document_title: Dan Humphrey

question_text: who does dan from gossip girl end up with

question_tokens: who does dan from gossip girl end up with

text: Dan Humphrey

text: Novel series[edit]

text: Daniel Humphrey lives with his father Rufus, and sister Jenny in Brooklyn. He is tall, pale, quite neurotic, quite "intense" and enjoys drinking coffee. He is considered to be an intellectual when it comes to writing and literature, and was in fact an intern for The Strand one summer. His favorite past time is writing on his black journals. He goes to St. Jude's Preparatory School for Boys, on the Upper East Side, with Chuck Bass and Nate Archibald.

text: In the first part of the books, he is in love with Serena Van Der Woodsen because of a party he threw at their apartment before he went to boarding school. When Serena returned to the Upper East Side, she was ostracized by her peers, so she made friends with Dan and Jenny. Dan later realizes that he has feelings for Vanessa, so he begins a relationship with her.

text: They have a fight when a video of Jenny without her pants is leaked onto the internet, and she apologizes by sending his poem to The New Yorker. Dan gets published, and they make up. He gets an agent called Rusty Klien who claims he is "the next Keats." Rusty introduces Dan to Mystery Craze, a novelist. They hook up on stage at a poetry reading which Vanessa sees, effectively ending their relationship. He gets an internship at Red Letter, which he leaves once he realizes they don't want him there for his talent.

text: He gets back together with Vanessa after he sends her a small, pink singing toy from Japan to film, and at a party at her house, a band called The Raves make him their new front man because of his poems, which they thought were lyrics. He hooks up with one of the instrumentalist's wife, which ends his stint with them. He later meets Bree while working at The Strand[clarification needed] one summer while he was still dating Vanessa.

text: Dan explores his sexuality later in the books by starting a relationship with his Strand co-worker, Greg, by making literary salons with him, which were, in actuality, giant orgies. He breaks up with Greg, who becomes Chuck's boyfriend instead. Dan realizes that he truly loved Vanessa. He went to The Evergreen State College for bachelor studies.

text: Television series[edit]

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text: Dan "Lonely Boy" Humphrey is the son of rocker Rufus Humphrey, and is the older sibling of Jenny Humphrey. His best friend is Vanessa Abrams, who is secretly in love with him. Dan and his family reside in Brooklyn. He is a writer and attends the St. Jude's School for boys. He has longed for Serena van der Woodsen since a party when they were fifteen and she was the only person who was nice to him. During the beginning of the show Dan has had somewhat of a disgust towards Serena's childhood best friend Blair Waldorf, however as the seasons progressed he develops a close friendship with her.

text: Season 1[edit]

text: His mother lives away from home, in Hudson, as an artist. He is financially strained compared to his wealthy classmates at St. Jude's.

text: Dan is one of the first people to see Serena back in person. He accidentally bumps into her, causing her to fall and spill the contents of her purse and leave behind her cellphone. In an attempt to see her again, he returns the phone to The New York Palace Hotel where she lives. He runs into Serena there and ends up on a date that with her so she does not have to go to the "Kiss On The Lips" party which Blair is throwing. They have a rocky first date, going to his dad's concert. The date is ended early because he gets a text from Jenny saying that she needs help at the party. Serena helps Jenny and saves her from Chuck Bass. Dan is highly embarrassed after this, as at the end of the date he only waves to her from a taxi. He and Serena end up going out again but he leaves her after Blair tells him about Serena and Nate hooking up at a party when Nate and Blair were a couple. They make up and become a constant source of attention.

text: At the Ivy Mixer, Blair tells the whole school and Ivy scouts that Serena is a patient at the Ostroff Centre, presumably for alcoholism. Serena then goes on stage and lies to protect the real patient at the Centre: her brother. Dan is surprised at Serena's apparent problem, especially after it seems that Serena has been making a real effort to change from her old partying ways. However, Jenny reveals that Eric is the actual patient, which then causes Dan to respect Serena for protecting her family. This event actually strengthens their relationship, instead of weakening it like Blair had intended it to do.

text: Behind the scenes, though, is Dan's childhood best friend Vanessa, who is clearly jealous of Serena and very much in love with Dan. Dan is oblivious to this. Despite Dan's clear preference for Serena, Serena cannot help but feel jealous of how close Dan is with Vanessa, such as when Dan tells Vanessa that his mother came home, while Serena learns this from Vanessa instead of Dan himself.

text: When he learns from the Gossip Girl site that Serena was seen buying pregnancy tests he freaks out knowing that the child could very well be his as they've slept together. His father sees this as well and is extremely upset that his son may be a teenage father. Dan explains he will stay with Serena no matter what she does because he loves her. He tells this to Serena who says she's not having a child. Later on, he tells her that he loves her, and she responds with, "Okay," which is not the response he was looking for. She later asks him why he loves her and he tells her a list he made of the reasons. She believes him and says she loves him as well, but she needs to help Blair. When he asks why, she says "one of the many reasons you love me."

text: When Georgina Sparks arrives on the Upper East Side with the intent on making Serena's life hell, she gets to know Dan behind Serena's back. Pretending to be "Sarah" and accidentally-on-purpose letting her dog run off its leash in the park, Georgina gets an excuse to talk to Dan. It is later seen that Dan and Vanessa have taken "Sarah" under their wing as they believe she is a new girl to the Upper East Side who doesn't know her way around.

