1792 and 1793 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1792 and 1793 United States House of Representatives elections, coincided with the re-election of President George Washington. While Washington ran for president as an independent, his followers (more specifically, the supporters of Alexander Hamilton) formed the nation's first organized political party, the Federalist Party, whose members and sympathizers are identified as pro-Administration on this page. In response, followers of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created the opposition Democratic-Republican Party, who are identified as anti-Administration on this page. The Federalists promoted urbanization, industrialization, mercantilism, centralized government , and a broad interpretation of the United States Constitution. In contrast, Democratic-Republicans supported the ideal of an agrarian republic made up of self-sufficient farmers and small, localized governments with limited power. Despite nearly unanimous support for Washington as a presidential candidate, Jeffersonian ideas edged out Hamiltonian principles at the ballot box for congressional candidates, with the Democratic-Republicans taking 24 seats more than they had prior to the organization of their political movement. Most of the increase was due to the addition of new seats in Western regions as a result of the United States census of 1790 . Dominated by agrarian culture, these Western territories offered strong support to Democratic-Republican congressional candidates. As a result, they secured a thin majority in the legislature. Election summaries. •In this period, each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election, a In this period, each state fixed its own date for a congressional general elections early as August 1792 (in New Hampshire and Rhode Island) and as late as September 1793 (in Kentucky). In some states, the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the  odd-numbered year), but as the first session of Congress typically began in November or December, the elections took place before Congress actually met. The 3rd Congress first met on December 2, 1793. These were the first elections held after reapportionment following the first census. Thirty-six new seats were added, with 1 state losing 1 seat, 3 states having no change, and the remaining 11 states gaining between 1 and 9 seats. This was the first apportionment based on actual census data, the apportionment for the 1st and 2nd Congresses being set using estimated populations. Change in composition. End  of the 2nd Congress. With new seats, due to reapportionment, outlined. Special elections. There were special elections in 1792 and 1793 during the 2nd and 3rd United States Congresses. Elections are sorted here by state then district. Connecticut. Connecticut gained two seats in reapportionment following the 1790 census. Three special elections followed the 1792 elections in Connecticut after Representatives-elect Sturges and Huntington resigned before the start of Congress and Mitchell was elected to the Senate. Delaware. Delaware's apportionment did not change following the 1790 census. As in the 1st and 2nd Congresses, each voter cast votes for two  separate candidates, at least one of whom had to be from a different county as the voter. Georgia. Following the 1790 census, Georgia's apportionment was decreased from 3 seats to 2 (the only state whose representation decreased after the census). Georgia switched from separate districts to at-large seats. Maryland. Maryland increased from 6 to 8 representatives after the 1790 census. The previous mixed district/at-large system was replaced with a conventional district system. Massachusetts. Following the 1790 Census, Massachusetts's representation increased from eight to fourteen Representatives and was redistricted into four plural districts, plus a single  at-large district. The covered the District of Maine (the modern-day State of Maine). The plural districts were concurrent tickets rather than a single general ticket, though the and districts appeared to have also had a general ticket alongside the more specific tickets. As before, a majority was required for election, in those districts where a majority was not achieved, additional ballots were required. New Hampshire. New Hampshire increased from 3 seats to 4 seats after the 1790 census. New Jersey. Following the 1790 census, New Jersey's apportionment increased from 4 to 5 seats. New York. Due to  re-apportionment following the 1790 census, New York's congressional delegation grew from 6 to 10. Three incumbents ran for re-election, two of whom won, and the other three incumbents retired. With the increase following re-apportionment, this left seven open seats. North Carolina. Following the 1790 census, North Carolina's apportionment increased from 5 to 10 seats. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania switched from using districts to electing its representatives on an at-large basis for the 3rd Congress, just as it had done for the 1st Congress. This would be the last time that Pennsylvania would elect all of its  Representatives at-large. Due to re-apportionment following the 1790 census, Pennsylvania's delegation increased from 8 representatives to 13. Rhode Island. Rhode Island gained a second representative from the results of the 1790 census. Rhode Island did not divide itself into districts, but elected two at-large representatives. South Carolina. South Carolina gained one representative as a result of the 1790 census, increasing from 5 to 6. Vermont. Vermont had no apportionment in the House of Representatives before 1790 census because it was not admitted to the Union until 1791. Vermont's election laws at the time required a  majority to win election to the House of Representatives. If no candidate won a majority, a runoff election was held, which happened in the . Virginia. Virginia gained nine representatives from the 1790 census, and in addition, the old was lost after its territory became the new State of Kentucky. There were, therefore, ten new districts created for the 3rd Congress.