1845 Iowa Council election

1845 Iowa Council election

1845
All 13 seats in the Iowa Territory Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Whig Last election 11 2 Seats after 11 2 Seat change
President of the Iowa Territory Council before election Serranus Clinton Hastings Democratic Elected President of the Iowa Territory Council Stephen Hempstead Democratic

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. All 13 members of the Territory Council were elected. 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

Iowa Territory Council District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Councilor	Party		Outcome
1st	James Brierly		Dem	James Brierly		Dem	Dem Hold
	John Thompson		Dem	John Thompson		Dem	Dem Hold
2nd	Paul Brattain		Dem	Paul Brattain		Dem	Dem Hold
	Henry M. Shelby		Dem	Henry M. Shelby		Dem	Dem Hold
3rd	Shepherd Leffler		Dem	Shepherd Leffler		Dem	Dem Hold
4th	John Stephenson		Whig	John Stephenson		Whig	Whig Hold
5th	William Greyer Coop		Dem	William Greyer Coop		Dem	Dem Hold
6th	Enoch Ross		Whig	Enoch Ross		Whig	Whig Hold
7th	Serranus Clinton Hastings		Dem	Serranus Clinton Hastings		Dem	Dem Hold
8th	William Abbe		Dem	William Abbe		Dem	Dem Hold
9th	Laurel Summers		Dem	Laurel Summers		Dem	Dem Hold
10th	Philip Burr Bradley		Dem	Philip Burr Bradley		Dem	Dem Hold
	Stephen Hempstead		Dem	Stephen Hempstead		Dem	Dem Hold

Source:

Detailed results

• NOTE: The Iowa General Assembly does not contain detailed vote totals for Territory Council elections in 1845.

See also

• Elections in Iowa

External links

District boundaries for the Iowa Territory Council in 1845:

• Iowa Territory Council Districts 1845-1846 map