# List of members-elect of the United States House of Representatives who never took their seats

Some people who were elected to the United States House of Representatives died before taking their seats. In other cases, they failed to qualify; were rejected by the House; their credentials were successfully challenged; or they were somehow otherwise unable to become members.
This list only includes people who never served in the House. Re-elected incumbents are not included.

## List

| Member-elect | Party | District | Election date | Congress | Reason for non-seating |
| Benjamin West | Pro-Administration | NH-AL | February 2, 1789 | 1st | Declined to serve. |
| James Townsend | Pro-Administration | NY-1 | April 27–29, 1790 | 2nd | Died on May 24, 1790. |
| Pierpont Edwards | Pro-Administration | CT-AL | September 20, 1790 | 1st | Declined to serve. |
| Stephen M. Mitchell | Pro-Administration | CT-AL | September 17, 1792 | 3rd | Resigned (elected to the U.S. Senate). |
| Jonathan Ingersoll | Pro-Administration | CT-AL | September 16, 1793 | 3rd | Declined to serve. |
| James Morris | Democratic-Republican | PA-4 | October 14, 1794 | 4th | Died on July 10, 1795. |
| Thomas Tillotson | Democratic-Republican | NY-5 | April 29–May 1, 1800 | 7th | Resigned on August 10, 1801 (appointed Secretary of State of New York). |
| John Cantine | Democratic-Republican | NY-7 | April 27–29, 1802 | 8th | Declined to serve. |
| Phineas Bruce | Federalist | MA-17 | November 1, 1802 | 8th | Never qualified or attended due to illness. |
| John Simpson | Democratic-Republican | KY-8 | August 3, 1812 | 13th | Died on January 22, 1813. |
| John S. Edwards | Federalist | OH-6 | October 13, 1812 | 13th | Died on February 22, 1813. |
| William Dowse | Federalist | NY-15 | December 15–17, 1812 | 13th | Died on February 18, 1813. |
| John Woods | Federalist | PA-14 | October 11, 1814 | 14th | Never qualified or attended due to illness. |
| Daniel Appleton White | Federalist | MA-3 | November 7, 1814 | 14th | Resigned (to be Judge of Probate for Essex County). |
| Henry B. Lee | Democratic-Republican | NY-4 | April 23–25, 1816 | 15th | Died on September 16, 1816. |
| David Scott | Democratic-Republican | PA-10 | October 8, 1816 | 15th | Resigned (to be judge of the court of common pleas). |
| Alexander McMillan | Federalist | NC-7 | August 14, 1817 | 15th | Died on November 13, 1817. |
| James Duncan | Democratic-Republican | PA-5 | October 10, 1820 | 17th | Resigned. |
| David Ellicott Evans | Jacksonian Republican | NY-29 | November 6–8, 1826 | 20th | Resigned on May 2, 1827. |
| Francis Jacob Harper | Democratic | PA-3 | October 11, 1836 | 25th | Died on March 18, 1837. |
| Francis Gehon | Democratic | IA-AL Delegate | August 5, 1839 | 26th | William W. Chapman's term was extended to October 1840, invalidating Gehon's election. |
| Washington Poe | Whig | GA-3 | November 5, 1844 | 29th | Resigned. |
| David Levy Yulee | Democratic | FL-AL | May 26, 1845 | 29th | Resigned (elected to the U.S. Senate). |
| Lyman Trumbull | Democratic | IL-8 | November 7, 1854 | 34th | Resigned (elected to the U.S. Senate). |
| Thomas Child Jr. | Whig | NY-7 | November 7, 1854 | 34th | Never qualified or attended due to illness. |
| Daniel D. Pratt | Republican | IN-8 | October 13, 1868 | 41st | Resigned on January 27, 1869 (elected to the U.S. Senate). |
| Ambrose R. Wright | Democratic | GA-8 | November 5, 1872 | 43rd | Died on December 21, 1872. |
| Samuel Peters | Republican | LA-4 | November 5, 1872 | 43rd | Died on October 1, 1873. |
| John W. Head | Democratic | TN-4 | November 3, 1874 | 44th | Died on November 9, 1874. |
| Garnett McMillan | Democratic | GA-9 | November 3, 1874 | 44th | Died on January 14, 1875. |
| Augustus F. Allen | Democratic | NY-33 | November 3, 1874 | 44th | Died on January 22, 1875. |
| Alexander Smith | Republican | NY-12 | November 5, 1878 | 46th | Died on November 5, 1878. |
| Andrew S. Herron | Democratic | LA-4 | November 7, 1882 | 48th | Died on November 27, 1882. |
| John Clayton | Republican | AR-2 | November 6, 1888 | 51st | Assassinated on January 29, 1889. |
| Andrew J. Campbell | Republican | NY-10 | November 5, 1894 | 54th | Died on December 6, 1894. |
| Richard P. Giles | Democratic | MO-1 | November 3, 1896 | 55th | Died on November 17, 1896. |
| James J. Davidson | Republican | PA-25 | November 3, 1896 | 55th | Died on January 2, 1897. |
| B. H. Roberts | Democratic | UT-AL | November 8, 1898 | 56th | Congress refused to seat him because he was a bigamist. |
| William Brown | Republican | PA-24 | November 3, 1914 | 64th | Died on January 31, 1915. |
| Charles F. Van de Water | Republican | CA-9 | November 2, 1920 | 67th | Died on November 20, 1920. |
| Samuel Marx | Democratic | NY-19 | November 7, 1922 | 68th | Died on November 30, 1922. |
| Matthew Vincent O'Malley | Democratic | NY-7 | February 17, 1931 | 72nd | Died on May 26, 1931. |
| Jack Swigert | Republican | CO-6 | November 2, 1982 | 98th | Died on December 27, 1982. |
| Luke Letlow | Republican | LA-5 | December 5, 2020 | 117th | Died on December 29, 2020. |