1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 6, 1870, and October 6, 1871. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before or after the first session of the 42nd United States Congress convened on March 4, 1871. They occurred in the middle of President Ulysses S. Grant's first term. Elections were held for all 243 seats, representing 37 states.

1870–71 United States House of Representatives elections
June 6, 1870 –
October 6, 1871
All 243 seats in the United States House of Representatives
122 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader James G. Blaine Fernando Wood
Party Republican Democratic
Leader's seat Maine 3rd New York 9th
Last election 171 seats 61 seats
Seats won 136 94
Seat change 35 33
Popular vote 2,719,276 2,441,956
Percentage 49.59% 44.53%
Swing 2.22% 0.40%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Conservative Liberal Republican
Last election 6 seats New Party
Seats won 10 2
Seat change 4 2
Popular vote 160,295 55,551
Percentage 2.92% 1.01%
Swing 0.27% Pre-creation
  Fifth party
 
Party Independent
Last election 0 seats
Seats won 1
Seat change 1
Popular vote 98,591
Percentage 1.80%
Swing 0.81%
Map of U.S. House elections results from 1870 elections for 42nd Congress
Speaker before election

James G. Blaine
Republican

 Elected Speaker

James G. Blaine
Republican

With Grant's administration rocked by a number of scandals (including a shady deal for gold speculation that led to a crash in the market and several business deals that saw high-ranking governmental officials gain kickbacks) and Reconstruction winding down, his Republican Party lost seats to the opposition Democratic Party but retained an overall majority. Also, since white-supremacist governments controlled by the Democratic Party were reestablishing themselves in some portions of the South, the Democrats were able to make huge gains in this election.

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