The 1856–57 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 4, 1856, and November 4, 1857. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives. 236 representatives were elected in 31 states and the pending new state of Minnesota before the first session of the 35th United States Congress convened on December 7, 1857. The elections briefly returned a semblance of normalcy to the Democratic Party, restoring its House majority alongside the election of Democratic President James Buchanan. However, superficial victory masked severe, ultimately irretrievable divisions over slavery. Voters next would return a Democratic House majority only in 1874. Party realignments continued. In 1856, the Whig Party disbanded, the Know Nothing movement declined, and its vehicle, the American Party, began to collapse. Many Northern Whig, American, and other Opposition Party Representatives joined the new, rapidly consolidating Republican Party, which contested the Presidency in 1856. Though the Republican Party did not yet demand abolition, its attitude toward slavery was stridently negative. It was an openly sectional Northern party which opposed fugitive slave laws and slavery in the territories. For the first time, the party offered a mainstream platform to outspoken abolitionists. In March 1857, after almost all Northern states had voted, the Supreme Court issued its infamous Dred Scott decision, amplifying tensions and hardening voter divisions. Remaining elections were concentrated in the South. Southern voters widely drove the American Party from office, rallying to the Democrats in firm opposition to the Republicans. In October 1857, the pending new state of Minnesota elected its first Representatives, to be seated by the 35th Congress. Between the admissions of Vermont in 1791 and Wisconsin in 1848, Congress had admitted new states roughly in pairs: one slave, one free. California was admitted alone as a free state in 1850 only as part of a comprehensive compromise including significant concessions to slave state interests. Admission of Minnesota in May 1858, also alone but with no such deal, helped expose the declining influence of the South, destroying the formerly binding concept that slave and free state power was best kept in balance even in the Senate while solidifying a sense that the West would exclude slavery.

Election summaries

Two seats were added for the new state of Minnesota, which was unrepresented for part of the 1st session.

Special elections

There were a total of thirteen special elections in 1856 and 1857 during the 34th and 35th Congresses.

34th Congress

! SC's 3rd congressional district ! SC's 4th congressional district ! MO's 5th congressional district Claiborne Fox Jackson (Democratic) 44.2% ! IL's 5th congressional district Thomas C. Sharp (Republican) 35.2% James B. Kyle (Unknown) 12.2% ! IL's 7th congressional district William Beatty Archer (Whig) 43.7% ! IL's 8th congressional district John Thomas (Republican) 42.9% William H. Short (Unknown) 1.2% ! VA's 1st congressional district Robert Saunders Jr. (Know Nothing) 48.4% ! Kansas Territory At-large Andrew Horatio Reeder (Republican) ! VT's 1st congressional district Stoddard B. Colby (Democratic) 20.2%

35th Congress

! MO's 3rd congressional district Joseph M. Collins (Know Nothing) 41.3% ! IN's 1st congressional district ! IN's 10th congressional district James Worden (Democratic) 47.7% ! PA's 12th congressional district Smith Thompson (Republican) 39.0%

Alabama

! AL's 1st congressional district John McCaskill (Know Nothing) 38.0% ! AL's 2nd congressional district Batt Peterson (Know Nothing) 37.6% ! AL's 3rd congressional district Thomas J. Judge (Know Nothing) 49.7% ! AL's 4th congressional district William Russell Smith (Know Nothing) 43.5% ! AL's 5th congressional district David Hubbard (Democratic) 44.9% ! AL's 6th congressional district Henry Sanford (Democratic) 37.6% ! AL's 7th congressional district

Arkansas

! AR's 1st congressional district Hugh Thomason (Know Nothing) 28.6% ! AR's 2nd congressional district Absalom Fowler (Know Nothing) 42.4%

California

! rowspan=2 | CA At-large 2 seats on a general ticket ✅ Joseph C. McKibbin (Democratic) 21.0% A. B. Dibble (Know Nothing) 20.7% Ira P. Rankin (Independent) 13.0% J. N. Turner (Republican) 12.5%

