1845 United States House of Representatives election in Florida

The 1845 United States House of Representatives election in Florida was held on Monday, May 26, 1845, to elect the first United States Representative from the state of Florida, one from the state's single at-large congressional district, to represent Florida in the 29th Congress. The election coincided with the elections of other offices, including the gubernatorial election, the senatorial elections, and various state and local elections.

1845 United States House of Representatives election in Florida

May 26, 1845 1845 (special) →

Nominee David Levy Yulee Benjamin Alexander Putnam Party Democratic Whig Popular vote 3,608 2,373 Percentage 60.32% 39.68%

County Results Yulee   50–59%   60–69%   70–79%   80–89%   90–100% Putnam   60–69%   70–79%

Elected Representative David Levy Yulee Democratic

The winning candidate would have served a less-than-two-year term in the United States House of Representatives from July 1, 1845, to March 4, 1847.

Background

Florida was admitted to the Union as a slave state on March 3, 1845, the last day of the 28th Congress. The state was not represented in that Congress. Florida held its elections on May 26, 1845.

Candidates

Democratic

Nominee

• David Levy Yulee, former delegate for the Florida Territory's at-large congressional district

Whig

Nominee

• Benjamin Alexander Putnam, adjutant general during the Second Seminole War

General election

Results

Florida's at-large congressional district election, 1845

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	David Levy Yulee	3,608	60.32%	N/A
	Whig	Benjamin Alexander Putnam	2,373	39.68%	N/A
Majority			1,235	20.65%	N/A
Turnout			5,981	100.00%

Results by County

County	David Levy Yulee Democratic		Benjamin A. Putnam Whig		Total votes
	#	%	#	%
Alachua	193	67.25%	94	32.75%	287
Benton	73	90.12%	8	9.88%	81
Calhoun	57	85.07%	10	14.93%	67
Columbia	354	72.84%	132	27.16%	486
Dade	60	92.31%	5	7.69%	65
Duval	232	58.88%	162	41.12%	394
Escambia	105	39.33%	162	60.67%	267
Franklin	113	53.55%	98	46.45%	211
Gadsden	264	51.26%	251	48.74%	515
Hamilton	136	80.00%	34	20.00%	170
Hillsborough	88	74.58%	30	25.42%	118
Jackson	162	35.06%	300	64.94%	462
Jefferson	332	81.17%	77	18.83%	409
Leon	301	51.28%	286	48.72%	587
Madison	215	73.13%	79	26.87%	294
Marion	93	55.36%	75	44.64%	168
Monroe	156	68.42%	72	31.58%	228
Nassau	127	82.47%	27	17.53%	154
Orange	29	74.36%	10	25.64%	39
Santa Rosa	35	21.08%	131	78.92%	166
St. Johns	170	57.43%	126	42.57%	296
St. Lucie	16	94.12%	1	5.88%	17
Wakulla	119	70.00%	51	30.00%	170
Walton	101	37.69%	167	62.31%	268
Washington	77	93.90%	5	39.88%	82
Totals	3,608	60.12%	2,393	39.88%	6,001

Aftermath

Because Yulee was jointly elected to both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate and a person cannot hold both offices at the same time, he resigned from the House before taking his seat. A special election was held later in 1845 to elect his replacement, electing Whig Edward Carrington Cabell, though after a recount, Democrat William Henry Brockenbrough was found to be the winner instead.

See also

• 1844 and 1845 United States House of Representatives elections

References

1. "FL At Large - Initial Election Race - May 26, 1845". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
2. Text of the Act admitting Florida
3. "FL At Large - 1845". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
4. Hughes, Jeremiah (July 5, 1845). "Florida - Elections". Niles Register. pp. 381 / PDF 297. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
5. "FL At Large - Special Election Race - Oct 06, 1845". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
6. "FL At Large - Special Election Recount Race - Jan 24, 1846". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 17, 2020.