text: Eventually, Dan breaks up with Serena, because he believes that she has slept with someone else and he is tired of her holding secrets from him. A few hours after he breaks up with Serena, he kisses Georgina, believing that she is a helpless girl who is running away from a psychotic ex-boyfriend. Soon thereafter, Dan is convinced that Georgina is lying to him by being told the truth by Serena. He and Blair manage to fool Georgina into thinking that Dan would like to meet up with her. The real purpose of the plan, though, is to get Georgina to meet with her parents and then get sent to a Christian boot camp. Dan and Serena rekindle what is left of their relationship before Dan ultimately ends it entirely. He is last seen spending some time with Vanessa during the start of the summer holidays.

text: Season 2[edit]

text: According to Gossip Girl, over the summer Dan went from "Lonely Boy to Playboy." Dan occupied himself by having continuous dates throughout the summer, with Serena still on his mind. Due to Dan's emotional complications, he is unable to complete an essay he was to submit. This ultimately results in his being fired due to his lack of commitment. Upon being fired from his summer job, he heads to the Hamptons upon realizing that he has been missing Serena. He hopes that by seeing Serena he will realize that they made the right decision, and he can move on.

text: He arrives in the Hamptons, at the annual White Party, to find Serena and Nate Archibald in a passionate kiss. This reveals his true feelings for Serena as he shows obvious anger towards Serena's "cheating." Serena tries to convince him that she kissed Nate so as to make Nate's girlfriend (an older, married woman) jealous. Dan goes to leave, when he is confronted by a pair of girls he had dated throughout the summer. The girls, having found out about one another's relationships with Dan, pour their drinks on Dan and leave. Having been caught out by Serena for his hypocrisy, Dan and Serena retreat into the house to talk. They decide to meet up later at the beach, where they spend the night together.

text: The following morning, Serena and Dan decide to halt any discussions on their relationships until they are back in the city. After some confusion between who was to take the train and who was to take the bus, they both ended traveling back to the city on the bus. This creates tension between the two, and as Serena gets up to use the bus bathroom, she trips and falls on Dan. She pulls up Dan and the two go into the bathroom to have some fun. The two decide to keep their rekindled relationship a secret until they were sure of themselves. Back in the city at Blair's "Welcome Back" party, Nate discovers the two in an embrace, revealing publicly that their relationship is "back on."

text: In "The Dark Night," during the citywide blackout, Dan and Serena talk about their problems while they were both trapped in an elevator. After a long talk (and a bit of arguing), they realized they keep having the same fight, and break up.

text: During their return to school, Serena and Dan are now friends until he meets a transfer student named Amanda Lasher. They share the same interests and have perfect chemistry. Blair attempts to keep them separate by making her one of her entourage so that Serena wouldn't have to suffer seeing them together and so she also wouldn't have to lose the competition of rebounding. Serena meets Amanda and nearly makes a fool out of herself. Blair forces Amanda to join them for lunch. Dan, thinking that Serena is trying to keep him away from Amanda gets Serena, who was reasoning with Dan why it happened, irritated when he kept implying that she was the one who forced her to lunch. Dan and Amanda's relationship goes public much to Serena's irritation. Serena then invites Dan and Amanda to go out later that night which turns into as disaster as Dan and Amanda continue to make her feel out of place. Isabel and Penelope, after witnessing Dan go out with Amanda that led to the relationship getting public, offers Serena several suitors, one in particular is a Dalton lacrosse team captain. Serena's new suitor fails to impress Dan. Dan thinks that Serena used the lacrosse team to rub it into his face. Later on, Penelope ruins Amanda's hair with a little help from Chuck. Dan runs to Amanda's aid who brushes him off saying that she no longer wants to see him. Dan gets into an argument with Serena and leaves. The next day, he is shunned because of Serena's rise to Queen Bee status.

text: Dan's recommendation from Noah Shapiro, a writer, leads him to find new inspiration in the form of Chuck Bass. Noah suggests he use Chuck to fuel a new story. Dan does so and loses his shoes in the process. He ends up creating the character of "Charlie Trout," a character that impresses Noah and asks him to find out what makes him tick. That night, Chuck mistakes a woman of being a prostitute and nearly gets punched until Dan defends him. The two end up in jail and Chuck confesses that he thinks his father hates him because he thinks he killed his mother at Chuck's birth. Chuck gets out a jail with some help from his lawyers and discovers Dan's reason as to why he was hanging out with him. Chuck gets angry at Dan and leaves him, saying that he lied about his mother's death and that she died in the Andes in a plane accident. Dan calls Noah Shapiro who bails him out. Dan confesses that he thinks it's wrong to exploit people for art and that he'd rather be safe. The two part ways and in bad terms.

