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List of members-elect of the United States House of Representatives who never took their seats

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Some people who were elected to the United States House of Representatives died before taking their seats. In other cases, they failed to qualify; were rejected by the House; their credentials were successfully challenged; or they were somehow otherwise unable to become members.

This list only includes people who never served in the House. Re-elected incumbents are not included.

List

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Member-elect Party District Election date Congress Reason for non-seating
Benjamin West Pro-Administration NH-AL February 2, 1789 1st Declined to serve.
James Townsend Pro-Administration NY-1 April 27–29, 1790 2nd Died on May 24, 1790.
Pierpont Edwards Pro-Administration CT-AL September 20, 1790 1st Declined to serve.
Stephen M. Mitchell Pro-Administration CT-AL September 17, 1792 3rd Resigned (elected to the U.S. Senate).
Jonathan Ingersoll Pro-Administration CT-AL September 16, 1793 3rd Declined to serve.
James Morris Democratic-Republican PA-4 October 14, 1794 4th Died on July 10, 1795.
Thomas Tillotson Democratic-Republican NY-5 April 29–May 1, 1800 7th Resigned on August 10, 1801 (appointed Secretary of State of New York).
John Cantine Democratic-Republican NY-7 April 27–29, 1802 8th Declined to serve.
Phineas Bruce Federalist MA-17 November 1, 1802 8th Never qualified or attended due to illness.
John Simpson Democratic-Republican KY-8 August 3, 1812 13th Died on January 22, 1813.
John S. Edwards Federalist OH-6 October 13, 1812 13th Died on February 22, 1813.
William Dowse Federalist NY-15 December 15–17, 1812 13th Died on February 18, 1813.
John Woods Federalist PA-14 October 11, 1814 14th Never qualified or attended due to illness.
Daniel Appleton White Federalist MA-3 November 7, 1814 14th Resigned (to be Judge of Probate for Essex County).
Henry B. Lee Democratic-Republican NY-4 April 23–25, 1816 15th Died on September 16, 1816.
David Scott Democratic-Republican PA-10 October 8, 1816 15th Resigned (to be judge of the court of common pleas).
Alexander McMillan Federalist NC-7 August 14, 1817 15th Died on November 13, 1817.
James Duncan Democratic-Republican PA-5 October 10, 1820 17th Resigned.
David Ellicott Evans Jacksonian Republican NY-29 November 6–8, 1826 20th Resigned on May 2, 1827.
Francis Jacob Harper Democratic PA-3 October 11, 1836 25th Died on March 18, 1837.
Francis Gehon Democratic IA-AL
Delegate 		August 5, 1839 26th William W. Chapman's term was extended to October 1840,
invalidating Gehon's election.[1]
Washington Poe Whig GA-3 November 5, 1844 29th Resigned.[2]
David Levy Yulee Democratic FL-AL May 26, 1845 29th Resigned (elected to the U.S. Senate).
Lyman Trumbull Democratic IL-8 November 7, 1854 34th Resigned (elected to the U.S. Senate).
Thomas Child Jr. Whig NY-7 November 7, 1854 34th Never qualified or attended due to illness.
Daniel D. Pratt Republican IN-8 October 13, 1868 41st Resigned on January 27, 1869 (elected to the U.S. Senate).
Ambrose R. Wright Democratic GA-8 November 5, 1872 43rd Died on December 21, 1872.
Samuel Peters Republican LA-4 November 5, 1872 43rd Died on October 1, 1873.
John W. Head Democratic TN-4 November 3, 1874 44th Died on November 9, 1874.
Garnett McMillan Democratic GA-9 November 3, 1874 44th Died on January 14, 1875.
Augustus F. Allen Democratic NY-33 November 3, 1874 44th Died on January 22, 1875.
Alexander Smith Republican NY-12 November 5, 1878 46th Died on November 5, 1878.
Andrew S. Herron Democratic LA-4 November 7, 1882 48th Died on November 27, 1882.
John Clayton Republican AR-2 November 6, 1888 51st Assassinated on January 29, 1889.
Andrew J. Campbell Republican NY-10 November 5, 1894 54th Died on December 6, 1894.[3]
Richard P. Giles Democratic MO-1 November 3, 1896 55th Died on November 17, 1896.
James J. Davidson Republican PA-25 November 3, 1896 55th Died on January 2, 1897.
B. H. Roberts Democratic UT-AL November 8, 1898 56th Congress refused to seat him because he was a bigamist.
William Brown Republican PA-24 November 3, 1914 64th Died on January 31, 1915.
Charles F. Van de Water Republican CA-9 November 2, 1920 67th Died on November 20, 1920.
Samuel Marx Democratic NY-19 November 7, 1922 68th Died on November 30, 1922.[4]
Matthew Vincent O'Malley Democratic NY-7 February 17, 1931 72nd Died on May 26, 1931.
Jack Swigert Republican CO-6 November 2, 1982 98th Died on December 27, 1982.[5]
Luke Letlow Republican LA-5 December 5, 2020 117th Died on December 29, 2020.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ On the last day of the 25th Congress, Chapman's term, which began in September 1838, was extended past its expected expiration on March 4, 1839. The next term was to commence after Chapman's and expire at the end of the 26th Congress, with terms lasting for the regular term of a Congress thereafter.
  2. ^ The Macon Telegraph and Register
  3. ^ "DEATH OF ANDREW J. CAMPBELL; The Congressman-elect Dies of Bright's Disease After a Short Illness - His Career in Politics". The New York Times. December 7, 1894.
  4. ^ "SAMUEL MARX DIES, CONGRESSMAN-ELECT; Tammany Leader and Prominent Auctioneer a Victim of Heart Disease After a Brief Illness". The New York Times. December 1, 1922.
  5. ^ "Ex-Astronaut, Newly Elected to House, Dies". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. Associated Press. December 29, 1982. p. 12D – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Hilburn, Greg (December 29, 2020). "Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies with COVID". The News Star. Monroe, Louisiana.
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