Connecticut

! CT's 1st congressional district Richard D. Hubbard (Democratic) 48.8% ! CT's 2nd congressional district John Woodruff (Republican) 48.6% ! CT's 3rd congressional district James A. Hovey (Democratic) 45.4% ! CT's 4th congressional district Orris S. Ferry (Republican) 50.0%

Delaware

! DE At-large Elisha D. Cullen (Know Nothing) 44.0%

Florida

! FL At-large James McNair Baker (Know Nothing) 46.9%

Georgia

! GA's 1st congressional district Francis S. Bartow (Know Nothing) 44.4% C. S. Gaulden (Independent) 4.4% ! GA's 2nd congressional district Samuel C. Elam (Know Nothing) 43.9% ! GA's 3rd congressional district Jack Bailey (Democratic) 48.3% ! GA's 4th congressional district M. M. Tidwell (Know Nothing) 46.4% ! GA's 5th congressional district J. W. Hooper (Know Nothing) 36.1% Tatum (Democratic) 2.7% ! GA's 6th congressional district Simmons (Independent) 43.5% ! GA's 7th congressional district Linton Stephens (Democratic) 48.5% ! GA's 8th congressional district Thomas W. Miller (Know Nothing) 42.9%

Illinois

! IL's 1st congressional district Richard S. Molony (Democratic) 25.0% B. D. Eastman (Know Nothing) 1.0% ! IL's 2nd congressional district John Vannortwick (Democratic) 30.6% B. F. James (Know Nothing) 2.2% ! IL's 3rd congressional district Uri Osgood (Democratic) 40.5% ! IL's 4th congressional district James W. Davidson (Democratic) 45.8% Arthur H. Griffith (Know Nothing) 3.1% ! IL's 5th congressional district Jackson Grimshaw (Republican) 45.8% James S. Irwin (Know Nothing) 0.5% ! IL's 6th congressional district John Williams (Republican) 42.0% ! IL's 7th congressional district Henry P. H. Bromwell (Republican) 43.2% ! IL's 8th congressional district James D. Lansing (Republican) 39.9% ! IL's 9th congressional district Benjamin Ladd Wiley (Republican) 17.6%

Indiana

! IN's 1st congressional district James G. Veach (Republican) 38.5% ! IN's 2nd congressional district John M. Wilson (Republican) 42.8% ! IN's 3rd congressional district John A. Hendricks (Republican) 46.2% ! IN's 4th congressional district William Cumback (Republican) 46.3% ! IN's 5th congressional district Edmund Johnson (Democratic) 39.2% ! IN's 6th congressional district John Coburn (Republican) 47.9% ! IN's 7th congressional district John Palmer Usher (Republican) 46.1% ! IN's 8th congressional district Daniel W. Voorhees (Democratic) 49.5% ! IN's 9th congressional district William Z. Stewart (Democratic) 47.9% ! IN's 10th congressional district Robert Lowry (Democratic) 48.3% ! IN's 11th congressional district William Garver (Democratic) 48.2%

Iowa

! IA's 1st congressional district Augustus Hall (Democratic) 47.5% John J. Selman (Know Nothing) 2.3% ! IA's 2nd congressional district Shepherd Leffler (Democratic) 42.0%

Kansas Territory

See non-voting delegates, below.

Kentucky

! KY's 1st congressional district Owen Grimes (Know Nothing) 24.7% ! KY's 2nd congressional district James Leeper Johnson (Know Nothing) 46.1% ! KY's 3rd congressional district Joseph Horace Lewis (Democratic) 49.2% ! KY's 4th congressional district William Clayton Anderson (Know Nothing) 49.4% ! KY's 5th congressional district Bryan Young (Know Nothing) 40.4% ! KY's 6th congressional district John A. Moore (Know Nothing) 44.3% ! KY's 7th congressional district Thomas H. Holt (Democratic) 45.0% ! KY's 8th congressional district Roger Hanson (Know Nothing) 49.5% ! KY's 9th congressional district Leander Cox (Know Nothing) 48.0% ! KY's 10th congressional district William L. Rankin (Know Nothing) 32.4%

