James L Wells

U.S. House candidate

Home state: New York
Party: Independent
On the ballot: 1804–1960

Career timeline

1804Rep 1806Rep 1818Rep 1818Rep 1818Rep 1822Rep

1822Rep 1906Rep 1952Rep 1956Rep 1958Rep 1960Rep

0-12

RecordWin–Loss

Total Popular Votes

Wells88,300

Opponents545,408

Elections run

Between 1804 and 1960, James L Wells ran in 12 U.S. House elections, losing all 12. Wells's biggest single-election total was 21,606 votes, in the 1952 U.S. House election in New York's District 22.

Browse every U.S. House race in New York's District 22, every U.S. House race in New York's District 18, or every U.S. House race in New York's District 23.

How many votes has James L Wells received?

James L Wells has received 88,300 popular votes across 12 U.S. elections, with a career record of 0–12.

Election history

James L Wells’s election history
Year	Office	Result	Votes	Opponent(s)
1960	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	17,43814.4%	James Healey (head-to-head) Dominick A Fusco
1958	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	14,39114.23%	James Healey (head-to-head) Alex J Soled
1956	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	15,52411.25%	James Healey (head-to-head) J Merton Rose
1952	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	21,60613.86%	Sidney Fine John C Greene Anita Friedlander
1906	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	17,94329.72%	Joseph Goulden James T Farrelly Richard Bock David Lyle
1822	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	10.03%	Smith Justin Dwinell Baldwin Nehemiah Auntington Gerald Root (head-to-head) Ransom H Gillett James Woods Augustus Donnelly Edward C Baker Gideon Messenger
1822	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	1,38740.45%	Elisha Litchfield
1818	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	10.01%	Silas Wood James Guion (head-to-head) Nathan Sage (head-to-head) John Garrelson James Guyon Dirck Gardenier (head-to-head) Peter Wendover Henry Meigs Bacon (head-to-head) Henry Blackledge Henry Rankin Joseph Kerr
1818	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	30.03%	Freeborn Garretson Henry Meigs Peter Wendover Dirck Gardenier (head-to-head) Andrew Gassner Fernando Wood (head-to-head) Howard Gillespie Myers James Guion (head-to-head) Nathan Sage (head-to-head) Phillip Brather Walter Peek Jacob Jay John Tylee Samuel A Lawrance John Anthon David B Ogden
1818	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	40.04%	Jonathan Richmond Caleb Baker Silas Bowker John Lewis Childs Wm B Rochester Evans Hubbard W Rathbun George Guest Bacon (head-to-head) Lemon Thompson Warner Miller (head-to-head) Anson L Gardner Gerald Root (head-to-head) Low Philip Kings Samuel Crittendon Raymond K Bull Alva Carpenter Ira S Jarvis Fernando Wood (head-to-head) Robert J McCall Oliver Petteys John G Dow Reuben P Skinner Moses Remington R E Sutton Jeremiah Cassady Frank B Arnold Oliver Comstock Peter Field Gamaliel H Barstow Ephraim Wethey Horace Jerome Jacob H Durkee Charles C Dill J Mulford Robinson Richard Townley David Woodcock Rogers Abraham Gridley Thomas Maxwell Julian Park Franklin Leonard Jr. Payne (head-to-head) George H Stevenson Elijah Hiaman Edward F Cassidy
1806	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	10.01%	John Henry Livingston Gurdon Mumford George Clinton John B Coles Hamilton Fish John R Livinston Monson Morris John N Jones Benjamin Coe John G Ward Townsend Semour Sherwin Allan L Benson Benjamin Knap M W %dr< Palmer William Hoffmaster George Schmelz Andrew Heister
1804	U.S. HouseNew York	Lost	10.02%	J N M Hurd Uri Tracy Edward Edwards G L Halsey David A Howell Comfort Tyler Benjamin Gold James A Peck Payne (head-to-head) Huntington William V A Waterman William I Vredenbergh Obadiah Yeomans Peter Betts Warner Miller (head-to-head) John Ballard John Osgood Judas Iscariot John McWhorter Caleb Keep

Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “James L Wells: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/james-l-wells. Accessed [date].

Compiled by PolitiFinder. Election results from official certified sources and the MIT Election Lab. See Data & sources and methodology. Data last verified July 28, 2026.