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The 1842–43 United States House of Representatives elections were held on various dates in various states between August 1, 1842, and November 8, 1843.[a] Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 28th United States Congress convened on December 4, 1843. The exception was Maryland, who held theirs so late that they ran into February 1844.[a] These elections occurred during President John Tyler's term. The congressional reapportionment based on the 1840 United States census unusually decreased the number of House seats, from 242 down to 223.
After Whig President William Henry Harrison died within a month of taking office, his successor as president, John Tyler was only nominally a Whig who had not been properly validated for alignment to Whig policy. Effectively an independent, Tyler was disliked by politicians and was unpopular with voters of both parties, leaving the Whigs unexpectedly leaderless and in visible disarray.
Despite the improving economy, rural voters favored Democrats, again rejecting Whig economic nationalism. The Whig Party lost 69 seats and their sizeable majority from the 1840 election, almost half their House delegation (one of the Whigs who won re-election was William Wright of New Jersey, elected as an "Independent Whig"[1] [2]).
The Democrats won a majority, flipping 48 Whig seats (this includes Henry Nes of Pennsylvania, elected as an Independent Democrat[1][e]). In Rhode Island, the Law and Order Party, formed in response to the Dorr Rebellion, won both of Rhode Island's two seats.
Apportionment Act of 1842
Apportionment was based on the census of 1840 and was unusual in that the number of House seats was decreased, from 242 to 223:[4] this came after the Apportionment Act of 1842 mandated that all members be elected from single-member contiguous districts, thus abolishing plural districts and at-large districts.[5] Four states that did not comply with this new law delayed redistricting under a grandfather clause.
Election summaries
| 148 | 2 | 73 |
| Democratic | [f] | Whig |