1886 United States House of Representatives elections

1886 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1884 June 7, 1886 – November 2, 1886[a] 1888 →
All 325 seats in the United States House of Representatives 163 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader John G. Carlisle Thomas Brackett Reed Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat Kentucky 6th Maine 1st Last election 182 seats 141 seats Seats won 167[1] 152[1] Seat change 15 11 Popular vote 4,126,909 3,858,355 Percentage 48.12% 44.99% Swing 1.93% 2.14%   Third party Fourth party   Party Labor Greenback Last election 0 seats 1 seat Seats won 2[1] 1[1] Seat change 2 Popular vote 92,851 32,358 Percentage 1.08% 0.38% Swing New 0.69%   Fifth party   Party Independent Last election 1 seat[b] Seats won 3[c] Seat change 2 Popular vote 178,314 Percentage 2.08% Swing 1.28%
Results   Democratic gain   Democratic hold   Republican gain   Republican hold   Labor gain   Independent gain   Greenback hold
Speaker before election John G. Carlisle Democratic Elected Speaker John G. Carlisle Democratic

The 1886 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 2, 1886, with three states holding theirs early between June and September. They occurred in the middle of President Grover Cleveland's first term. Elections were held for 325 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 38 states, to serve in the 50th United States Congress. Special elections were also held throughout the year.

As in many midterm elections, the President's party lost seats to the opposition, in this case, Democrats lost seats to Republicans, although a narrow majority was retained. Many of these Republican pickups were in the industrializing Midwest states, where the debate over tariffs, which were advocated by Republicans to protect domestic industry but opposed by Democrats to allow for free agricultural trade, led to political change. The small Labor Party, supported by industrial workers, gained one seat each in Virginia and Wisconsin, while the Greenback Party maintained its one seat in Iowa (James B. Weaver). One Independent was also elected in North Carolina.

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