The 1846–47 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 2, 1846, and November 2, 1847. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives. 228 elected members representing 29 states took their seats when the first session of the 30th United States Congress convened December 6, 1847. The new states of Iowa and Texas elected their first representatives during this election cycle. These elections were held during President James K. Polk's term. The Whigs gained 37 seats to win 116 and a change in partisan control, while the rival Democrats lost 30, falling to 112. The Whigs gained seats in the Mid-Atlantic and the South. The nativist and anti-Catholic Native American Party, also known as the Know Nothings, was reduced to one seat. One Independent, Amos Tuck, was elected from New Hampshire. The Mexican–American War, which the incumbent House had voted overwhelmingly to approve, was the main issue. The war had much stronger voter support in the West, South, and among Democrats than in the East, North, and among Whigs. It was widely, accurately believed that war with Mexico would be won with large territorial gains. The Wilmot Proviso was the first congressional attempt to address slavery in these projected new territories, by proposing to ban it. Congress rejected the Wilmot Proviso, but not quickly or smoothly. Protracted debate aggravated sectional tensions. The repeated failure of Congress, and later also the President and Supreme Court, over the next decade to resolve the issue of slavery in the territories was a major cause of the Civil War. This was the last time the Whig Party won a House majority, though candidates opposed to the Democratic Party would win a large majority in the realigning 1854 election. Notable freshmen included Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, elected as a Whig to his only term.

Election summaries

The trend toward single-member districts culminated as no multi-member districts featured. In 1845, partly motivated by the successful 1844 test of the electric telegraph between Washington and Baltimore, Congress established a uniform date for choosing Presidential electors. Gradually, states aligned nearly all elections with this date, though as of this election, only three states had done so. Two seats were added for the new State of Wisconsin. Wisconsin was unrepresented for most of the first session.

Special elections

! GA's 3rd congressional district Ambrose Baber (Whig) 48.38% ! MO At-large William M. Kincaid (Whig) ! rowspan=2| FL At-large ✅ Edward C. Cabell (Whig) 50.51% William H. Brockenbrough (Democratic) 49.49% Recount: ✅ **William H. Brockenbrough **(Democratic) 50.35% Edward C. Cabell (Whig) 49.65% ! AR At-large George W. Paschal (Democratic) 28.17% Albert Rust (Democratic) 27.06% C. F. Noland (Whig) 13.97% Herndon Haralson (Democratic) 2.26% ! IL's 7th congressional district Israel W. Crosby (Democratic) 30.33% Archibald Job (Democratic) 6.92% Turner R. King (Independent) 2.94% William Brown (Whig) 1.91% Scattering 1.17% ! MI's 2nd congressional district James W. Gordon (Whig) 43.9% William C. Denison (Unknown) 3.9% ! LA's 1st congressional district ! MS's 1st congressional district

Alabama

Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! AL's 1st congressional district ! AL's 2nd congressional district ! AL's 3rd congressional district ! AL's 4th congressional district ! AL's 5th congressional district ! AL's 6th congressional district ! AL's 7th congressional district

Arkansas

Arkansas elected its sole member August 3, 1846. ! AR At-large Uncontested

Connecticut

Elections were held April 5, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! CT's 1st congressional district William I. Hamesley (Democratic) 47.1% William H. Burleigh (Liberty) 2.4% ! CT's 2nd congressional district Samuel Ingham (Democratic) 46.3% Ely Warner (Liberty) 2.7% ! CT's 3rd congressional district Noyes Billings (Democratic) 45.2% Increase Wilson (Liberty) 5.3% ! CT's 4th congressional district George Taylor (Democratic) 45.6% Uriel Tuttle (Liberty) 2.3%

Delaware

The election was held November 10, 1846. ! DE At-large

Florida

The election was held October 5, 1846. ! FL At-large ✅ Edward C. Cabell (Whig) 50.9% William A. Kain (Democratic) 49.1%

Georgia

Elections were held October 5, 1846. ! GA's 1st congressional district ! GA's 2nd congressional district ! GA's 3rd congressional district ! GA's 4th congressional district ! GA's 5th congressional district ! GA's 6th congressional district ! GA's 7th congressional district ! GA's 8th congressional district

Illinois

Elections were held August 3, 1846. ! IL's 1st congressional district ! IL's 2nd congressional district ! IL's 3rd congressional district ! IL's 4th congressional district ! IL's 5th congressional district ! IL's 6th congressional district ! IL's 7th congressional district Peter Cartwright (Democratic) 42.29% Elihu Walcott (Liberty) 2.18%

