California's at-large congressional district

After statehood was achieved September 9, 1850 until 1865, California elected its representatives statewide at-large — two representatives from September 11, 1850 to 1861, and 3 representatives from 1861 to 1865.

Also, from 1883 to 1885, California elected two of its six representatives to the United States House of Representatives state-wide at-large.

List of representatives

Years	Representative	Party	Electoral history	Representative	Party	Electoral history	Representative	Party	Electoral history
Years	Member at-large			Member at-large			Member at-large
September 11, 1850 – March 3, 1851	George Wright	Independent		Edward Gilbert	Democratic
March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	Edward C. Marshall	Democratic		Joseph W. McCorkle	Democratic
March 3, 1853 – March 3, 1855	Milton S. Latham	Democratic		James A. McDougall	Democratic
March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	James W. Denver	Democratic	Retired	Philemon T. Herbert	Democratic	Retired after manslaughter acquittal
March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859	Joseph C. McKibbin	Democratic		Charles L. Scott	Democratic
March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	John C. Burch	Democratic		Charles L. Scott	Democratic
March 4, 1861 – June 3, 1862	Timothy Phelps	Republican		Aaron A. Sargent	Republican		Vacant
June 3, 1862 – March 3, 1863	Timothy Phelps	Republican		Aaron A. Sargent	Republican		Frederick F. Low	Republican	The House did not permit Low to take his seat, subsequently quaified under special act of Congress
March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	Cornelius Cole	Republican	Seat replaced by districts	William Higby	Republican	Redistricted to 2nd district, Seat replaced by districts	Thomas B. Shannon	Republican	Seat replaced by districts
March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1883	Seat eliminated			Seat eliminated			Seat eliminated
March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	John R. Glascock	Democratic	Lost re-election to a redistricted seat	Charles A. Sumner	Democratic	Lost re-election to a redistricted seat
March 4, 1885	Seat eliminated			Seat eliminated

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Election results

Elections in California

Federal government

Presidential elections
1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
Primary elections
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United States Senate elections
1950 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1992 (special) 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012
Congressional elections
At-Large (1849-1863) 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 12^th (1946) 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 11^th (2006) 2008 2010 2012 2014
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5^th (2005) 48^th (2005) 36^th (2007) 12^th (2008) 10^th (2009) 32^nd (2009) 36^th (2011)

State government (executive)

Gubernatorial elections
1861 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2003 (recall) 2006 2010 2014
Lieutenant governor elections
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
Secretary of State elections
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Controller elections
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
Treasurer elections
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
Attorney General elections
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
Insurance Commissioner elections
1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
SPI elections
1994 1998 2002 2006

State government (legislative)

State Senate elections
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Special
State Assembly elections
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Special

State government (judicial)

Court of Appeals elections
1994 1998 2002 2006

Propositions

1910-1919
1911 4 7 8
1960-1969
1964 14
1970-1979
1972 11 17 1978 8 13 Briggs Initiative
1980-1989
1982 8 1986 64 65 1988 98 99
1990-1999
1996 196 209 215 218 1998 6 10 227
2000-2009
2000 21 22 36 39 2003 53 54 2004 1A 55 56 57 58 59 60 60A 61 62 63 64 65 66 69 71 2005 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 2006 81 82 83 85 87 89 90 2008 91 92 93 94, 95, 96, and 97 98 and 99 1A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2009 13 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F
2010-2019
2010 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2012 29 30 32 34 37 38 39
Full list

Elections by year

State elections
Nov 1992 Nov 1994 Nov 1996 Nov 1998 Nov 2000 Nov 2002 Nov 2004 Nov 2005 Nov 2006 Feb 2008 Jun 2008 Nov 2008 May 2009 Jun 2010 Nov 2010 Jun 2012 Nov 2012

Los Angeles

Mayoral elections
1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1909 (M) 1909 (N) 1911 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1929 1933 1937 1938 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013
General elections
2009 2011 2013
City Attorney elections
2009

San Diego

Mayoral elections
2004 2005 2008 2012
City Council elections
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

San Francisco

Mayoral elections
1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011
Board of Supervisors elections
1977 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
General elections
Mar 2004 Nov 2004 Nov 2005 Jun 2006 Nov 2006 Nov 2007 Feb 2008 Jun 2008 Nov 2008 Nov 2009 Jun 2010 Nov 2010 Nov 2011 Jun 2012 Nov 2012

In these elections, the top two vote-getters (three from 1861 to 1863) were elected to the House.

1849

The election was held November 13, 1849.

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1849
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Independent	20,481	79.44%	1	+1
	Democratic	5,300	20.56%	1	+1
Totals		25,781	100.00%	2	—

California's at-large congressional district election, 1849
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Independent	George Washington Wright	5,451	22.0%
	Democratic	Edward Gilbert	5,300	20.6%
	Independent	Rodman M. Price	4,040	16.3%
	Independent	Lewis Dent	2,129	8.3%
	Independent	P. A. Morse	2,066	8.2%
	Independent	E. J. C. Kewen	1,826	7.3%
	Independent	William M. Shepard	1,773	7.2%
	Independent	William E. Shannon	1,327	5.4%
	Independent	Peter O. Halstead	1,271	2.4%
	Independent	L. W. Hastings	215	0.9%
	Independent	Pierson B. Reading	167	0.7%
	Independent	W. H. Russell	96	0.4%
	Independent	J. S. Thompson	72	0.3%
	Independent	Kimball H. Dimmick	48	0.2%
Totals			25,781	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1851

The 1851 election was held October 7, 1851.

