1790–1792 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts explained

Election Name:	United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 1790–1792
Country:	Massachusetts
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 1788–1789
Previous Year:	1788
Next Election:	United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 1792–1793
Next Year:	1792
Seats For Election:	All 8 Massachusetts seats to the United States House of Representatives
Election Date:	October 4, 1790 - April 2, 1792^[1]
Party1:	Pro-Administration Party (United States)
Last Election1:	6
Seats1:	7
Seat Change1:	1
Party2:	Anti-Administration Party (United States)
Last Election2:	2
Seats2:	1
Seat Change2:	1

Elections for the United States House of Representatives for the 2nd Congress were held in Massachusetts beginning October 4, 1790, with subsequent elections held in four districts due to a majority not being achieved on the first ballot.

Background

In the previous election, 6 Pro-Administration and 2 Anti-Administration Representatives had been elected. One representative, George Partridge (P) of the resigned August 14, 1790. His seat was vacant at the time of the 1790 elections, so that there were 5 Pro-Administration and 2 Anti-Administration incumbents, all of whom ran for re-election.

Three candidates ran in districts with different numbers from the previous election. It is not clear from the source used whether there was redistricting or if the districts had simply been renumbered.

Massachusetts law at the time required a majority for election. This occurred on the first ballot in the,, and districts. In the remaining four districts additional elections were required. In the and districts, a majority was achieved on the 2nd ballot. In the, a majority was achieved on the 4th ballot, while in the district, 9 ballots were required.

First Ballot

The first ballot was held on October 4, 1790. Four representatives, from the,,, and districts won on the first ballot.

1790 United States House election results

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration	Unknown Party Affiliation
		Fisher Ames (I)		1,850		75.1%		Benjamin Austin	397	16.1%
				Thomas Dawes	218	8.8%
		Benjamin Goodhue (I)		1,027		88.8%				Samuel Holten	129	11.2%
					Elbridge Gerry (I)		1,067		60.4%	Nathaniel Gorham	699	39.6%
		Theodore Sedgwick (I)		2,241		75.0%		Scattering	259	8.7%
	Samuel Lyman	487	16.3%
	Shearjashub Bourne^[2]	298	41.8%		Thomas Davis	266	37.3%
				Joshua Thomas	149	20.9%
	George Leonard (I)	327	22.3%	Phanuel Bishop	331	22.6%	Walter Spooner	374	25.5%
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	245	16.7%
	David Cobb	189	12.9%
	Artemas Ward	798	39.0%	Jonathan Grout (I)	800	39.1%	John Sprague	297	14.5%
							Nathan Tyler	151	7.4%
	George Thatcher (I)	609	37.2%		Josiah Thatcher	450	9.2%
	Peleg Wadsworth	25	1.5%	William Lithgow	364	22.3%
		Nathaniel Wells	263	16.1%
	William Martin	80	4.9%
	Arthur Noble	59	3.6%
	Daniel Davis	29	1.8%
	Scattering	57	3.5%

Second ballot

The second ballot was held in the,,, and districts on November 26, 1790. A majority was achieved in the 5th and 7th districts on the second ballot

1790 United States House election results
(2nd ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration	Unknown Party Affiliation
		Shearjashub Bourne		667		65.3%		Joshua Thomas	278	27.2%
				Thomas Davis	77	7.5%
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	402	25.7%%	Phanuel Bishop	444	28.4%	Walter Spooner	387	24.8%
	George Leonard (I)	196	12.5%
	David Cobb	134	8.6%
		Artemas Ward		1,248		56.6%	Jonathan Grout (I)	1,081	43.4%
	George Thatcher (I)	421	49.8%		Nathaniel Wells	262	31.0%
		William Lithgow	125	14.8%
	Scattering	37	4.4%

Third ballot

The third ballot was held in the and districts on January 25, 1791. Neither district achieved a majority on this ballot.

1791 United States House election results
(3rd ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration	Unknown Party Affiliation
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	603	24.0%	Phanuel Bishop	852	33.9%	Walter Spooner	711	28.3%
	George Leonard (I)	213	8.5%
	David Cobb	134	5.3%
	George Thatcher (I)	1,137	49.1%		William Lithgow	919	39.7%
				Nathaniel Wells	259	11.2%

Fourth ballot

The fourth ballot was held in the and districts on April 4, 1791. A majority was achieved in the 8th district.

1791 United States House election results
(4th ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration	Unknown Party Affiliation
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	420	15.7%	Phanuel Bishop	1,039	38.8%	Walter Spooner	1,038	38.8%
	George Leonard (I)	143	5.3%
	David Cobb	39	1.5%
		George Thatcher (I)		2,738		52.3%		William Lithgow	2,155	41.1%
				Nathaniel Wells	347	6.6%

Fifth ballot

The fifth ballot was held in the on September 8, 1791. A majority was not achieved. This was the last ballot before the first session of the 2nd Congress began on October 24, 1791.^[3] The 6th district was still vacant at the start of the 1st session.

1791 United States House election results
(5th ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration	Unknown Party Affiliation
	George Leonard (I)	555	29.3%	Phanuel Bishop	801	42.3%	Walter Spooner	124	6.6%
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	412	21.8%

Sixth ballot

The sixth ballot was held in the on November 11, 1791. A majority was not achieved.

1791 United States House election results
(6th ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration
	George Leonard (I)	795	41.6%	Phanuel Bishop	806	42.2%
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	310	16.2%

Seventh ballot

The seventh ballot was held in the on December 26, 1791. A majority was not achieved.

1791 United States House election results
(7th ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration
	George Leonard (I)	983	45.6%	Phanuel Bishop	689	32.0%
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	484	22.5%

Eighth ballot

The eighth ballot was held in the on December 26, 1791, during the 1st session of the 2nd Congress.

1791 United States House election results
(8th ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration
	George Leonard (I)	983	45.0%	Phanuel Bishop	690	31.6%
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	484	22.2%

Ninth ballot

The ninth and final ballot was held in the on April 2, 1792, near the end of the 1st session of the 2nd Congress.^[3]

1792 United States House election results
(8th ballot)

District	colspan="3"	Pro-Administration	colspan="3"	Anti-Administration
		George Leonard (I)		1,161		55.6%	Phanuel Bishop	578	27.7%
	Peleg Coffin, Jr.	348	16.7%

See also

• 1790 and 1791 United States House of Representatives elections

References

• Electoral data are from Ourcampaigns.com

Notes and References

1. In the 6th district
2. Eventual winner
3. Web site: 2nd Congress membership roster . 2013-03-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130306182456/http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/2.pdf . 2013-03-06 . dead .