1843 Iowa Council election

1843 Iowa Council election

1843
All 13 seats in the Iowa Territory Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Thomas Cox John D. Elbert Party Democratic Whig Leader's seat 10th-Jackson County 2nd-Van Buren County Last election 7 6 Seats after 6 6 Seat change 1
Democratic hold      Whig hold
President of the Iowa Territory Council before election John D. Elbert Whig Elected President of the Iowa Territory Council Thomas Cox Democratic

In the 1843 Iowa Territory Council elections, electors selected councilors to serve in the sixth Iowa Territory Council. All 13 members of the Territory Council were elected. 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 1842, Democrats held a majority with seven seats to Whigs' six seats.

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

Democrats maintained a majority of seats in the Iowa Territory Council following the 1843 general election with the balance of power remaining unchanged with Democrats holding seven seats and Whigs having six seats. Democratic Councilor Thomas Cox was chosen as the President of the sixth Territory Council to succeed Whig Councilor John D. Elbert in that leadership position.

However, during the session, Democratic Councilor Thomas Cox died on November 9, 1844, causing a vacancy. Following Cox's death, Democrats and Whigs were tied with six seats each.

Summary of Results

Iowa Territory Council District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Councilor	Party		Outcome
1st	Robert M. G. Patterson		Whig	Robert M. G. Patterson		Whig	Whig Hold
	William Patterson		Dem	William Patterson		Dem	Dem Hold
2nd	John D. Elbert		Whig	John D. Elbert		Whig	Whig Hold
	James H. Jenkins		Dem	James H. Jenkins		Dem	Dem Hold
3rd	Shepherd Leffler		Dem	Shepherd Leffler		Dem	Dem Hold
4th	William Henson Wallace		Whig	William Henson Wallace		Whig	Whig Hold
5th	Joseph B. Teas		Dem	Joseph B. Teas		Dem	Dem Hold
6th	Francis Springer		Whig	Francis Springer		Whig	Whig Hold
7th	Pleasant Harris		Dem	Pleasant Harris		Dem	Dem Hold
8th	John Parsons Cook		Whig	John Parsons Cook		Whig	Whig Hold
9th	Robert Christie		Whig	Robert Christie		Whig	Whig Hold
10th	Thomas Cox		Dem	Thomas Cox		Dem	Dem Hold
				Vacancy after Cox's death
	Francis Gehon		Dem	Francis Gehon		Dem	Dem Hold

Source:

Detailed Results

• NOTE: The Iowa General Assembly does not contain detailed vote totals for Territory Council elections in 1843.

See also

• Elections in Iowa

External links

District boundaries for the Iowa Territory Council in 1843:

• Iowa Territory Council Districts 1840-1844 map