text: During a visit to Yale, Dan's recommendation for Yale admission goes awry as his only recommendation came from J.L. Hall. Jeremiah Harris and Noah Shapiro likely declined to write for Dan's recommendation. The Dean of Admissions suggests that he find someone to read his work. Dan then finds out Nate used his name to get into a fling with Jordan, a co-ed girl who eventually helps Dan get his work to other literature professors. Dan is stripped of his clothes and tied to a statue by members of the Skull & Bones after Chuck fools them into thinking he is Nate. Chuck's revenge on Dan then backfires on Chuck who loses Nate as a friend after Nate finds out about what he did to Dan.

text: Dan and Nate begin a friendship much to Chuck's chagrin. During an invite to play soccer, Dan tries to visit Nate at his house and finds out about Nate's financial situation. Nate has been squatting in his own house that got seized amongst other property of the Archibalds. Dan invites Nate to a family dinner and tells Nate that he knows about Nate squatting in his own house. Nate leaves angry. Rufus talks to Dan and tells him that Nate needs help even if he doesn't want it, seeing as Nate has no one to turn to for help. Dan finds Serena outside Nate's house and repair their relationship. The two become friends. Dan convinces Nate, who moves in after his house got seized.

text: With Blair's situation with Chuck now out of hand, Serena gets Dan to help Blair and tells her that wearing him down would help her situation. Later on, he continues to help Blair by telling her that she should intercept him at home. With Blair desperate, he tells Blair that she should take a risk and say those "3 words, 8 letters" anyway. During Aaron's opening at Rufus' gallery, Vanessa confesses that Blair and Chuck used her in one of their sick games. Dan ruins Blair's opportunity to tell Chuck that she loves him and tells Serena what happened. He said that the two were bound to break up eventually and that what they did to Vanessa was sick. Serena says that Vanessa's matter is different and that Chuck and Blair do love each other. He later apologizes to Serena and get into an honest conversation. Serena confesses her feelings for Aaron and Dan gives her his blessing to date other people.

text: Aaron and Serena start to date each other while Dan realizes that he still has feelings for Serena. Aaron has been concerned that Serena leans emotionally more on Dan than him. He asks her to come with him to Buenos Aires for Christmas. Serena asks Dan for his opinion, and he tells her to go. At Eleanor's wedding however, Dan confronts Serena about his feelings for her. Because she knows about her mother and Rufus' relationship, and because she has already said yes to Aaron, Serena turns Dan down and goes ahead with Aaron's trip. Serena breaks up with Aaron during the holiday and Dan and Serena meet with each other and they both decide there are better off back together. Dan soon learns he shares a sibling brother with Serena and becomes ridden with guilt when Rufus asks him to let Lily tell Serena the news.

text: Serena and Dan attempt to return to normal, but find this difficult with Lily and Rufus, who have decided to go public with their relationship. Dan, and Serena both get acceptance letters to Yale but Serena decides that Yale isn't for her and applies to Brown and gives her spot to Blair who was wait-listed. A new teacher named Ms. Carr teaches at Constance Billard and there is an obvious attraction between them. Blair is so willing to get back at Ms. Carr for giving her a B on a paper that she sends in a rumor to Gossip girl concerning a secret relationship going on between Dan and Ms. Carr. Serena herself is becoming suspicious when she sees Dan and Ms. Carr discussing Dan's paper together but believes Dan when he says nothing is going on between the two of them. Serena then sees Dan and Ms. Carr in a coffee shop together. She cannot hear what they are saying but in fact Dan is only comforting Ms. Carr who is in tears about the slanderous teacher-student relationship rumor. Serena captures a photo of Dan touching Ms. Carr's face in an intimate way and shares the photo with Blair although she has doubts about the authenticity of the situation.

text: Blair enters a parent-teacher meeting at Constance Billard and presents the incriminating photo at hand. Dan explains to Serena nothing happened between him and Ms. Carr but it is too late. Ms. Carr is fired. Serena and Dan's relationship hits another dead end when things become too much for them to take. First their parents start dating, then they find out they shared a half brother together, and now the mess of the rumor.

text: Serena goes to apologize to Ms. Carr while admitting regretfully that she was the one who gave the photo to Blair. Later Dan visits Ms. Carr and starts to apologize for how things went down but then she kisses him. Dan, at first, is surprised at her actions. Ms. Carr points out that she doesn't teach at Constance anymore so there is no student-teacher relationship. So Dan obliges and they have sex in the dark of the room. Even though Rachel is reinstated, she and Dan have sex again before the school play. Dan then discovers she has used things he told her to humiliate Serena and Blair on Gossip Girl, as well as blocking Blair's application to Yale. He tells the girls what has been going on and Rachel leaves the school.

text: Dan is accepted at Yale but denied financial aid. He discovers Rufus has invested his college fund with Serena's new boyfriend Gabriel Edwards, who was working with con artist Poppy Lifton. Not trusting Serena, Blair and Chuck to get the money back, Dan goes to Lily for help, resulting in her getting Serena arrested to stop her exposing Poppy. With money from CeCe and a dress from Jenny, Dan manages to bail Serena out of jail and take her to the prom. On graduation day, Dan refuses to take part in Serena's plan to expose Gossip Girl, which results in everyone's secrets, including Dan being arrested, becoming common knowledge. Dan gets a call from Georgina saying the money Poppy took is back in his account and tells her he's going to New York University.

