November 7, 1882 1884 → 199 118 0 seats 10 seats | 131 seats 151 seats 59 29 4 2 | |
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Winner John G Carlisle | ||
Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1882 for the 48th Congress, during President Chester A. Arthur's term.
Contents
Arthur's Republican Party was badly defeated, losing its majority to the opposition Democratic Party after a campaign that focused on the resistance of Republican leaders to reforming the Spoils system under which government jobs were handed to supporters of winning candidates. After the election, Arthur agreed with the Democrats to pass the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing a professional civil service. However, his actions were too late, as the image of the Republican Party as corrupt was already engrained in the minds of voters. This election also saw the decline of the pro-paper money Greenback Party, and the pick up of several Virginian seats by the Readjuster Party which promoted fiscal responsibility and shunned elitism, though the Virginia-based Readjuster Party all but disappeared following this election.
Election summaries
Following the 1880 Census, 32 new seats were apportioned. Three States lost 1 seat each, 13 States had no change in apportionment, 14 States gained 1 seat each, 6 States gained 2 seats, 1 State gained 4 seats, and 1 State gained 5 seats. Several States that gained one or more seats did not redistrict immediately, electing the new Representatives at-large, while one state (Maine) which lost a Representative also delayed redistricting, electing all of its Representatives at-large for this Congress only.
There were a total of 8 Representatives elected from third parties, 4 from the Virginia-based Readjuster Party, 2 from the declining Greenback Party, and 2 Independents. The previous election of 1880 had had 10 Greenbacks and 1 Independent.
Early election dates
In 1882, five states, with 39 seats among them, held Congressional elections before the rest of the Union:
All races
Party abbreviations
A slash between two abbreviations indicates a fusion ticket