November 6, 1888 1890 → 167 seats 2 seats 152 1 | 154 seats 167 seats 179 152 25 15 | |
 | ||
Winner Thomas Brackett | ||
Elections to the United States House of Representatives held in 1888 were held to choose members of the 51st Congress, and were held at the same time as the election of President Benjamin Harrison.
Contents
Harrison's Republican Party gained a majority in the House at the expense of the Democratic Party, even though incumbent President Grover Cleveland actually received more votes than Harrison. The issue of tariffs played a key role in this election. The Democrats, with the support of farmers and laborers, wanted to lower tariffs in order to promote free trade, while the Republicans, backed by industry and big business, believed that higher tariffs were necessary to protect American manufacturing. Especially in industrializing regions, voters chose the Republican view on tariffs, as they gave the party a slim majority in the House.
Election summaries
Seven seats were added, for the six new states of, in order of admission (number of House seats for each new state listed in parentheses): North Dakota (1), South Dakota (2), Montana (1), Washington (1), Idaho (1), and Wyoming (1).
The previous election had 4 third-party candidates, 2 Labor, 1 Greenback, and 1 Independent.
Election dates
In 1888, three states, with 7 seats among them, held elections early:
The States admitted in 1889 all held their first election on October 1.
Wyoming's first election was held on September 11, 1890, for both the 51st Congress and the 52nd Congress. Idaho held two elections simultaneously on October 1, 1890, one for the 51st Congress and the other for the 52nd Congress.
Complete returns
Arkansas
In the 1st district, initial returns showed William H. Cate (D) winning the election, but the election was contested by Lewis P. Featherstone (L), and on Mary 5, 1890, was declared the winner.
In the 2nd district, Clifton R. Breckinridge (D) was initially declared re-elected. John M. Clayton successfully contested the election, but was assassinated before the contest was complete, so the House declared the seat vacant. Breckinridge was then re-elected November 4, 1890 to finish the term.
South Carolina
In the 7th district, Elliott was initially declared re-elected, but Miller successfully challenged the election and was seated in his place in September, 1890.