United States congressional delegations from Michigan

This is a complete listing of all historical congressional delegations from Michigan to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.

United States Senate

Notes

The following notes are not in chronological order.

* In 1962, Neil Staebler was elected as an at-large candidate after the 1960 census indicated Michigan would gain a seat in the House of Representatives, but the districts had not been redrawn and District 19 had not been created at the time of the election.
* Gerald Ford resigned December 6, 1973, to become Vice President under Richard Nixon; Richard Vander Veen was elected to fill the vacancy in a special election in February 1974.
* Donald W. Riegle, Jr. elected as a Republican and switched to Democratic Party in 1973. Resigned December 30, 1976 after being elected to the U.S. Senate; a replacement was not selected as the resignation came at the end of his term.
* James Harvey resigned on January 31, 1974 after being appointed by President Richard Nixon as a United States District Court judge for the Eastern District of Michigan; Jerome Traxler was elected to fill vacancy, April 23, 1974
* Charles Coles Diggs, Jr., resigned June 3, 1980; George W. Crockett, Jr., was simultaneously elected November 4, 1980 in a special election to fill the remainder of Diggs' term in the 96th Congress and to the 97th Congress.
* Dave Stockman resigned on January 27, 1981, after being elected to the 97th Congress; Mark D. Siljander was elected in a special election to fill the vacancy and assumed office on April 21, 1981.
* Robert P. Griffin resigned on May 10, 1966, to be appointed the following day to the United States Senate to fill vacancy caused by the death of Patrick V. McNamara; Guy Vander Jagt was elected simultaneously in a special election November 8, 1966, to fill the unexpired term in the 89th and for a full term in the 90th Congress.
* Thaddeus M. Machrowicz resigned September 18, 1961, having been appointed a judge of the United States District Court for the eastern district of Michigan; Lucien N. Nedzi was elected by special election, to fill the vacancy, assuming office on November 7, 1961.
* Louis C. Rabaut died November 12, 1961; Harold M. Ryan was elected by special election to fill the vacancy, assuming office on February 13, 1962.
* Paul B. Henry died on July 31, 1993; Vernon J. Ehlers was elected in a special election to fill the vacancy, assuming office on December 7, 1993.
* John D. Dingell, Sr., died September 19, 1955; John D. Dingell, Jr., was elected by special election to fill the vacancy, assuming office on December 13, 1955.
* Paul W. Shafer died August 17, 1954. No replacement was elected to fill the vacancy.
* Charles E. Potter resigned November 4, 1952, to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate caused by the death of Arthur H. Vandenberg. No replacement was elected to fill the vacancy.
* John Lesinski, Sr., died May 27, 1950. No replacement was elected to fill the vacancy, although his son John Lesinski, Jr., was elected in the next general election.
* Fred Bradley died May 24, 1947. Charles E. Potter was elected August 26, 1947 to fill the vacancy.
* Carl E. Mapes died December 12, 1939; Bartel J. Jonkman was elected by special election to fill the vacancy, assuming office on February 19, 1940.
* Henry M. Kimball died October 19, 1935; Verner Main was elected to fill the vacancy, assuming office on December 17, 1935.
* Prentiss M. Brown resigned November 18, 1936; he had been elected on November 3, 1936, to the United States Senate for a full term beginning January 3, 1937, but was subsequently appointed to the Senate to fill the vacancy for the term ending January 3, 1937, caused by the death of James J. Couzens. No replacement was elected to fill the vacancy in the House due Brown's resignation.
* Joseph L. Hooper died February 22, 1934; the vacancy was not filled.
* Bird J. Vincent died July 18, 1931; Michael J. Hart was elected to fill the vacancy November 3, 1931.
* James C. McLaughlin died November 29, 1932; the vacancy was not filled.
* William H. Frankhauser died May 9, 1921; John M. C. Smith was elected June 28, 1921, to fill the vacancy.
* John M. C. Smith died March 23, 1923; Arthur B. Williams elected June 19, 1923, to fill the vacancy.
* Arthur B. Williams died May 1, 1925; Joseph L. Hooper was elected August 18, 1925, to fill vacancy.
* Charles A. Nichols died April 26, 1920; Clarence J. McLeod was elected to fill the vacancy November 2, 1920.
* In the election of November 7, 1916, official returns showed Mark R. Bacon had won by 49 votes. Although there was no provision in state law at that time for recounting ballots in the election of federal officials, a separate examination of votes in Jackson County revealed that Samuel W. Beakes was entitled to 87 more votes. However, the board of state canvassers and the Michigan Supreme Court refused to allow a recount. Finally, the U.S. House Committee on Elections decided to conduct a recount, which gave Beakes the victory by 132 votes. The committee unanimously reported resolutions to the full House stating that Bacon had not been elected to the seat and was not entitled to it, and that, in fact, Beakes was the elected representative of the district. The House seated Beakes on December 13, 1917.
* Patrick H. Kelley was elected congressman at-large. Michigan gained one seat due to reapportionment following the 1910 Census, but Michigan did not redraw its congressional districts until 1913.
* H. Olin Young presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Sixty-third Congress and served from March 4, 1913, until his resignation, effective May 16, 1913, while a contest for the seat was pending. Due to a mistake in how the name of William Josiah MacDonald appeared on the ballot in Ontonagon County, some votes were not included in the official count by the state board of canvassers, even though their inclusion in unofficial returns showed MacDonald had won. Subsequently, the House Committee on Elections unanimously reported a resolution to the full house awarding the 12th District seat to MacDonald, who took the oath of office August 26, 1913.
