1870 North Carolina's 4th congressional district special election

A special election to the United States House of Representatives for North Carolina's 4th congressional district was held August 4, 1870.

The winning candidate would serve in the United States House of Representatives to represent North Carolina in the 41st Congress until the general election on November 26, 1870.

Background

Incumbent U.S. Representative John T. Deweese resigned his seat on February 28, 1870, before he was censured by the House of Representatives on March 1, 1870, for selling an appointment to the Naval Academy.[1][2] A special election was held to replace his seat.

Candidates

Conservative

Nominee

• Robert B. Gilliam, state representative and speaker of the North Carolina house (Also identified as a Democrat)

Republican

Nominee

• Madison Hawkins, politician who later became the Chief of the US Census Bureau in northeastern NC (1890)

General election

1870 North Carolina's 4th congressional district special election[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert B. Gilliam	14,014	50.83%	+3.02%
	Republican	Madison Hawkins	13,556	49.17%	−3.02%
Majority			458	1.66%	+2.71%
Turnout			27,570	100.00%
	Conservative gain from Republican

Aftermath

Representative-elect Robert B. Gilliam, died before taking office, necessitating the November 26 special election.

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 1866
• United States House of Representatives elections, 1868

References

1. "DEWEESE, John Thomas | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives".
2. "Deweese, John Thomas | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org.
3. "NC - District 04 - Special Election". Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 18, 2021.