Indiana

Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! IN's 1st congressional district ! IN's 2nd congressional district ! IN's 3rd congressional district ! IN's 4th congressional district ! IN's 5th congressional district ! IN's 6th congressional district ! IN's 7th congressional district ! IN's 8th congressional district ! IN's 9th congressional district ! IN's 10th congressional district

Iowa

Elections to the 29th Congress

Elections for the new state were held October 26, 1846. ! rowspan=2 | IA At-large (2 seats) ✅ S. Clinton Hastings (Democratic) 26.10% Joseph H. Hedrick (Whig) 23.86% G. C. Mitchell (Whig) 23.57%

Elections to the 30th Congress

Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! IA's 1st congressional district Jesse B. Browne (Whig) 47.41% ! rowspan=2 | IA's 2nd congressional district Thomas McKnight (Whig) 48.58%

Kentucky

Elections were held August 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! KY's 1st congressional district ! KY's 2nd congressional district ! KY's 3rd congressional district ! KY's 4th congressional district ! KY's 5th congressional district ! KY's 6th congressional district ! KY's 7th congressional district ! KY's 8th congressional district ! KY's 9th congressional district ! KY's 10th congressional district

Louisiana

Elections were held November 2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! LA's 1st congressional district ! LA's 2nd congressional district ! LA's 3rd congressional district ! LA's 4th congressional district

Maine

Elections were held September 14, 1846. ! ME's 1st congressional district ! ME's 2nd congressional district ! ME's 3rd congressional district ! ME's 4th congressional district ! ME's 5th congressional district ! ME's 6th congressional district ! ME's 7th congressional district

Maryland

Elections were held October 6, 1847 elections were after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the new term, but still before the Congress convened in December 1847. ! MD's 1st congressional district ! MD's 2nd congressional district ! MD's 3rd congressional district ! MD's 4th congressional district ! MD's 5th congressional district ! MD's 6th congressional district

Massachusetts

Elections were held November 9, 1846. ! MA's 1st congressional district ! MA's 2nd congressional district ! MA's 3rd congressional district ! MA's 4th congressional district ! MA's 5th congressional district ! MA's 6th congressional district ! MA's 7th congressional district Horatio Byington (Democratic) 38.63% Jasper Bement (Liberty) 8.04% ! MA's 8th congressional district Isaac H. Wright (Democratic) 28.25% Appleton Howe (Liberty) 9.52% ! MA's 9th congressional district ! MA's 10th congressional district

Michigan

Elections were held November 3, 1846. ! MI's 1st congressional district Edwin Lawrence (Whig) 42.7% Charles H. Stewart (Liberty) 5.1% ! MI's 2nd congressional district James W. Gordon (Whig) 44.9% Erastus Hussey (Liberty) 5.8% ! MI's 3rd congressional district George W. Wisner (Whig) 43.6% William Caulfield (Liberty) 7.4%

Mississippi

Elections were held November 1–2, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! MS's 1st congressional district ✅ Jacob Thompson (Democratic) 54.38% Robert Josselyn (Independent Democratic) 45.62% ! MS's 2nd congressional district Alexander K. McClung (Whig) 46.48% ! MS's 3rd congressional district Robert W. Roberts (Democratic) 47.94% ! MS's 4th congressional district John A. Quitman (Democratic) 5.64% Scattering 0.62%

Missouri

Elections were held August 2, 1846. All five seats remained Democratic. Three of the members retired. ! MO's 1st congressional district Uriel Wright (Whig) 36.81% William Milburn (Independent) 10.99% ! rowspan=2 | MO's 2nd congressional district Preston P. Brickey (Whig) 18.91% ! MO's 3rd congressional district John Gaines Miller (Whig) 44.73% ! MO's 4th congressional district James H. Birch (Whig) 35.02% ! rowspan=2 | MO's 5th congressional district John P. Campbell (Whig) 46.74%

