| Election Name: | 1840 Iowa Council election |
| Country: | Iowa |
| Flag Image: | Flag of Iowa (variant).svg |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1839 Iowa Council election |
| Previous Year: | 1839 |
| Next Election: | 1841 Iowa Council election |
| Next Year: | 1841 |
| Seats For Election: | All 13 seats in the Iowa Territory Council |
| Majority Seats: | 7 |
| Election Date: | 1840 |
| Leader1: | Jonathan W. Parker |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Leaders Seat1: | 9th-Scott County |
| Last Election1: | 7 |
| Seats After1: | 7 |
| Leader2: | Mortimer Phillips Bainbridge |
| Party2: | Whig Party (US) |
| Leaders Seat2: | 10th-Dubuque County |
| Last Election2: | 6 |
| Seats After2: | 6 |
| President of the Iowa Territory Council | |
| Before Election: | Stephen Hempstead |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Mortimer Phillips Bainbridge |
| After Party: | Whig Party (US) |
In the 1840 Iowa Territory Council elections, electors selected councilors to serve in the third Iowa Territory Council. All 13 members of the Territory Council were elected. Councilors served one-year terms.
The Iowa Territory existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when Iowa was admitted to the Union as a state. At the time, the Iowa Territory had a Legislative Assembly consisting of an upper chamber (i.e., the Territory Council) and a lower chamber (i.e., the Territory House).
Following the previous election in 1839, Democrats held a majority with seven seats to Whigs' six seats.
To claim a majority of seats, the Whigs needed to net one seat from the Democrats.
The Democrats maintained a majority of seats in the Council following the 1840 general election with the balance of power remaining unchanged with the Democrats holding seven seats and the Whigs having six seats. Whig Councilor Mortimer Phillips Bainbridge was chosen as the President of the third Territory Council to succeed Democratic Councilor Stephen P. Hempstead in that leadership position.
| Iowa Territory Council District | Incumbent | Party | Elected Councilor | Party | Outcome | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | George Hepner | Dem | Jesse B. Browne | Whig | Whig Gain | ||||
| Arthur Inghram | Dem | Edward Johnstone | Dem | Dem Hold | |||||
| Robert Ralston | Dem | Obsolete subdistrict | |||||||
| 2nd | Jesse B. Browne | Whig | Gideon Smith Bailey | Dem | Dem Gain | ||||
| Newly created subdistrict | James Hall | Dem | Dem Gain | ||||||
| 3rd | Lawson B. Hughes | Whig | Joseph C. Hawkins | Whig | Whig Hold | ||||
| Jesse D. Payne | Dem | Obsolete subdistrict | |||||||
| 4th | Isham Keith | Whig | William Henson Wallace | Whig | Whig Hold | ||||
| E. A. M. Swazy | Dem | Obsolete subdistrict | |||||||
| 5th | James M. Clark | Whig | William Greyer Coop | Dem | Dem Gain | ||||
| 6th | Charles Whittlesey | Whig | Francis Springer | Whig | Whig Hold | ||||
| 7th | Jonathan W. Parker | Dem | Serranus Clinton Hastings | Dem | Dem Hold | ||||
| 8th | Stephen Hempstead | Dem | George Greene | Dem | Dem Hold | ||||
| Warner Lewis | Dem | Obsolete subdistrict | |||||||
| 9th | Newly created subdistrict | Jonathan W. Parker | Dem | Dem Gain | |||||
| 10th | Newly created subdistrict | Mortimer Phillips Bainbridge | Whig | Whig Gain | |||||
| Newly created subdistrict | Joseph S. Kirkpatrick | Whig | Whig Gain | ||||||
Source:[1]
District boundaries for the Council were redrawn before the 1840 general election: