti-Jacksonians, supporters of President John Quincy Adams. Adams' supporters would later come to be known as the National Republican Party. The Jacksonians were able to pick up a slim majority in the House by painting an image of the Adams Men as elitist and of the Jacksonians as the party of the common farmer or artisan. This tactic helped them pick up a number of rural seats.
Delaware
Louis McLane (J) resigned before the start of the 20th Congress, having been elected to the Senate and was replaced in a special election by Kensey Johns, Jr. (A)
Georgia
Georgia switched to using districts for this election. Two incumbents, James Meriwether and George Cary, did not run for re-election.
Edward F. Tattnall (J) of the 1st district resgined in 1827 before the start of the 20th Congress and was replaced in a special election by George R. Gilmer (J).
John Forsyth (J) of the 2nd district resigned November 6, 1827, having been elected Governor of Georgia, and was replaced in a special election by Richard Henry Wilde (J)
Kentucky
Thomas Metcalfe (A) of the 2nd district resigned June 1, 1828 to run for Governor of Kentucky and was replaced in a special election by John Chambers (A).
William S. Young (A) of the 11th district died on September 20, 1827. Two special elections were subsequently held to fill the resulting vacancy, the first was won by John Calhoon (A). Calhoon resigned two days later to avoid an electoral challenge, and a second election was held which was won by Thomas Chilton (J)
Maine
Maine law at the time required a majority vote for election, necessitating additional ballots in the 7th district.
William Burleigh (A) of the 1st district died July 2, 1827 and was replaced in a special election by Rufus McIntire (J)
Massachusetts
Daniel Webster (A) of the 1st district resigned May 30, 1827, after being elected to the Senate and was replaced in a special election by Benjamin Gorham (A)
Mississippi
Haile subsequently resigned September 12, 1828 and was replaced in a special election by Thomas Hinds (J)
New Jersey
George Holcombe (J) and Hedge Thompson (A) died on, respectively, January 14, 1828 and July 23, 1828 and were replaced in a special election by James F. Randolph (A) and Thomas Sinnickson (A)
New York
Thomas J. Oakley (J) of the 5th district resigned May 9, 1828 to become a judge of the superior court of New York City and was replaced in a special election by Thomas Taber II (J)
Silas Wright (J) of the 20th district resigned February 16, 1829. His seat remained vacant for the remainder of the 20th Congress (which ended March 3, 1829)
David E. Evans (J) of the 29th district resigned May 27, 1827, before the 20th Congress' first meeting, and was replaced in a special election by Phineas L. Tracy (A)
North Carolina
Soon after the election, Samuel P. Carson (J), the winner of the race in the 12th district, challenged his opponent, Robert B. Vance (A) to a duel over a comment made during the campaign about Carson's father. Vance was mortally wounded in the duel. Carson left immediately afterwards to go to Washington. His behavior in leaving immediately was widely criticized.
Ohio
William Creighton, Jr. (A) of the 6th district resigned November 1, 1828 after receiving a recess appointment by John Quincy Adams to a seat on the Federal bench in the United States District Court for the District of Ohio and was replaced in a special election by Francis S. Muhlenberg (A)
William Wilson (A) of the 8th district died June 6, 1827, and was replaced in a special election by William Stanbery (J)
Pennsylvania
In the 2nd district, a tie vote occurred, with both Sergent and Horn receiving 1,597 votes. A subsequent special election was held which elected John Sergeant.
Non-voting delegates
Henry Conway of Arkansas Territory died November 9, 1827 from a duel and was replaced in a special election by Ambrose H. Sevier