John G. Carlisle Democratic John G. Carlisle Democratic The 1886 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 2, 1886, with three states holding theirs early between June and September.

They occurred in the middle of President Grover Cleveland's first term.

As in many midterm elections, the President's party lost seats to the opposition, in this case, Democrats lost seats to Republicans, although a narrow majority was retained.

Many of these Republican pickups were in the industrializing Midwest states, where the debate over tariffs, which were advocated by Republicans to protect domestic industry but opposed by Democrats to allow for free agricultural trade, led to political change.

The small Labor Party, supported by industrial workers, gained one seat each in Virginia and Wisconsin, while the Greenback Party maintained its one seat in Iowa (James B. Weaver).