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1851
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	48,784	53.92%	2	+1
	Whig	41,684	46.08%	0	0
	Independent	0	0.00%	0	–1
Totals		90,468	100.00%	2	—

California's at-large congressional district election, 1851
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Edward C. Marshall	24,469	27.0%
	Democratic	Joseph McCorkle	24,315	26.9%
	Whig	E. J. Kewen	21,460	23.7%
	Whig	B. J. Moore	20,224	22.4%
Totals			90,468	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1852

The election was held November 2, 1852.

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1852
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	79,268	53.38%	2	0
	Whig	69,232	46.62%	0	0
Totals		148,500	100.00%	2	—

California's at-large congressional district election, 1852
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Milton S. Latham	39,881	26.9%
	Democratic	James A. McDougall	39,387	26.5%
	Whig	P. L. Edwards	34,933	23.5%
	Whig	G. B. Tingley	34,299	23.1%
Totals			148,500	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1854

The election was held September 6, 1854.

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1854
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats
	Democratic	95,178	58.0%	2
	Whig	69,152	42.0%	0
Totals		164,330	100.0%	2

California's at-large congressional district election, 1854
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	James W. Denver	36,819	22.4%
	Democratic	Philemon T. Herbert	36,542	22.4%
	Whig	G. W. Bowie	34,741	21.1%
	Whig	Cal Bonham	34,411	20.9%
	Democratic	J. Churchman	10,006	6.1%
	Democratic	James A. McDougall (incumbent)	9,968	6.1%
	Democratic	Milton S. Latham (incumbent)	1,843	1.1%
Totals			164,330	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1856

The election was held November 4, 1856.

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1856
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats
	Democratic	101,708	47.0%	2
	Know-Nothing	71,403	33.0%	0
	Republican	43,139	20.0%	0
Totals		216,250	100.0%	2

California's at-large congressional district election, 1856
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Joseph C. McKibbin	50,895	23.5%
	Democratic	Charles L. Scott	50,813	23.5%
	Know-Nothing	B. C. Whitman	36,078	16.7%
	Know-Nothing	A. B. Dibble	35,325	16.3%
	Republican	L. P. Rankin	21,975	10.2%
	Republican	J. D. Turner	21,164	9.8%
Totals			216,250	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1859

The election was held September 7, 1859.

United States House of Representatives elections in California,
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats
	Democratic	161,106	79.4%	2
	Republican	41,739	20.6%	0
Totals		202,845	100.0%	2

California's at-large congressional district election, 1859
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	John C. Burch	57,665	28.4%
	Democratic	Charles L. Scott	56,998	28.1%
	Democratic	Joseph C. McKibbin (incumbent)	43,474	21.4%
	Republican	Edward D. Baker	41,438	20.4%
	Democratic	S. A. Booker	2,969	1.5%
	Republican	P. H. Sibley	301	0.1%
Totals			202,845	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1861

The election was held September 4, 1861.

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1861
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	180,719	56.1%	0	-2
	Republican	141,402	43.9%	3	+3
Totals		322,121	100.0%	3	—

California's at-large congressional district election, 1861
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Timothy Guy Phelps	51,651	21.8%
	Republican	W. L. Dudley	50,692	21.4%
	Democratic	H. Edgerton	35,449	15.0%
	Democratic	Joseph C. McKibbin	35,401	15.0%
	Democratic	D. O. Shattuck	31,712	13.4%
	Democratic	H. P. Barbers	31,591	13.4%
Totals			236,496	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

California's at-large congressional election for seat added by reapportionment, 1861
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Frederick F. Low	39,059	45.6%
	Democratic	F. Gunhal	24,036	28.1%
	Democratic	J. R. Gitchell	22,530	26.3%
Totals			85,625	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1863

The election was held September 2, 1863.

United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1863
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats
	Republican	194,882	69.1%	0
	Democratic	87,087	30.9%	0
Totals		281,969	100.0%	3

California's at-large congressional district election, 1863
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Cornelius Cole	65,085	23.1%
	Republican	Thomas B. Shannon	64,914	23.0%
	Republican	William Higby	64,883	23.0%
	Democratic	John B. Weller	43,567	15.5%
	Democratic	John Bigler	43,520	15.4%
Totals			281,969	100.0%
Voter turnout			=%

1882

California elected two at-large representatives in addition to its four representatives in districts in 1882. For these results see United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1882.

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References

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
California Elections Page 1849
California Elections Page 1850
California Elections Page 1852
California Elections Page 1854
California Elections Page 1856
California Elections Page 1858
California Elections Page 1861
California Elections Page 1862

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Sources

Dubin, Michael J. (1998). United States Congressional elections, 1788-1997 : the official results of the elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1998.

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External links

California's congressional districts

All districts: At-large; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53

The At-large seats only existed from 1850 to 1865 and from 1883 to 1885.

See also: California's past and present Representatives, Senators, and Delegations; 2010 elections; 2012 elections; 2014 elections

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