1860–61 United States House of Representatives elections

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The 1860–61 United States House of Representatives elections took place between August 6, 1860, and October 24, 1861, to elect 180 representatives and seven non-voting delegates to the 37th United States Congress. The Republican Party lost seats but gained a majority in the chamber following the withdrawal of the representatives from the Confederate States of America. The Republicans were the largest party in the House following the 1858–59 United States House of Representatives elections. The Republican victory in the 1860 United States presidential election precipitated the secession of 11 slave states between December 1860 and June 1861. Secession interrupted elections for the 37th Congress, which had already taken place in 15 Union states and three states now part of the Confederacy. The absence of the Southern Democrats severely diminished the number of Democratic representatives, which fell to 43. Unionists in the border states and loyal parts of the Confederacy won 22 seats, while...

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