1876 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida

The 1876 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida were held on November 7 for the 45th Congress. These elections were held at the same time as the election for governor and the contentious presidential election, in which Florida was one of four states whose electoral votes were in dispute.

United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 1876

← 1874 November 7, 1876 1878 →

Both of Florida's seats to the United States House of Representatives
  First party Second party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election 0 2
Seats won 1[1] 1[1]
Seat change Increase 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 24,733 24,139
Percentage 50.6% 49.4%

Background

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In the 1874 elections, both Republican incumbents were initially declared re-elected. In the 2nd district, Jesse J. Finley (D) successfully contested the re-election of Josiah T. Walls (R), so that at the time of the 1876 elections, Florida had one Democratic and one Republican incumbent.

Election results

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Both incumbents ran for re-election, and both were defeated. The 1st district changed from Republican to Democratic control while the 2nd changed from Democratic to Republican control, resulting in no net change

1876 United States House election results
District Democratic Republican
1st[2] Robert H. M. Davidson 13,162 51.2% William J. Purman (I) 12,565 48.8%
2nd[3] Jesse J. Finley (I) 11,571 50.0% Horatio Bisbee, Jr. 11,574 50.0%

Contested election

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As in 1874, Democrat Jesse J. Finley challenged the results of the election in the 2nd district. On February 20, 1879, Finley was declared the legitimate winner with a vote of 11,329 - 11,077,[4] and was seated in Bisbee's place, serving from February 20, 1879 - March 3, 1879 when the 45th Congress ended.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Republican victor successfully challenged in 2nd district
  2. ^ 1st district election results
  3. ^ 2nd district election results
  4. ^ Recount