1864–65 United States House of Representatives elections

1864–65 United States House of Representatives elections

June 5, 1864–
November 7, 1865

All 192 seats in the United States House of Representatives
97 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Schuyler Colfax James Brooks
Party National Union Democratic
Leader's seat Indiana 9th New York 8th
Last election 99 seats, 49.9% 73 seats, 45.1%
Seats won 147 35
Seat change 48 38
Popular vote 2,131,978 1,620,556
Percentage 55.0% 41.8%
Swing 5.1 pp 3.3 pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Conservative Independent
Last election 1 seat, 0.3% 2 seats
Seats won 9 1
Seat change 8 1
Popular vote 88,474 25,631
Percentage 2.2% 0.7%
Swing 1.9 pp 0.6 pp

Results
     National Union gain      National Union hold
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold

Speaker before election

Schuyler Colfax
Republican-Union

Elected Speaker

Schuyler Colfax
National Union

The 1864–65 United States House of Representatives elections were held between June 5, 1864, and November 7, 1865, to elect the 192 members and nine non-voting delegates of the House of Representatives. The National Union Party expanded their existing majority against the backdrop of the American Civil War.

Candidates listed as Republicans and Unionists won 99 seats in congressional elections held in 1862 and 1863; three Union Democrats and the lone Unconditional Union Democrat from Kentucky subsequently crossed the floor to give the Republican-Union coalition a narrow majority during the 38th United States Congress. The wartime coalition of Republicans, War Democrats, and border state unionists became the base for the National Union Party that held its national convention at Baltimore on June 7, 1864. Leading Unionists were pessimistic about their party's prospects during the summer of 1864, but the fall of Atlanta led to a dramatic reversal of fortunes ahead of the fall elections. The Union Party won a "sweeping victory" at the polls, carrying all but three states in the concurrent presidential election.

Unionists significantly improved their showing compared to the last elections, contributing three-quarters of the members of the 39th United States Congress. A majority of the members elected from Indiana and all but two from Ohio were Unionists. In Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, the elections were contested by Radical and Conservative Unionist factions, resulting in 15 Radical or Unconditional Unionists, 9 Conservatives, and 1 Independent Unionist elected to the 39th United States Congress.

Following the Confederate surrender, the former states of the Confederacy held congressional elections in 1865 and 1866, but only the members from Tennessee were seated by the House. The 10 remaining states were eventually readmitted between 1868 and 1870 during the 40th and 41st United States Congresses.