United States House elections, 1896

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The U.S. House election, 1896 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1896 which coincided with the election of President William McKinley.

In spite of McKinley's victory over William Jennings Bryan, backed by the Democratic and Populist parties, both those parties gained seats from McKinley's Republican Party. This is most likely a reaction to the extraordinary Republican gains in 1894, in which many normally Democratic districts switched parties due to the severity of and fallout from the Panic of 1893. Many Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern regions that were dominated by Catholic and working-class voters, switched to Republican in 1894, but returned to the Democratic Party during this election cycle. The Populist Party also made huge gains as Republicans were ousted in Western states. Despite this, the Republicans did maintain a strong majority in the House. Also, several Western Republicans split with the party in 1896, joining the tiny Silver Republican Party, which advocated a silver standard.

[edit] Overall results

Party Total Seats (change) Seat percentage
Republican Party 206 -48 57.7%
Democratic Party 124 +31 34.7%
Populist Party 22 +13 6.1%
Silver Republican Party 3 +3 0.9%
Silver Party 1 +0 0.2%
Independent 1 +1 0.2%
Totals 357 +0 100.0%


        80.1-100% Republican      80.1-100% Democratic        60.1-80% Republican      60.1-80% Democratic                            60.1-80% Populist        80.1-100% Populist    House seats by party holding plurality in state
     80.1-100% Republican      80.1-100% Democratic
     60.1-80% Republican      60.1-80% Democratic
           
           60.1-80% Populist
     80.1-100% Populist
House seats by party holding plurality in state
        6+ Republican gain      6+ Democratic gain        3-5 Republican gain      3-5 Democratic gain        1-2 Republican gain      1-2 Democratic gain        1-2 Populist gain      3-5 Populist gain        no net change
     6+ Republican gain      6+ Democratic gain
     3-5 Republican gain      3-5 Democratic gain
     1-2 Republican gain      1-2 Democratic gain
     1-2 Populist gain      3-5 Populist gain
     no net change


[edit] See also


Preceded by
1894
U.S. House elections Succeeded by
1898