# 1842 Midterm Elections [[John Tyler]] administration midterm. Tyler had been expelled from the [[Whig Party]] in September 1841 after vetoing core Whig legislation; he governed without a party. The 1842 election was held under newly-apportioned districts (after the 1840 Census) that reduced House membership from 242 to 223. Democrats made substantial gains. ## Result - **House:** Democrats took majority — gained ~28 seats; ended Whig control (~147 of 223 Democrats vs. ~72 Whigs in the 28th Congress) - **Senate:** Whigs held narrow majority - **Chambers flipped:** House flipped to Democratic control - **Net change:** Major Democratic gains; Whig Party's first major electoral setback ## Notable - First election under the **1842 Apportionment Act** that reduced House seats from 242 to 223 and required single-member districts (ending the at-large multi-member district practice in some states) - Tyler's veto of Whig national-bank-recharter legislation in 1841 had broken his party affiliation; the 1842 election was the political consequence - Texas annexation became the dominant political issue heading into 1844 ## Connections - [[John Tyler]] — Sitting president without party.