Louisiana

! LA's 1st congressional district Charles J. Villiers (Democratic) 39.6% ! LA's 2nd congressional district Glendy Burke (Know Nothing) 49.7% ! LA's 3rd congressional district George W. Watterson (Know Nothing) 35.4% Laurent J. Sigur (Independent) 21.6% ! LA's 4th congressional district W. H. Sparks (Know Nothing) 36.5%

Maine

! ME's 1st congressional district Josiah S. Little (Democratic) 46.6% ! ME's 2nd congressional district Eben F. Pillsbury (Democratic) 42.7% ! ME's 3rd congressional district Henry Ingalls (Democratic) 43.9% ! ME's 4th congressional district David Bronson (Democratic) 34.9% ! ME's 5th congressional district Abraham Sanborn (Democratic) 39.9% ! ME's 6th congressional district Amo Wiswell (Democratic) 47.1%

Maryland

Elections were held November 3-4, 1857. ! MD's 1st congressional district Teagle Townsend (Know Nothing) 49.30% !MD's 2nd congressional district Ramsey McHenry (Democratic) 47.58% !MD's 3rd congressional district William Pinkney Whyte (Democratic) 38.37% !MD's 4th congressional district Henry P. Brooks (Democratic) 27.45% !MD's 5th congressional district Henry W. Hoffman (Know Nothing) 49.49% !MD's 6th congressional district William J. Blackstone (Know Nothing) 49.49%

Massachusetts

! MA's 1st congressional district Moses Bates (Democratic) 16.14% Daniel Fisher (American) 14.12% ! MA's 2nd congressional district Charles R. Vickery (Democratic) 20.58% Darius Dunbar (American) 7.03% ! MA's 3rd congressional district Arthur W. Austin (Democratic) 29.96% Alfred B. Ely (American) 8.47% ! MA's 4th congressional district Charles Greene (Democratic) 39.22% Benjamin F. Cooke (American) 14.85% ! MA's 5th congressional district William Appleton (American) 49.74% ! MA's 6th congressional district Nathaniel J. Lord (Democratic) 22.21% Benjamin Perley (American) 7.74% Scattering 0.66% ! MA's 7th congressional district Isaac H. Wright (Democratic) 26.31% Isaac Story (American) 11.74% ! MA's 8th congressional district Benjamin Butler (Democratic) 26.97% Abiel Lewis (American) 2.66% ! MA's 9th congressional district Alexander De Witt (American) 26.57% Nathaniel Wood (Democratic) 17.98% Alfred Mowrey (American) 1.76% ! MA's 10th congressional district William C. Fowler (American) 27.34% ! MA's 11th congressional district Mark Trafton (American) 27.41% Josiah D. Weston (Democratic) 28.74%

Michigan

! MI's 1st congressional district George V. N. Lothrop (Democratic) 48.4% ! MI's 2nd congressional district John S. Barry (Democratic) 37.9% ! MI's 3rd congressional district Flavius Littlejohn (Democratic) 40.7% ! MI's 4th congressional district George W. Peck (Democratic) 44.3%

Minnesota

Minnesota Territory elected three members in advance of Minnesota's 1848 statehood. "Although three men won this election, which was held before Minnesota was actually a state, only two representatives from Minnesota were allowed in the congressional bill creating the state in 1858. George L. Becker lost in the drawing of lots to decide who would present their credentials, therefore he did not serve in Congress." ! rowspan=2 | MN At-large 2 seats on a general ticket ✅ James M. Cavanaugh (Democratic) 17.2% George Loomis Becker (Democratic) 17.1% Henry Adoniram Swift (Republican) 16.2% Cyrus Aldrich (Republican) 16.1% Morton S. Wilkinson (Republican) 16.1%

Mississippi

Elections held late, from October 5 to 6, 1857. ! MS's 1st congressional district ✅ Lucius Q. C. Lamar (Democratic) 63.76% James L. Alcorn (Know Nothing) 36.24% ! MS's 2nd congressional district Charles Clark (Know Nothing) 34.70% ! MS's 3rd congressional district Scattering 1.79% ! MS's 4th congressional district William A. Lake (Know Nothing) 44.97% ! MS's 5th congressional district ✅ John A. Quitman (Democratic) 98.47% Scattering 1.53%

Missouri

! MO's 1st congressional district ! MO's 2nd congressional district ! MO's 3rd congressional district ! MO's 4th congressional district ! MO's 5th congressional district ! MO's 6th congressional district ! MO's 7th congressional district

Nebraska Territory

See non-voting delegates, below.

New Hampshire

! NH's 1st congressional district ! NH's 2nd congressional district ! NH's 3rd congressional district

New Jersey

! 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

! 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

North Carolina

! 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

Ohio

! 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

Oregon Territory

See non-voting delegates, below.

Pennsylvania

! PA's 1st congressional district ✅ Thomas B. Florence (Democratic) 56.62% Edward B. Knight (Republican) 43.38% ! PA's 2nd congressional district Republican gain. ✅ Edward Joy Morris (Republican) 51.58% John A. Marshall (Democratic) 48.42% ! PA's 3rd congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ James Landy (Democratic) 54.02% William Millward (Republican) 45.98% ! PA's 4th congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ Henry M. Phillips (Democratic) 50.72% Robert Faust (Know Nothing) 35.86% William D. Kelley (Republican) 13.43% ! PA's 5th congressional district Democratic hold. ✅ Owen Jones (Democratic) 54.86% Daniel H. Mulvany (Whig) 45.14% ! PA's 6th congressional district ✅ John Hickman (Democratic) 48.91% John S. Bowen (Republican) 47.85% John Larkin Jr. (Know Nothing) 3.24% ! PA's 7th congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ Henry Chapman (Democratic) 54.01% Samuel C. Bradshaw (Republican) 45.99% ! PA's 8th congressional district 1850 1852 (retired) 1854 (special) ✅ J. Glancy Jones (Democratic) 71.60% David Yoder (Republican) 28.40% ! PA's 9th congressional district ✅ Anthony E. Roberts (Republican) 54.59% Isaac E. Heister (Democratic) 45.41% ! PA's 10th congressional district ✅ John C. Kunkel (Republican) 55.63% Henry C. Eyer (Democratic) 44.37% ! PA's 11th congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ William L. Dewart (Democratic) 58.26% James H. Campbell (Republican) 41.74% ! PA's 12th congressional district 1850 1852 (lost) 1854 Democratic gain. ✅ John G. Montgomery (Democratic) 57.69% Elhanan Smith (Republican) 42.31% ! PA's 13th congressional district Democratic hold. ✅ William H. Dimmick (Democratic) 68.93% Samuel E. Demmick (Republican) 31.07% ! PA's 14th congressional district ✅ Galusha A. Grow (Republican) 71.31% Daniel L. Sherwood (Democratic) 28.69% ! PA's 15th congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ Allison White (Democratic) 51.36% William H. Irvin (Republican) 48.64% ! PA's 16th congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ John A. Ahl (Democratic) 53.75% Lemuel Todd (Republican) 46.25% ! PA's 17th congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ Wilson Reilly (Democratic) 51.28% Joseph Pumroy (Republican) 48.72% ! PA's 18th congressional district ✅ John R. Edie (Republican) 50.91% Cyrus L. Pershing (Democratic) 49.09% ! PA's 19th congressional district ✅ John Covode (Union) 54.40% Alexander McKinney (Democratic) 45.60% ! PA's 20th congressional district Democratic gain. ✅ William Montgomery (Democratic) 52.15% Jonathan Knight (Republican) 47.85% ! PA's 21st congressional district ✅ David Ritchie (Republican) 54.45% Wilson McCandless (Democratic) 42.17% William M. Wright (Know Nothing) 3.38% ! PA's 22nd congressional district ✅ Samuel A. Purviance (Republican) 57.09% James Gibson (Democratic) 40.51% Alexander Wadlow (Know Nothing) 2.40% ! PA's 23rd congressional district 1850 1852 (lost) 1854 Republican gain. ✅ William Stewart (Republican) 61.00% Thomas Cunningham (Democratic) 39.00% ! PA's 24th congressional district Democratic hold. ✅ James L. Gillis (Democratic) 51.75% James S. Myers (Republican) 48.25% ! PA's 25th congressional district ✅ John Dick (Republican) 67.97% James A. McFadden (Democratic) 32.03%

