1796 Rhode Island's at-large congressional district special election explained

A special election was held in on November 15, 1796, to fill a vacancy left in both the 4th and 5th Congresses by the resignation of Benjamin Bourne (F).

Election results

Candidate	Party	Votes^[1]	Percent
Elisha R. Potter	Federalist	1,619	71.0%
Peleg Arnold	Democratic-Republican	662	29.0%

Potter took his seat December 19, 1796^[2] but the subsequently resigned after the 1st Session of the 5th Congress, resulting in a second special election

See also

• List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

Notes and References

1. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=282045 Election details from Ourcampaigns.com
2. http://artandhistory.house.gov/house_history/bioguide-front/4.pdf 4th Congress membership roster