New Hampshire

Elections were held March 9, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. Two of the districts had run-off elections in July 1847. ! NH's 1st congressional district Benning W. Jenness (Democratic) 44.66% Amos Tuck (Liberty) 15.04% Ichabod Goodwin (Whig) Second ballot (July 8, 1847) ✅ Amos Tuck (Independent) 56.66% Benning W. Jenness (Democratic) 42.49% ! NH's 2nd congressional district Joel Eastman (Whig) 27.78% George W. Stevens (Liberty) 14.96% ! NH's 3rd congressional district Second ballot (July 8, 1847) ✅ James Wilson (Whig) 51.27% Mace Moulton (Democratic) 44.00% John Preston (Liberty) 4.72% ! NH's 4th congressional district

New Jersey

Elections were held November 3, 1846. ! NJ's 1st congressional district ! NJ's 2nd congressional district ! NJ's 3rd congressional district ! NJ's 4th congressional district ! NJ's 5th congressional district

New York

Elections were held November 3, 1846. ! NY's 1st congressional district ! NY's 2nd congressional district ! NY's 3rd congressional district ! NY's 4th congressional district ! NY's 5th congressional district ! NY's 6th congressional district ! NY's 7th congressional district ! NY's 8th congressional district ! NY's 9th congressional district ! NY's 10th congressional district ! NY's 11th congressional district ! NY's 12th congressional district ! NY's 13th congressional district ! NY's 14th congressional district ! NY's 15th congressional district ! NY's 16th congressional district ! NY's 17th congressional district ! NY's 18th congressional district ! NY's 19th congressional district ! NY's 20th congressional district ! NY's 21st congressional district ! NY's 22nd congressional district ! NY's 23rd congressional district ! NY's 24th congressional district ! NY's 25th congressional district ! NY's 26th congressional district ! NY's 27th congressional district ! NY's 28th congressional district ! NY's 29th congressional district ! NY's 30th congressional district ! NY's 31st congressional district ! NY's 32nd congressional district ! NY's 33rd congressional district ! NY's 34th congressional district

North Carolina

Elections were held August 5, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! NC's 1st congressional district ! NC's 2nd congressional district ! NC's 3rd congressional district ! NC's 4th congressional district ! NC's 5th congressional district ! NC's 6th congressional district ! NC's 7th congressional district ! NC's 8th congressional district ! NC's 9th congressional district

Ohio

Elections were held October 13, 1846. ! OH's 1st congressional district ! OH's 2nd congressional district ! OH's 3rd congressional district ! OH's 4th congressional district ! OH's 5th congressional district ! OH's 6th congressional district ! OH's 7th congressional district ! OH's 8th congressional district ! OH's 9th congressional district ! OH's 10th congressional district ! OH's 11th congressional district ! OH's 12th congressional district ! OH's 13th congressional district ! OH's 14th congressional district ! OH's 15th congressional district ! OH's 16th congressional district ! OH's 17th congressional district ! OH's 18th congressional district ! OH's 19th congressional district ! OH's 20th congressional district ! OH's 21st congressional district

Pennsylvania

Elections were held October 13, 1846. ! PA's 1st congressional district ! PA's 2nd congressional district ! PA's 3rd congressional district ! PA's 4th congressional district ! PA's 5th congressional district ! PA's 6th congressional district ! PA's 7th congressional district ! PA's 8th congressional district ! PA's 9th congressional district ! PA's 10th congressional district ! PA's 11th congressional district ! PA's 12th congressional district ! PA's 13th congressional district ! PA's 14th congressional district ! PA's 15th congressional district ! PA's 16th congressional district ! PA's 17th congressional district ! PA's 18th congressional district ! PA's 19th congressional district ! PA's 20th congressional district ! PA's 21st congressional district ! PA's 22nd congressional district ! PA's 23rd congressional district ! PA's 24th congressional district

Rhode Island

Elections were held April 7, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! RI's 1st congressional district ! RI's 2nd congressional district

South Carolina

Elections were held October 12–13, 1846. ! SC's 1st congressional district ! SC's 2nd congressional district ! SC's 3rd congressional district ! SC's 4th congressional district ! SC's 5th congressional district ! SC's 6th congressional district ! SC's 7th congressional district