* William Alden Smith was elected to the U.S. Senate on February 6, 1907 to fill the vacancy in the term ending March 3, 1907, caused by the death of Russell A. Alger; Gerrit J. Diekema was elected April 27, 1907, to fill the vacancy in the House.
* Rousseau O. Crump died May 1, 1901; Henry H. Alpin was elected October 15, 1901, to fill the vacancy.
* In 1896, Albert M. Todd and Ferdinand Brucker were elected on the Democratic Peoples Union Silver ticket, a union of elements from the Democratic Party and Populist Party. They were seated as part of the Democratic Party in Congress.
* Julius C. Burrows was re-elected to the House of Representatives for the 54th Congress in the general election of November 1894. The Michigan Legislature elected Burrows to the U.S. Senate on January 16, 1895 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Francis B. Stockbridge (succeeding John Patton, Jr. who had been appointed as an interim replacement by Michigan Governor John T. Rich); Alfred Milnes was elected in a special election on April 18, 1895, to fill vacancy in the House.
* John L. Chipman died August 17, 1893; Levi T. Griffin was elected November 7, 1893, to fill the vacancy.
* George F. Richardson won the November 8, 1892, general election by a plurality of 10 votes, receiving a certificate of election from the board of state canvassers. The defeated candidate, incumbent Charles E. Belknap, requested a recount in Ionia County, alleging irregularities. The Michigan Supreme Court ordered the recount on February 3, 1893, which subsequently resulted in a plurality of 19 votes for Belknap. The new board of state canvassers then issued a certificate of election to Belknap. The contest was brought to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on August 8, 1893. Following debate on the validity of the contestants’ credentials, the House voted to seat Richardson, referring the matter to the U.S. House Committee on Elections. Following further examination, the committee issued a report upholding Richardson’s claim to the seat.
* Melbourne H. Ford died April 20, 1891; Charles E. Belknap was elected November 3, 1891, to fill the vacancy.
* Byron G. Stout was elected on a Democratic and Union ticket in 1890 to the 52nd Congress.
* A number of candidates were elected as Fusion candidates, but were seated in Congress with the Democratic Party: Justin R. Whiting 1886, 1888, and 1890 (he was elected as a Democrat in 1892); Timothy E. Tarsney in 1884 and 1886; Edwin B. Winans in 1882 and 1884; William C. Maybury in 1882 and 1884; Ezra C. Carleton in 1882 and 1884; George L. Yaple in 1882; Julius Houseman in 1882.
* Seth C. Moffatt died December 22, 1887; Henry W. Seymour was elected to fill the vacancy February 14, 1888.
* Nathaniel B. Eldredge was elected on a Democratic and Union ticket in 1884 to the 49th Congress.
* Omar D. Conger was re-elected to the House in the general election, November 2, 1880. He was subsequently elected by the Michigan State Legislature to the U.S. Senate January 18, 1881; John T. Rich was elected April 4, 1881, to fill the vacancy in the House.
* Alpheus S. Williams died December 28, 1878; the vacancy was not filled.
* Wilder D. Foster died September 20, 1873; William B. Williams was elected November 4, 1873, to fill the vacancy.
* Thomas W. Ferry was re-elected to the House in the general election November 8, 1870; the Michigan Legislature subsequently elected him to U.S. Senate January 18, 1871; Wilder D. Foster was elected April 4, 1871 to fill the vacancy in the House.
* George B. Cooper won the election of November 2, 1858, and was seated by the U.S. House of Representatives. William A. Howard contested the results in the House, alleging voting irregularities in several wards. Following its investigation, the U.S. House Committee on Elections reported that the sitting member, Cooper, was not entitled to his seat and that the contestant Howard was. The House passed resolutions to that effect May 15, 1860, at which time Howard took the oath of office.
* William Sprague was elected on a Free Soil Party ticket and was seated with the Whigs in Congress.
* Edward Bradley was elected November 3, 1846, but died August 5, 1847 in New York City, while en route to Washington, D.C. to take office; Charles E. Stuart was elected November 2, 1847, to fill the vacancy.
* Isaac E. Crary was the first elected U.S. representative from the state of Michigan, elected October 5 and 6, 1835. However, due to Michigan’s dispute with Ohio over the Toledo Strip, Congress refused to accept his credentials until it admitted Michigan to the Union as a state on January 26, 1837.
* Robert H. Clancy was first elected as a Democrat in 1922 and served two years as he was defeated in 1924 by Republican candidate John B. Sosnowski. In 1926, he switched to Republican and defeated Sosnowski in the primary going on to defeat Democratic candidate William M. Donnelly in the general election. He served as a Republican until 1933.
* Rudolph G. Tenerowicz campaigned as a Republican in 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952, and 1954.
* William Woodbridge resigned on August 9, 1820. Solomon Sibley succeeded Woodbridge as Delegate of Michigan Territory.

References

* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MI/ofc/usrep.html The Political Graveyard]
* [http://www.michiganlegislature.org/mileg.asp?page=MM2003-2004&chapter=6 Chapter VI - Michigan's Congressional Delegation] "Michigan Manual 2003–2004"

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