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[]
This list is incomplete; you can help by . (August 2008) |
Member-elect | Party | District | Election date | Congress | Reason for non-seating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Benjamin West | Pro-Administration | NH-AL | December 15, 1788 and February 2, 1789 | 1st | Declined to serve. |
Pierpont Edwards | Pro-Administration | CT-AL | September 20, 1790 | 1st | Declined to serve. |
James Townsend | Federalist | NY-1 | April 27, 1790 to April 29, 1790 | 2nd | Died on May 24, 1790. |
Stephen M. Mitchell | Pro-Administration | CT-AL | September 17, 1792 | 3rd | Elected, but resigned as he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1793. |
Jonathan Ingersoll | Pro-Administration | CT-AL | September 16, 1793 | 3rd | Declined to serve. |
Thomas Tillotson | Democratic-Republican | NY-5 | April 29, 1800 to May 1, 1800 | 7th | Resigned on August 10, 1801, to become Secretary of State of New York. |
John Cantine | Democratic-Republican | NY-7 | April 27, 1802 to April 29, 1802 | 8th | Elected, but declined to take office. |
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, 1812 to December 17, 1812 | 13th | Died on February 18, 1813. |
Daniel Appleton White | Federalist | MA-3 | November 7, 1814 | 14th | Declined to serve, to become Judge of Probate for Essex County. |
Henry B. Lee | Democratic-Republican | NY-4 | April 23, 1816 to April 25, 1816 | 15th | Died on February 18, 1817. |
Francis Gehon | Democratic | Iowa Territory | 1839 | 26th | William W. Chapman's term was extended to October 1840, invalidating Gehon's election.[1] |
Washington Poe | Whig | GA-3 | November 5, 1844 | 29th | Resigned before taking office.[2] |
Lyman Trumbull | Democratic | IL-8 | November 7, 1854 | 34th | He was elected to the U.S. Senate prior to the first session. |
Thomas Child Jr. | Whig | NY-7 | November 7, 1854 | 34th | Elected, but never took his seat due to illness. |
John Willis Menard | Republican | LA-02 | November 3, 1868 | 40th | Elected, but denied his seat due to election contest.[3] |
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 before taking office. |
P. B. S. Pinchback | Republican | LA-AL | November 5, 1872 | 43rd | Elected, but denied his seat due to election contest.[4] |
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. |
James Reed Hallowell | Republican | KS-AL | November 5, 1878 | 46th | Congress refused to seat him because Kansas was not entitled to a fourth representative. |
Andrew S. Herron | Democratic | LA-4 | November 7, 1882 | 48th | Died on November 27, 1882. |
Andrew J. Campbell | Republican | NY-10 | November 5, 1894 | 54th | Died on December 6, 1894.[5] |
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 M. 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 in a car crash on November 20, 1920. |
Samuel Marx | Democratic | NY-19 | November 7, 1922 | 68th | Died on November 30, 1922.[6] |
Matthew Vincent O'Malley | Democratic | NY-7 | February 17, 1931 | 72nd | Died on May 26, 1931, having never taken the oath of office. |
Jack Swigert | Republican | CO-6 | November 2, 1982 | 98th | Died on December 27, 1982.[7] |
Luke Letlow | Republican | LA-5 | December 5, 2020 | 117th | Died on December 29, 2020 of a heart attack after complications from COVID-19.[8] |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ On the last day of the 25th Congress, Chapman's term, which began in September 1838, was extended past its expected expiration on March 4, 1839. The next term was to commence after Chapman's and expire at the end of the 26th Congress, with terms lasting for the regular term of a Congress thereafter.
- ^ The Macon Telegraph and Register
- ^ Rowell, Chester Harvey (1901). A Historical and Legal Digest of all the Contested Election Cases in the House of Representatives of the United States from the First to the Fifty-sixth Congress, 1789-1901. United States. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration. Subcommittee on Elections. pp. 226–228. ISBN 9785880686292.
- ^ Rowell, Chester Harvey (1901). A Historical and Legal Digest of all the Contested Election Cases in the House of Representatives of the United States from the First to the Fifty-sixth Congress, 1789-1901. United States. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration. Subcommittee on Elections. pp. 293–297. ISBN 9785880686292.
- ^ "DEATH OF ANDREW J. CAMPBELL; The Congressman-elect Dies of Bright's Disease After a Short Illness - His Career in Politics". The New York Times. December 7, 1894.
- ^ "SAMUEL MARX DIES, CONGRESSMAN-ELECT; Tammany Leader and Prominent Auctioneer a Victim of Heart Disease After a Brief Illness". The New York Times. December 1, 1922.
- ^ "Ex-Astronaut, Newly Elected to House, Dies". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. Associated Press. December 29, 1982. p. 12D – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hilburn, Greg (December 29, 2020). "Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies with COVID". The News Star. Monroe, Louisiana.
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