text: Season 3[edit]

text: Dan joins Blair, Vanessa and Georgina at New York University and instantly fits in among its many aspiring writers. His stay at NYU also tests his friendship with Vanessa, who assumes that Dan has been absent in their friendship ever since he became wealthy. Dan explains to Vanessa that he and his family are still adjusting to their nouveau-riche status and Vanessa leaves frustrated at Dan.

text: Dan's first day at NYU reveals Georgina Sparks' return. When Georgina throws a party, Blair's attempt at sabotage results in Dan standing up for Georgina. Dan is popular at NYU, and his influence leaves Blair ostracized.

text: Dan and Georgina's relationship is short-lived in the episode "The Lost Boy." Georgina sends Blair on a wild goose chase to enter an elite secret society that gets her into a bidding war with Chuck Bass at an auction. Serena recognizes Georgina's handwriting in Blair's invitation to the secret society and confronts her. The Humphrey family leaves and Georgina is left alone at the auction. Serena reveals Georgina's scheming to Dan and Dan ends his relationship with Georgina. Georgina leaves for Boston when she discovers that Scott, Vanessa's boyfriend, is Rufus and Lily's love-child and that Vanessa had known that he was for a long time.

text: In "Dan de Fleurette," Dan moves on from his relationship with Georgina when he meets Olivia, a Hollywood film star who attended NYU to experience life as a normal college student. Dan first meets Olivia, who calls herself Kate until her movie premiere of Fleur reveals that she is Olivia Burke, a Hollywood movie star. Olivia apologizes to Dan and they embark in a new relationship.

text: Georgina's return from Boston has her blackmailing Vanessa when she discovers that Dan has moved on from their relationship so quickly in "Rufus Getting Married." Dan, then persuades Vanessa to reveal her secret, only to find out that Scott Rosson is his half-brother, the love-child of Rufus and Lily. Rufus and Lily's wedding has Dan and Vanessa reluctant to tell the truth about Scott. On Rufus and Lily's wedding when Lily gets cold feet, Rufus confronts her with Scott unknowingly asking if their wedding was off. Lily scolds Scott and Georgina reveals that Scott is their love-child. Dan arrives with the rest of the family and confirms Georgina's statement. Dan and Blair find Georgina eating the wedding cake and Blair leaves. At the end of the episode, Dan expresses regret that Georgina left unscathed. Blair assures him that she didn't by sending Dorota and Vanya to get rid of her.

text: Dan and Olivia encounter several troubles in their relationship when Vanessa alienates them both during her attempt at getting the freshman toast at NYU. When Dan introduces Olivia to Rufus and Lily, she starts acting like a stereotypical movie star towards them until Vanessa reveals that she lied to the both of them so that Olivia wouldn't have to meet her judgmental mother, Gabriela. Vanessa loses the toast to Olivia and properly reintroduces Olivia the next morning after the incident. Olivia's movie star background also catches up to her when she is forced to continue her fake relationship with Patrick Roberts, her former co-star. Serena intervenes and Dan and Olivia soon manage to make their relationship public.

text: Dan and Olivia's relationship soon comes to an end when Olivia is again forced back into the world of film and return to Hollywood but not without Dan and Vanessa giving her the best college experience. The college experience results in a threesome that consequently leads to Dan and Olivia's break-up when Olivia states that Dan has feelings for Vanessa. Vanessa unfortunately, falls for theater student, Paul Hoffman.

text: With Olivia gone, Dan confesses his love for Vanessa during the anniversary of Bart Bass' death but Vanessa turns him down. Dan attempts to impress Vanessa by impressing Gabriela that ends with Gabriela telling Dan that if he breaks Vanessa's heart, their friendship wouldn't make it. Vanessa eventually reveals her feelings for Dan at a beach party when Dan arrives with a fresh date and Vanessa gets back together with Paul Hoffman. Dan had been unaware that Vanessa had ended her relationship with Paul until Paul and Dan's date reveals each other's predicaments, get together and leave Dan and Vanessa at the party. Dan and Vanessa reveal their feelings toward each other and kiss at the end of the episode.

text: Dan finds little trouble with his relationship with Vanessa and reveals their relationship to Rufus. Vanessa, frustrated at the lack of something different in their relationship, heeds Nate's advice on role-playing and sets up a date fashioned according to Dan's favorite movie Rear Window. Vanessa is not convinced that Dan appreciates what she did for her date, and she leaves. Dan confronts her and tells her that their relationship is different from their friendship.

text: Dan applies to get into the Tisch School of the Arts writing program at NYU, as Vanessa reads and secretly critiques one of the stories that he plans on submitting for admission. Dan secretly read Vanessa's film script and is impressed, unaware that Vanessa is also applying for the same program.

text: Towards the end of the season, Vanessa decides to accept an internship with CNN, that of which requires her to go on a six-month trip to Haiti. Despite this, the two of them decide that they can still maintain their relationship as a long-distance one.

