1876–77 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1876–77 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between June 5, 1876, and March 13, 1877. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 45th United States Congress convened on October 15, 1877. The size of the House increased to 293 seats with the addition of the new state of Colorado.

1876–77 United States House of Representatives elections
June 5, 1876 – March 1877
All 293 seats in the United States House of Representatives
147 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Samuel J. Randall James A. Garfield
Party Democratic Republican
Leader's seat Pennsylvania 3rd Ohio 19th
Last election 180 seats 103 seats
Seats won 155 136
Seat change 25 33
Popular vote 4,220,480 3,825,311
Percentage 51.27% 46.47%
Swing 2.15% 2.09%
  Third party
 
Party Independent
Last election 4 seats
Seats won 2
Seat change 2
Popular vote 96,318
Percentage 1.17%
Swing 3.27%
Map of U.S. House elections results from 1876 elections for 45th Congress
Speaker before election

Vacancy
Democratic

 Elected Speaker

Samuel Randall
Democratic

These elections coincided with the (heavily contested) election of President Rutherford B. Hayes and the United States Centennial. Hayes' Republican Party was able to recover from the Democratic Party many of the seats it had lost two years before as the economy improved slightly. However, the Democrats retained a majority and were able to use the disinterest of the people in Republican Reconstruction-led projects to help keep crucial seats. Republican congressional leadership had a difficult time distancing itself from the corruption of the Grant administration or the legislature's impact on the economy downturn.

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