1842 Iowa Council election

1842 Iowa Council election

←  1841 1842 1843  →
All 13 seats in the Iowa Territory Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Thomas Cox [lower-alpha 1] John D. Elbert [lower-alpha 2] Party Democratic Whig Leader's seat 10th-Jackson County 2nd-Van Buren County Last election 8 5 Seats after 7 6 Seat change 1 1
Democratic hold     Whig hold      Democratic gain     Whig gain
President of the Iowa Territory Council before election Jonathan W. Parker Democratic Elected President of the Iowa Territory Council John D. Elbert [lower-alpha 2] Whig

In the 1842 Iowa Territory Council elections, electors selected councilors to serve in the fifth Iowa Territory Council. All 13 members of the Territory Council were elected. ^{[lower-alpha 3]} Councilors served one-year terms.

The Iowa Territory existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when Iowa was admitted to the Union as a state. At the time, the Iowa Territory had a Legislative Assembly consisting of an upper chamber (i.e., the Territory Council) and a lower chamber (i.e., the Territory House).

Following the previous election in 1841, Democrats held a majority with eight seats to Whigs' five seats.

To claim a majority of seats, the Whigs needed to net two seats from Democrats.

Democrats maintained a majority of seats in the Iowa Territory Council following the 1842 general election with the balance of power shifting to Democrats holding seven seats and Whigs having six seats (a net gain of 1 seat for Whigs). Whig Councilor John D. Elbert was chosen as the President of the fifth Territory Council to succeed Democratic Councilor Jonathan W. Parker in that leadership position. ^{[lower-alpha 2]}

Summary of Results

Iowa Territory Council District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Councilor	Party		Outcome
1st [lower-alpha 4]	Jesse B. Browne		Whig	Robert M. G. Patterson		Whig	Whig Hold
	Edward Johnstone		Dem	William Patterson		Dem	Dem Hold
2nd [lower-alpha 5]	Gideon Smith Bailey		Dem	John D. Elbert [lower-alpha 2]		Whig	Whig Gain
	James Hall		Dem	James H. Jenkins		Dem	Dem Hold
3rd [lower-alpha 6]	Shepherd Leffler		Dem	Shepherd Leffler		Dem	Dem Hold
4th [lower-alpha 7]	William Henson Wallace		Whig	William Henson Wallace		Whig	Whig Hold
5th [lower-alpha 8]	William Greyer Coop		Dem	Joseph B. Teas		Dem	Dem Hold
6th [lower-alpha 9]	Francis Springer		Whig	Francis Springer		Whig	Whig Hold
7th [lower-alpha 10]	Serranus Clinton Hastings		Dem	Pleasant Harris		Dem	Dem Hold
8th [lower-alpha 11]	George Greene		Dem	John Parsons Cook		Whig	Whig Gain
9th [lower-alpha 12]	Jonathan W. Parker		Dem	Robert Christie		Whig	Whig Gain
10th [lower-alpha 13]	Mortimer Phillips Bainbridge		Whig	Thomas Cox [lower-alpha 1]		Dem	Dem Gain
	Joseph S. Kirkpatrick		Whig	Francis Gehon		Dem	Dem Gain

Source: ^[4]

1. Councilor Cox of Jackson County. ^[1]
2. Councilor Elbert of Van Buren County was chosen to be the President of the fifth Iowa Territory Council. ^[2]
3. At the time, the Iowa Territory Council had several multi-member districts. ^[3]
4. The 1st was a 2-member district.
5. The 2nd was a 2-member district.
6. The 3rd was a 1-member district.
7. The 4th was a 1-member district.
8. The 5th was a 1-member district.
9. The 6th was a 1-member district.
10. The 7th was a 1-member district.
11. The 8th was a 1-member district.
12. The 9th was a 1-member district.
13. The 10th was a 2-member district.

Detailed Results

• NOTE: The Iowa General Assembly does not contain detailed vote totals for Territory Council elections in 1842.

See also

• Elections in Iowa

External links

District boundaries for the Iowa Territory Council in 1842:

• Iowa Territory Council Districts 1840-1844 map

References

1. "Councilor Thomas Cox". Iowa Legislature . Retrieved July 15, 2021.
2. "Councilor John D. Elbert". Iowa Legislature . Retrieved July 15, 2021.
3. "Legislative Assembly: 4 (12/06/1841 - 12/04/1842)". Iowa Legislature . Retrieved July 15, 2021.
4. "Legislators". Iowa State Senate . Retrieved July 15, 2021.