text: In the season finale, Dan wakes up with Serena in his bed. The viewers learn that the two did not sleep together but - after staying up until 4AM talking and drinking wine - they shared a kiss, that of which Serena classifies as them "falling into a comfortable path for one...or ten minutes." When Dan hears that Serena breaks up with Nate, he calls her, possibly to say he had feelings for her. When she announces she won't be back to talk to him till September he appears very disappointed. He then shuts the e-mail he had opened to write to Vanessa, his current girlfriend, who is no longer taking his calls (due to Nate's interception after finding out from Gossip Girl's blast and later overhearing at the hospital about the kiss). When he later learns that Serena is going to Paris with Blair, he goes online to book a ticket. Before he can, however, Georgina visits Dan and tells him that she's pregnant with his child.

text: Season 4[edit]

text:
"You've always wanted in...maybe more than Jenny."
—Vanessa reveals Dan's secret desire to be a part of the Upper East Side

text:
It is revealed Georgina gave birth to a son, Milo, on July 7, 2010, though it is unknown whether Dan is the father, because they never did a DNA test. It is later revealed to be another one of her schemes when she abruptly leaves New York, leaving Dan alone with Milo. She left a note saying that she went to the "spa." Georgina returns from the "spa" (she was in fact in St. Barths) to tell Dan about Serge, Milo's real father, and to say that she and Milo are going to live with Georgina's parents. Dan is sad to see Milo go. He tries to embark on a relationship with Serena, who is still torn over him and Nate. Blair and Dan team up to find Juliet in Connecticut. They do find her with Serena, but get a shock when Serena tells them that Lily was the one who put Ben in jail instead of herself.
It was revealed that Blair and Dan went to see a couple of movies together, though the both say that they are not friends. Blair was fired from her internship at W Magazine, but since Dan connived to get her fired, he confessed and convinced Epperly to re-hire Blair. Hereafter, Blair got better position as a team leader, since her boss decided to retire.
On Valentine's Day, Blair found out that Chuck had real romantic feelings for Raina Thorpe. Dan stalked Blair to try to convince her to publish his short story, and the two of them made the discovery together (Chucks real feelings for Raina) while hidden behind a curtain. They went their separate ways, but spent the rest of the evening talking together on their cell phones while watching Rosemary's Baby on their laptops. Afterwards, both got a hidden closed relationship and denied the friendship to everybody. Feeling something beyond that happened, they tried to overcome the all confusions and denials by only one kiss. Later, Dan admits to Eric and to Charlie that he has romantic feelings for Blair.

text: In the finale, it was revealed that Dan had been writing a scathing novel based on his life for the past five years. While looking for Charlie at the loft, Vanessa reads his novel and hints at the possibility that he possesses unrequited feelings for Blair all the while realizing that Dan always wanted to be a part of the Upper East side. Vanessa encourages him to publish the novel following in a harsh exchange of words during a phone call and resulting in Dan lashing out at Vanessa while she takes matters into her own hands leaves the Humphrey apartment with his novel. Later scenes during the finale show Vanessa offering Dan's novel to a publishing company.

text: Reaction to triangle[edit]

text:
"Chuck and Blair are always going to be connected in their way, and Dan and Serena are always going to be connected in their way. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be new roads to go down that might be different than what we initially anticipated."
—Joshua Safran, producer[1]

text: Amidst the fourth season, the romance between Dan and Blair became a polarizing topic among viewers[2] which also drew significant media interest. Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post applauded the development, feeling that Blair had "more chemistry" with Dan than with Chuck.[3] New York magazine's Chris Rovzar called Blair and Dan's story line "believable", citing their common ground in education and taste. Rovzar further stated, "Since they live in a world where both only seem to have half a dozen real friends (if that), is it so crazy they'd end up together?"[4] The Huffington Post declared that “Dan and Blair together are like Harry Burns and Sally Albright reincarnated — the couple was obviously inspired by When Harry Met Sally.” It further commented that the couple paralleled Pacey and Joey’s relationship from Dawson’s Creek and concluded that Dan and Blair were “the most inspired storyline and couple of the show”.[5] Entertainment Weekly stated that Dan and Blair were like stars in an “updated version of You’ve Got Mail”.[6] Tierney Bricker of E! ranked all 25 Gossip Girl couples placing ‘Dair’ as the third best couple after Blair and Serena (#1) and ‘Chair’ (#2). Bricker stated that “[Dan and Blair], out of all the main characters, were the most well-suited for each other. In real-life, they would've been ‘endgame’.”[7]

text: Dawn Fallik of The Wall Street Journal was less positive, asserting that "both characters have been so Blandified that there’s no fun left in the show."[8] A writer for E! Online's Team WWK labeled the Dan/Blair relationship "nomance nonsense".[9]

text: With regard to Chuck and Blair, Meester stated, "I can really relate to it—not necessarily because it's this dramatic, tumultuous relationship, but because the way they love each other is very real, and not for the sake of being dramatic. It's actual love. There's nobody for each other but them."[10] Meester also expressed fondness for Dan and Blair, however, stating, "I think they're good for each other in a lot of ways, in a way that Chuck and Blair aren't."[2] Badgley claimed that he thought "Blair [was] Dan’s soul mate"[11] and further stated that he thought the Blair and Dan storyline was "the most exciting for Dan as a person".[12] When Hollywoodlife.com asked Ed Westwick who played Chuck Bass which character he thought loved Blair more: Chuck or Dan, Westwick pointed to Badgley, saying "definitely him."[13]

