United States House of Representatives elections, 1860

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The U.S. House election, 1860 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1860 which coincided with the election of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's Republican Party gained a handful of seats from the Democratic Party.

As was common before 1872, each state held the election for U.S. House when it saw fit. The first elections were held on 8/6/1860 in Arkansas and Missouri, while California held its election last on 9/4/1861. Three Southern states chose Representatives before the Presidential election: Arkansas, Florida, and South Carolina; they elected seven Democrats and two Independents. These were the only U.S. House elections from the seceding states to the 37th Congress. After South Carolina's secession from the Union, other Southern states followed suit and elected Representatives to the new Confederate Congress. The secession of the South dramatically reduced the size of the Democratic House caucus, since the seceding states took with them many strong Democratic districts. In the 36th Congress (1859-1861), the seceding states had been represented by 46 Democrats, 14 Opposition Party members, 5 Independents, and one American. When Congress was called into session on 7/4/1861 (five months earlier than usual at the time), the Republicans held an overall majority, with 102 of the 183 members. Other parties represented at the opening of the 37th Congress were 44 Democrats, 23 Unionists (pro-war Northern Democrats), and five others (one party each). There were several vacancies, and California had not held its election when Congress assembled.

[edit] Overall results

Party	Total Seats (change)		Seat percentage
Republican Party	108	-8	59.0%
Democratic Party	44	-39	24.0%
Unionist Party	30	+30	16.3%
Independent	1	-14	0.5%
Totals	183	-55	100.0%

[edit] California

Note: From statehood to 1864, California's representatives were elected at-large, with the top two vote-getters winning election from 1849 to 1858; in 1860 when California gained a seat in the House the top three vote-getters were elected.

District	Opponent
California AL	Timothy Guy Phelps (R) 15.6% Aaron Augustus Sargent (R) 15.3% Frederick Low (R) 11.8% Henry Edgerton (I) 10.7% Joseph C. McKibben (I) 10.7% Frank Ganahl (Breck. Dem.) 10.2% Henry P. Barber (I) 9.5% D. O. Shattuck (I) 9.5% John R. Gitchell (Union Dem.) 6.8%