A special election was held in on September 5, 1796, and November 21, 1796, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Theodore Sedgwick (F) upon his election to the Senate[1]
Two elections were held due to a majority not being achieved on the first ballot.
| Candidate | Party | First ballot[2] | Second ballot[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percent | Votes | Percent | |||
| Thomson J. Skinner | Democratic-Republican | 1,325 | 48.0% | 746 | 62.7% | |
| Ephraim Williams | Federalist | 1,379 | 49.9% | 380 | 32.0% | |
| Scattering | 59 | 2.1% | 63 | 5.3% | ||
Skinner took office on January 27, 1797[1]