The U.S. House election, 1882 was an election for the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in 1882 which occurred during President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Chester A. Arthur

Chester A. Arthur

Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...

's term.

Arthur's Republican Party was badly defeated, losing its majority to the opposition Democratic Party after a campaign that focused on the resistance of Republican leaders to reforming the Spoils system

Spoils system

In the politics of the United States, a spoil system is a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the...

 under which government jobs were handed to supporters of winning candidates. After the election, Arthur agreed with the Democrats to pass the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The act provided selection of government employees competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation...

, establishing a professional civil service. However, his actions were too late, as the image of the Republican Party as corrupt was already engrained in the minds of voters. This election also saw the decline of the pro-paper money Greenback Party and the pick up of several Virginian seats by the Readjuster Party, which promoted fiscal responsibility and shunned elitism.

Overall results

Party	Total seats	Seat change	Seat percentage
Democratic Party Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	196	68	60.3%
Republican Party Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	117	34	36.0%
Independent	6	2	1.8%
Readjusters Readjuster Party The Readjuster Party was a political coalition formed in Virginia in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the American Civil War. Readjusters aspired "to break the power of wealth and established privilege" and to promote public education, a program which attracted biracial support....	4	4	1.2%
Greenback Party United States Greenback Party The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...	2	8	0.6%
Totals	325	32	100.0%

California

Two new seats were added, following the 1880 U.S. Census, bringing the delegation up from four to six Representatives. The new seats were elected state-wide at-large until the next election, when six districts were mapped.

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
	William Rosecrans William Rosecrans William Starke Rosecrans was an inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and United States Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War...	Democratic	1880	Re-elected	William Rosecrans William Rosecrans William Starke Rosecrans was an inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and United States Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War...  (D) 59.5% Paul Neuman (R) 38.8% James McMillan Shafter James McMillan Shafter James McMillan Shafter was an American politician serving in Vermont, Wisconsin, and California.Born in Athens, Vermont, Shafter graduated from Wesleyan University and was admitted to the Vermont bar. In 1841, he served in the Vermont House of Representatives and from 1842 to 1849, Shafter was the...  (Proh.) 1.5% H. S. Fitch (GB) 0.2%
	Horace F. Page Horace F. Page Horace Francis Page was an American politician that represented a Californian district in the United States House of Representatives. He was born near Medina, Orleans County, New York. He attended public schools and Millville Academy and then taught school in La Porte County, Indiana until 1854...	Republican	1872	Lost re-election Democratic gain	James Budd James Budd James Herbert Budd was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Involved in federal and state politics, Budd was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2nd California district from 1883 to 1885, and later elected as the 19th Governor of California from 1895 until...  (D) 50.5% Horace F. Page (R) 48.1% J. L. Coles (Proh.) 1.2% F. J. Woodward (GB) 0.2%
	Campbell P. Berry	Democratic	1878	Retired Democratic hold	Barclay Henley Barclay Henley Barclay Henley was a United States Representative from California. He was born in Charlestown, Clark County, Indiana. He moved with his parents to San Francisco, California in 1853 and returned to Indiana in 1858. He attended the common schools and Hanover College. He returned to San Francisco in...  (D) 51.3% John J. De Haven (R) 45.8% H. S. Graves (Proh.) 2% W. O. Howe (GB) 0.9%
	Romualdo Pacheco Romualdo Pacheco José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco Jr. was an American politician and diplomat. Involved in California state and federal politics, Pacheco was elected and appointed to various posts and offices throughout his more than thirty-year career, including the California State Senate, the 12th Governor of...	Republican	1876/1879	Retired Democratic gain	Pleasant B. Tully Pleasant B. Tully Pleasant Britton Tully was a U.S. Representative from California.Born in Henderson County, Tennessee, Tully moved to Arkansas with his father, who settled in Phillips County in 1838.He attended public and private schools....  (D) 54.4% George L. Woods (R) 43.3% M. V. Wright (Proh.) 1.5% Isaac Kinley (GB) 0.8%
	None (New seat)			New seat Democratic gain	John R. Glascock John R. Glascock John Raglan Glascock was a U.S. Representative from California.Born in Panola County, Mississippi, GlascockIn 1856 moved to California with his parents, who settled in San Francisco. He attended the public schools and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1865...  (D) 26.5% Charles A. Sumner Charles A. Sumner Charles Allen Sumner was a U.S. Representative from California.-Early life:Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Sumner attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, but did not graduate.... (D) 26.5% William W. Morrow (R) 22.4% Henry Edgerton (R) 22.3% A. B. Hotchkiss (Proh.) 0.8% Jesse Yarnell (Proh.) 0.8% Warren Chase (GB) 0.3% Stephen Maybell (GB) 0.3%
	None (New seat)			New seat Democratic gain

Primary sources

• Republican Congressional Committee, The Republican Campaign Text Book for 1882 (1882) online