Rhode Island

! RI's 1st congressional district ! RI's 2nd congressional district

South Carolina

! 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

Tennessee

! TN's 1st congressional district ✅ Albert G. Watkins (Democratic) 50.58% Nathaniel G. Taylor (Know Nothing) 49.42% ! TN's 2nd congressional district ✅ Horace Maynard (Know Nothing) 50.89% Wayne W. Wallace (Democratic) 49.11% ! TN's 3rd congressional district ✅ Samuel A. Smith (Democratic) 52.98% William Heiskell (Know Nothing) 47.02% ! TN's 4th congressional district ✅ John H. Savage (Democratic) 55.16% Joseph Pickett (Know Nothing) 44.84% ! TN's 5th congressional district ✅ Charles Ready (Know Nothing) 51.25% Joseph Guild (Democratic) 48.75% ! TN's 6th congressional district ! TN's 7th congressional district ✅ John V. Wright (Democratic) 83.81% D. E. McElrath (Know Nothing) 16.19% ! TN's 8th congressional district ✅ Felix Zollicoffer (Know Nothing) 52.18% James M. Quarles (Democratic) 47.82% ! TN's 9th congressional district Emerson Etheridge (Know Nothing) 49.63% ! TN's 10th congressional district ✅ William T. Avery (Democratic) 51.32% William H. Stevens (Know Nothing) 48.68%

Texas

! TX's 1st congressional district ! TX's 2nd congressional district

Vermont

! VT's 1st congressional district Horatio Needham (Democratic) 28.6% John Pierpoint (Free Soil) 4.7% ! VT's 2nd congressional district E. B. Chase (Democratic) 23.8% ! VT's 3rd congressional district W. H. H. Brigham (Democratic) 25.9%

Virginia

! VA's 1st congressional district John Critcher (Know Nothing) 42.9% ! VA's 2nd congressional district ! VA's 3rd congressional district A. Judson Crane (Know Nothing) 36.3% ! VA's 4th congressional district [FNU] Collier (Know Nothing) 24.0% ! VA's 5th congressional district ! VA's 6th congressional district ! VA's 7th congressional district Edgar Snowden Sr. (Know Nothing) 42.5% ! VA's 8th congressional district William Lucas (Know Nothing) 40.5% ! VA's 9th congressional district [FNU] Imboden (Unknown) 24.7% ! VA's 10th congressional district [FNU] Dunnington (Know Nothing) 28.5% ! VA's 11th congressional district Democratic gain. John S. Carlile (Know Nothing) 46.2% ! VA's 12th congressional district ! VA's 13th congressional district Elbert S. Martin (Know Nothing) 49.7%

Wisconsin

! WI's 1st congressional district Jackson Hadley (Democratic) 49.4% ! WI's 2nd congressional district Samuel Crawford (Democratic) 38.2% ! WI's 3rd congressional district Harrison Carroll Hobart (Democratic) 48.0%

Non-voting delegates

! Kansas Territory's at-large congressional district ✅ John Wilkins Whitfield (Democratic) Andrew H. Reeder (Free-State Democrat) ! Minnesota Territory's at-large congressional district ✅ William W. Kingsbury (Democratic) ! Nebraska Territory's at-large congressional district ✅ Fenner Ferguson (Independent Democratic) Bird Chapman (Democratic) ! Oregon Territory's at-large congressional district ✅ Joseph Lane (Democratic)