To Thomas Jefferson from Gabriel Duvall, 7 October 1803
From Gabriel Duvall
Washington, 7 Oct. 1803.
Dear Sir,
It is with pleasure that I inform you that, according to the returns which are published in the Intelligencer of this morning, & I take it for granted they are correct, there will be at least forty six Republican Members in the next House of Delegates of Maryland; of course there can be no more than 34 federal—.
With great respect & esteem I am, your obedt. Srvt.
G. Duvall
RC (DLC); at foot of text: “The President, U.S.”; endorsed by TJ as received 7 Oct. and so recorded in SJL.
Partial returns of the 3 Oct. Maryland election published in the 7 Oct. National Intelligencer indicated that 35 Republicans and 7 Federalists had been elected to the 80-member assembly. On 10, 12, and 14 Oct., the Intelligencer printed more returns and pointed out where the Republicans were doing better than in the previous election. In Washington County, for instance, the Republican ticket prevailed in 1803 by a majority of 700 votes, in 1802 by less than 400. By the final count 47 Republicans and 33 Federalists were elected to the House of Delegates, the same party distribution as in 1802 (Michael J. Dubin, Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures: A Year by Year Summary, 1796-2006 [Jefferson, N.C., 2007], 84-5).