1845 Iowa Council election
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All 13 seats in the Iowa Territory Council 7 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Iowa |
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In the 1845 Iowa Territory Council elections, electors selected councilors to serve in the eighth and final Iowa Territory Council before Iowa attained statehood in 1846.[a] All 13 members of the Territory Council were elected.[b] Councilors served until the organization of the Iowa General Assembly in 1846 as the legislative branch of the new state of Iowa.
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 of Representatives). Since statehood in 1846, the General Assembly has served as the legislative branch of Iowa. The Territory Council was the predecessor to the Iowa State Senate, the upper chamber of the Iowa state legislature.
Following the previous election in 1844, Democrats held a majority with 11 seats to Whigs' two seats.
To claim a majority of seats, the Whigs needed to net five seats from Democrats.
The Democrats maintained a majority of seats in the Council following the 1845 general election with the balance of power remaining unchanged with Democrats holding 11 seats and Whigs having two seats. Democratic Councilor Stephen P. Hempstead was chosen as the President of the eighth Territory Council to succeed Democratic Councilor Serranus Clinton Hastings in that leadership position.
Summary of results
[edit]Source:[3]
- ^ a b On December 28, 1846, Iowa was granted statehood as the twenty-ninth state in the Union. The 1845 Iowa Territory Council general election was the last held for seats in the Territorial Council. Starting in 1846, the legislative branch of the new state of Iowa would be the Iowa General Assembly, organized with the Iowa Senate as the upper chamber and Iowa House of Representatives as the lower chamber. The Territory Council with its councilors served as the precursor of the Iowa State Senate and its senators. Therefore, the 1846 Iowa Senate election determined the Senators to serve in the first Iowa General Assembly.[1]
- ^ At the time, the Iowa Territory Council had several multi-member districts.[2]
- ^ The 1st was a 2-member district.
- ^ The 2nd was a 2-member district.
- ^ The 3rd was a 1-member district.
- ^ The 4th was a 1-member district.
- ^ The 5th was a 1-member district.
- ^ The 6th was a 1-member district.
- ^ The 7th was a 1-member district.
- ^ The 8th was a 1-member district.
- ^ The 9th was a 1-member district.
- ^ The 10th was a 2-member district.
Detailed results
[edit]- NOTE: The Iowa General Assembly does not contain detailed vote totals for Territory Council elections in 1845.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "The Iowa General Assembly: Our Legislative Heritage 1846 - 1980" (PDF). Iowa General Assembly. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- ^ "Legislative Assembly: 8 (12/01/1845 - 11/29/1846)". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- ^ "Legislators". Iowa State Senate. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
External links
[edit]District boundaries for the Iowa Territory Council in 1845: