Joseph Cannon

★ U.S. Representative

Born: May 7, 1836
Died: November 12, 1926
Age at death: 90
Home state: Illinois
Party: Republican
On the ballot: 1872–1920

Career timeline

1872Rep 1874Rep 1876Rep 1878Rep 1880Rep 1882Rep

1884Rep 1886Rep 1888Rep 1890Rep 1892Rep 1894Rep

1896Rep 1898Rep 1900Rep 1902Rep 1904Rep 1906Rep

1908Rep 1910Rep 1912Rep 1914Rep 1916Rep 1918Rep

1920Rep

23-2

RecordWin–Loss

Total Popular Votes

Cannon561,431

Opponents468,777

Elections run

Between 1872 and 1920, Joseph Cannon ran in 25 U.S. House elections, winning 23 and losing 2. Cannon's biggest single-election total was 53,772 votes, in the 1920 U.S. House election in Illinois's District 18. Cannon's closest win came in the 1884 U.S. House election in Illinois's District 15, decided by 492 votes.

Browse every U.S. House race in Illinois's District 18, every U.S. House race in Illinois's District 12, or every U.S. House race in Illinois's District 15.

How many votes has Joseph Cannon received?

Joseph Cannon has received 561,431 popular votes across 25 U.S. elections, with a career record of 23–2.

Election history

Joseph Cannon’s election history
Year	Office	Result	Votes	Opponent(s)
1920	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	53,77264.1%	Perry H Smith Jr. (head-to-head) Otto C Christensen Bert Balloh
1918	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	22,42760.29%	Frank M Crangle Peter N Christenson
1916	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	29,31854.18%	Perry H Smith Jr. (head-to-head) Edward M Methe William H Dunn
1914	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	22,03547.14%	Frank T Ohair (head-to-head) Wendell P Kay James P Meyers
1912	U.S. HouseIllinois	Lost	18,70737.33%	Meredith Walker (head-to-head) Frank T Ohair (head-to-head) E F Royse Clay F Gaumer
1910	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	20,94353%	William L Cundiff George W Woolsey Harvey M Brooks
1908	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	29,17054.85%	Henry C Bell (head-to-head) G B Winter C Walls V
1906	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	22,80458.43%	James M Taylor Ernest G Shouse Meredith Walker (head-to-head)
1904	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	30,52061.98%	Coulson McClenathan V Harvey G Jones (head-to-head) L D Rogers
1902	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	22,94158.28%	Henry C Bell (head-to-head) N J Wright
1900	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	30,63360.19%	C M Briggs Jacob M Gaiser
1898	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	21,48459.11%	Theodore S Thompson (head-to-head) Harvey G Jones (head-to-head)
1896	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	28,56659.94%	George L Vance J J Hales J E McMahon
1894	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	21,12259.4%	Thomas F Donovan Samuel Levitt E T Rev Hays
1892	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	20,59649.63%	Samuel Busey (head-to-head) John F Buckner Allen Varner
1890	U.S. HouseIllinois	Lost	18,42848.17%	Samuel Busey (head-to-head) John S Sargent Jesse Harper (head-to-head)
1888	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	19,89751.83%	Robert L McKinlay Harvey Sheldon Jr. Alexander C Barton Thomas Ratcliff
1886	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	16,73950.91%	J Lindsey Archibald Eastois Theodore S Thompson (head-to-head) Perry H Smith Jr. (head-to-head) I N Gibbs
1884	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	17,85250.22%	William T Black (head-to-head) T J Thornton A W Paine F A Allison Jno B Clark W B Galbreath
1882	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	15,86851.1%	Andrew J Hunter John C Barnes
1880	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	19,71052.64%	James R Scott
1878	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	13,69846.15%	Harvey G Jones (head-to-head) Jesse Harper (head-to-head)
1876	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	17,79652.02%	William T Black (head-to-head)
1874	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	11,24451.46%	James H Pickrell
1872	U.S. HouseIllinois	Won	15,16157.07%	John Nelson

Identity & sources. Identity verified against the Congressional Bioguide (C000121) and Wikidata (Q984248). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.

Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “Joseph Cannon: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/joseph-cannon. 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.