text: Producers initially noticed chemistry between Blair and Dan in the Season 1 episode "Bad News Blair". According to producer Joshua Safran, the creators planned to revisit their relationship once the timing was right. Safran also stated that the outcome wasn't necessarily decided ahead of time. "One thing we are very conscious of—and I know some fans get upset about this—is we really try to treat the characters as living, breathing, well-rounded individuals. And we're often surprised by where their journeys take them; they open new doors for us all the time."[1]

text: Season 5[edit]

text:
The fifth season opens with Dan in the Hamptons. He appears upset when he receives Blair's invitation for her royal wedding. Dan soon finds out that someone has published his book, Inside. Meanwhile, Blair, back from her cruise and is currently in Manhattan again, is frustrated with Louis' domineering mother, who feels the need to have complete control over the wedding. Dan finds out that Vanessa has published his book without his permission and tries to undo the damage, especially after Vanity Fair want to publish a part about Dan and Blair.
Desperate, Dan turns to Louis for some help, hoping the prince could put some royal weight on it and manage to cancel the publishing. Louis informs him that he promised earlier to Blair that he's going to take her to the Royal consulate, so he calls her and tells her that he would not be able to make it, much to Blair's disappointment.

text: Soon after, Blair then arrives at Dan's loft and tells him that despite they haven't spoken since the holidays, she needs a friend to talk to and believes that he is the only one that will truly listen. She announces that she plans to break it off with Louis and asks him about his trip to the Hamptons, to which he responds to staying at CeCe's house.

text: She asks him to take her there and Dan tells her he will be there for her for whatever she needs. He decides to conceal the real reason why Louis couldn't make it, and just as they were about to make a move, Louis comes enters the loft. Blair assumes that he was following her and starts reprimanding him, until Dan's conscience gets the better of him and reveals that Louis was only helping him with his book issue. Blair soon becomes furious with Dan as he did not tell her the real reason why Louis could not make it and departs with Louis, arm-in-arm, leaving Dan alone and heartbroken. And at the end of the episode it's been revealed that Blair is the one pregnant.

text: Over the next few episodes, Blair is found having trouble keeping the pregnancy a secret and begins having morning sickness. Things get more difficult when Louis's sister, Princess Beatrice, comes to town. When she hears Blair's morning sickness in the bathroom, she begins to assume that Blair has gone back to being bulimic. She decides to invite Blair to a feast to be sure.

text: Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Dan is still trying to stop the publishing of his book, in order to save the relationship he has built with his closest friends and family. He calls Serena on the phone and asks her how she went through Lily's bank account so that he can go to Vanessa's bank and look for the publisher, but she tells him that it was all Chuck's doing, driving him to go searching for Chuck. To his horror, he finds Chuck getting beat up by men. He attempts to save Chuck, when he reveals that the men were not real criminals and he paid them to hurt him, much to Dan's astonishment. This leads Dan to search for Blair and inform her about Chuck's recent dilemma.

text: Meanwhile, at the feast, Blair begins to feel sick and searches for an excuse to run to the bathroom without arising suspicion. She begins to silently pray to God for a way out, and once she finishes, she sees Dan at the front of the door. Blair rushes to his side and drags him to the toilet and orders him to guard the door. Dan announces that Chuck is getting himself into trouble again, but Blair brushes it off, stating that he's merely doing it to get her attention.

text: Once Dan hears Blair throw up, he begins to get worried and, like Beatrice, assumes that she has gone back to her previous bulimic ways. He voices out his concern and Blair leaves the washroom stall, stating that she was not bulimic, but instead pregnant. However, Beatrice walks into the bathroom just as Blair reveals her pregnancy to Dan. The both of them are shocked, but agree to keep it a secret.

text: Afterwards, Blair arrives at Dan's loft once again, revealing to him that she is uncertain who the father of her unborn child is. He encourages her to take a test, but she refuses, stating that she'll lose everything if Chuck is the actual father. Dan responds that she will still have him, causing Blair to cry and rest her head on Dan's shoulder. He then kisses her forehead.

text: However, Blair, being her usual self, still tries to avoid taking the test, but after much persuasion from Dan, she eventually does, and announces that the father is Louis. She then tells Louis that she's pregnant, much to his elation. Soon afterwards, Serena, Nate, Chuck, Louis's mother, Eleanor and Cyrus all know about Blair's pregnancy, and she decides not to keep anymore secrets regarding her unborn child.

text: Dan decides that it is time for him to tell Blair about his feelings for her, engaged or not, when she comes and visits him at his loft, feeling heavy-hearted and dejected. She tells him that she wishes to be happy again, but has forgotten how to be.

text: After a very emotional phone call with Chuck, Blair enters Dan's living room heartbroken, looking devastated and emotionally drained. This drives Dan to attempt and bring Chuck and Blair together again, determined to bring joy back into Blair's life. He decides to keep his feelings for Blair quiet and bottled up, only letting Serena know how he feels about her.

text: Dan leads both Chuck and Blair individually into an enclosed candlelight room. Once they both come face-to-face, Dan closes the door and shows himself out, leaving them both alone. Then, he engages in a discussion with Serena, telling her that all he wants is for Blair to be happy. Serena to tells him that he's one of the good guys, due to his selflessness regarding Blair's happiness.