Tennessee

Elections were held August 2, 1847. ! TN's 1st congressional district ✅ Andrew Johnson (Democratic) 51.87% Oliver P. Temple (Whig) 48.13% ! TN's 2nd congressional district ✅ William M. Cocke (Whig) 61.01% Wayne W. Wallace (Democratic) 38.99% ! TN's 3rd congressional district ✅ John H. Crozier (Whig) 51.76% Samuel S. Smith (Democratic) 48.25% ! TN's 4th congressional district ✅ Hugh L. W. Hill (Democratic) 59.92% John L. Goodall (Whig) 40.08% ! TN's 5th congressional district ✅ George W. Jones (Democratic) 99.14% J. M. Crowly (Unknown) 0.86% ! TN's 6th congressional district ✅ James H. Thomas (Democratic) 55.59% Boling Gordan (Whig) 44.41% ! TN's 7th congressional district ✅ Meredith P. Gentry (Whig) 65.05% R. G. Ellis (Democratic) 34.95% ! TN's 8th congressional district ✅ Washington Barrow (Whig) 58.79% John B. Pittman (Democratic) 41.22% ! TN's 9th congressional district John T. Swayne (Whig) 45.71% ! TN's 10th congressional district ✅ Frederick P. Stanton (Democratic) 50.11% John W. Harris (Whig) 49.89% ! TN's 11th congressional district ✅ William T. Haskell (Whig) 57.18% John Gardner (Democratic) 42.82%

Texas

29th Congress

Elections for the 29th Congress were held in March 1846. ! TX's 1st congressional district William R. Scurry (Independent) 26.3% William B. Ochiltree (Independent) 19.8% ! TX's 2nd congressional district Samuel May Williams (Independent) 28.0% William Gordon Cooke (Independent) 23.9% John M. Lewis (Independent) 9.5% Joseph C. Megginson (Independent) 5.4% Thomas Jefferson Green (Independent) 2.4% Scattering 0.7%

30th Congress

Elections for the 30th United States Congress were held November 2, 1846. ! TX's 1st congressional district Scattering 1.9% ! TX's 2nd congressional district Samuel May Williams (Independent) 20.5% William E. Jones (Independent) 11.7% Robert Baylor (Independent) 10.2%

Vermont

Elections were held September 1, 1846. ! VT's 1st congressional district Jonathan D. Bradley (Democratic) 25.6% Oscar L. Shafter (Liberty) 8.6% John Roberts (Democratic) 7.6% ! VT's 2nd congressional district Jacob Collamer (Whig) 49.1% Hugh H. Henry (Democratic) 34.7% Titus Hutchinson (Liberty) 15.6% Second ballot✅ Jacob Collamer (Whig) 62.8% Levi B. Vilas (Democratic) 26.8% Titus Hutchinson (Liberty) 10.3% ! VT's 3rd congressional district Homer E. Hubbell (Democratic) 30.6% Norris Day (Unknown) 15.1% ! VT's 4th congressional district First ballot Lucius B. Peck (Democratic) 43.4% George B. Chandler (Whig) 40.1% Write-ins 16.1% Second ballot Lucius B. Peck (Democratic) 42.9% George B. Chandler (Whig) 42.5% A. J. Rowell (Liberty) 14.5% Third ballot✅ Lucius B. Peck (Democratic) 47.0% George B. Chandler (Whig) 43.5% A. J. Rowell (Liberty) 9.4%

Virginia

Elections were held April 22, 1847, after the March 4, 1847 beginning of the term, but before the House first convened in December 1847. ! VA's 1st congressional district Samuel Watts (Whig) 49.2% ! VA's 2nd congressional district George W. Bolling (Whig) 49.8% ! VA's 3rd congressional district William Tredway (Democratic) 48.0% ! VA's 4th congressional district Henry P. Irving (Whig) 48.6% ! VA's 5th congressional district Shelton Leake (Democratic) 49.1% ! VA's 6th congressional district James Seddon (Democratic) 44.6% ! VA's 7th congressional district John J. Jones (Whig) 47.5% ! VA's 8th congressional district Willoughby Newton (Whig) 48.1% ! VA's 9th congressional district Richard T. Hunter (Democratic) 41.7% ! VA's 10th congressional district Anthony T. Kennedy (Whig) 47.4% ! VA's 11th congressional district Algernon S. Gray (Whig) 41.8% ! VA's 12th congressional district Augustus A. Chapman (Democratic) 48.4% ! VA's 13th congressional district Fayette McMullen (Democratic) 38.5% Samuel E. Goodson (Democratic) 22.8% ! VA's 14th congressional district William McComas (Whig) 47.0% ! VA's 15th congressional district J. T. Hawkins (Whig) 32.7%

Wisconsin Territory

See Non-voting delegates, below.

Non-voting delegates

! Wisconsin Territory's at-large congressional district ✅ John Hubbard Tweedy (Whig) Moses M. Strong (Democratic)