text: While Blair and Chuck are whisking away in a limo, planning on running away together and raising Blair's unborn baby as Chuck's child, they both end up in a serious, life-threatening car accident when paparazzi tail them continuously after Charlie sends Gossip Girl a blast, informing her on Chuck and Blair's whereabouts.

text: The accident causes Serena, who is alongside Nate and Dan, to be more furious at Gossip Girl than ever before, and blames her entirely for the accident caused. Dan monotonously states that she didn't jump on one of the motorcycles and chase Chuck and Blair down the road, but Serena angrily responds that the accident is merely the result of all the amount of damage that Gossip Girl has caused throughout the years. Nate agrees, and he Serena begin planning on taking Gossip Girl down for good, to avenge Chuck and Blair, as Dan anxiously waits for news on Blair.

text: In the next episode, Blair learns that she lost the baby in the accident, much to her depression and despair, and she immediately bursts into tears when the news reaches her. She becomes even more terrified when Serena tells her that Chuck is in serious danger, due to losing a large amount of blood. This drives her to make a secret deal with God, promising Him that if He saves Chuck's life, she would marry Louis and not go back to being with Chuck. Once she makes the promise, the nurse informs her that Chuck is asking for her. She decides that this means that God has honored their promise, and chooses to further her relationship with Louis, deciding against pursuing her relationship with Chuck.

text: She informs Dan about her deal and tells him to keep it a secret, to which he agrees. Soon, only Dan and Serena know about Blair's promise. She begins avoiding Chuck and Louis, who collaborate to find out what was going on with Blair, and find pictures of Dan and Blair together in New York, learning that the only man she's not avoiding is Dan.

text: When she tells him that she needs him, and he responds that he has her, once again confirming that he will be there for her during the hard times.

text: When Dan walks in on Blair in her wedding dress, he tells her that she looks perfect, making her cry. She says that she can no longer get married in the dress, as now all she sees is everything she's lost. Dan comforts her and tells her that she should change her mind about marrying Louis, but she insists on pursuing the wedding, stating she's committed to him.

text: They both falsely assume that she's having an affair with Dan, to which she immediately denies. Soon later, she finds Louis's wedding vows, and is pleasantly stunned with how accurately he describes her and how much love the vows display. She tells Serena that she feels as if Louis had "peered into her soul," and now is happy with the decision she had made, believing that Louis is the one for her.

text: However, unknown to Blair, Dan was the one who wrote the vows, after Louis asked him to. On her wedding day, Blair and Chuck confront each other once again, and Blair declares that she does indeed love him, but cannot be with him. She leaves the room to attend the ceremony, leaving Chuck alone in the room.

text: Cyrus and Harold both give Blair away, and Dan and Serena walk down the aisle together. However, it appears that someone taped Chuck and Blair's moment, when Blair was professing her love for Chuck to him. It sends Blair running down the aisle and causes her to blame Chuck, assuming he was the one who sent the blast to Gossip Girl. Soon, she returns to the altar, and she and Louis continue the wedding. After Louis and Blair say their vows and take each other as man and wife, Serena tells Dan that she loves him, that she always had and she always will, just before Louis and Blair take their first dance as a married couple. As Blair tells Louis that she's very thankful for giving her a princess title and especially grateful that he gave her another chance, he coldly responds that their wedding was all for show and there is nothing but a contract between them. He tells her that when they're alone, they'll become like strangers to each other.

text: After the wedding, Dan is certain he has lost Blair to Louis but soon finds out it is a sham wedding when Blair asks him for help to get out of the country and file for a divorce. Taking her to the airport he realizes just how much she needs to get out of this situation and lies to Serena about her whereabouts, this leaves him with a problem when he is discovered with Blair later on.

text: Soon afterwards, Blair arrives from her honeymoon to Manhattan on Valentine's Day, she tries to set Dan and Serena up once again. However, when Blair notices the lack of interest Dan has in pursuing his old relationship with Serena. She tells him that she attempted to get Dan and Serena back together because she wants Dan to be happy. Blair asks him what it is that would make him happy, and he responds by kissing her, leaving Blair stunned. She, however, does not stop him and instead slowly begins to reciprocate to the kiss. Unfortunately, Serena, alongside Georgina, accidentally intrudes on Dan and Blair. Georgina manages to snap a picture of Dan and Blair's kiss and soon runs away from the scene, driving Dan to chase after her, leaving Blair and stunned and angered Serena alone together. Blair continues to deny having any feelings for Dan during and after the party to both Dan and Serena.

text: With Serena and Blair's friendship on shaky grounds Dorota decides to lock them in the dining room up for their own good. Blair decides to prove to Serena by spending a whole day with Dan that her feelings are platonic. Unfortunately, she reciprocates another kiss from Dan while Serena accidentally intrudes on them. Serena dictates that Blair is always in denial when it comes to matters of the heart. During a re-enactment of a scene from the Inside novel, Blair realizes that Dan loves her for her and has so for some time. Putting aside her insecurities she admits to both Serena and Dan that she too has feelings for Dan. Serena then gives Blair her blessing, stating that she does not want to be an obstacle in Dan and Blair's relationship. Soon afterwards, Blair pecks a kiss from Dan and heads off to support Serena with her last moments with CeCe.

text: In "The Princess Dowry" Dan walks in on Blair discussing what could be a potential way out of her prenup on the phone with Cyrus and another lawyer from his firm. Blair shares the details and after saying that she "wouldn't have to wait a year for ... anything" she and Dan exchange smiles.

text: At CeCe's wake, Chuck outs Dan via Gossip Girl as the sender of the video that was fatal to Blair's marriage. At first, she thinks that it's just a game Chuck is playing and she is unwilling to participate, however, when she sees the guilty looks on Dan's face she realizes that it's the truth. She is mad at him, but forgives him after he tells her that his only reason for sending the video was that he couldn't stand to see Blair so unhappy. Meanwhile, Blair makes a deal with Estee to help her get out of her marriage dowry if there will be no more public mention of it in the media, including Gossip Girl. However, at this time Georgina, who has stolen Dan's phone, teams up with Chuck and sends Gossip Girl a message from Dan's phone uploading the photo of the Valentine's Day kiss, thus ruining Blair's chances of not having to pay the dowry. Dorota shows Blair the blast and she confronts Dan who is confronting Georgina. The latter admits to having been Gossip Girl and it turns out that the deal with Estee was also one of her schemes. Dan goes to confront Chuck, who, after finding out that the blast will bankrupt Blair's family, is regretful, however, he reveals that he has outed Dan for the bad guy he has been and he question whether their friendship was just an act. Blair walks over to them and Chuck tells Dan to be honest and confess that he has been trying to keep him and Blair apart, which Dan does. He apologizes to Blair and leaves. Chuck says that wants Blair and him to try again because all the obstacles that were in their relationship's way are seemingly gone, but Blair tells him that although she loves him, she is not "in love" with him anymore. Later, Georgina visits Blair and promises to get her rid of her dowry in exchange for Blair's support. Blair agrees to this.

text: In the episode's last scene, Blair goes to Brooklyn. Dan isn't expecting her, as he is assuming she got back together with Chuck. Blair tells him that she isn't there to tell him off and she isn't with Chuck. Dan cracks a joke that clearly expresses his disbelief and surprise at Blair choosing him over the "love of her life," Chuck. She tells him that she told Chuck that he doesn't have her heart anymore as it now belongs to someone else. They kiss and rest their foreheads against each other's. Blair calls him by his first name which amuses Dan and he asks her to "say it again" and they start kissing passionately.

text: The new couple make a slow and rocky debut on the Upper East side and are faced with numerous challenges including their relations in the bedroom, Blair's lingering feelings for Chuck, and Serena's distaste for their relationship. When Gossip Girl intentionally exposes Blair's secrets on Gossip Girl, Dan comes to terms with Blair's feelings for Chuck, as well as Serena's attempts to sabotage their relationship. In the finale, Dan, having been left by Blair for Chuck, teams up with Georgina in order to write his follow up to "Inside". This time, however, he pledges to write the novel "he should have written from the beginning." Georgina, with her own score to settle with the Upper East side, is more than happy to help.

text: Season 6[edit]

text: In Season 6, Dan tells Serena that the reason he didn't give her an answer to the "I love you" was because it was easier to focus on his anger at Blair, than to face the possibility of getting what he always wanted in the fear of losing it again. Dan and Serena throw their first Thanksgiving as a couple together, where Serena affirms her love for Dan by rejecting both Steven and Blair by saying that Dan is her soul-mate and the only love of her life. Dan also solidifies his love by telling Georgina and Rufus that he had a plan all along to win and that there is no winning without Serena.

text: In the finale, Dan reveals to Serena their first meeting at a party, where Dan first spoke to her and fell madly in love. Dan realized at that party that he could never pull Serena out of her world but he couldn't give up either. He realized that the only way he could get Serena was to write himself into the Upper East Side drama by using a blog to create a legend; the blog came to be known as Gossip Girl. Dan then revealed his secret to all by giving Nate his final chapter to publish in the struggling Spectator, revealing to all that the only purpose of Gossip Girl was the love he had for Serena. Serena was overjoyed at the revelation, stating that Dan, through Gossip Girl, had written her and everyone else a seven-year love letter and made her realize that she belongs in the Upper East Side with Dan.

text: Five years later, Dan and Serena get married, surrounded by their closest friends and family.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Dan Humphrey’s character has garnered much media recognition. Alfonso Espina of The Huffington Post declared that Dan was the “Nick Carraway character we viewers could live vicariously through.”[14] Jason Gay of Rolling Stone praised Badgley’s characterisation, claiming that “while another actor may have played Dan as a blah straight man, Badgley imbued him with an occasionally obnoxious know-it-all-ness.”[15] The New Yorker cited Dan as “the token-boho character”;[16] while, New York Magazine described Badgley’s Dan as “the moralistic outsider, or what passes for one on a show produced by the guy who created The O.C.”.[17] Jarett Wieselman of Entertainment Tonight asserted that “charming and disarming in equal measure, Badgley's incarnation of the Brooklyn-boy gone bad was always a comedic and emotional highlight.”[18] Melena Ryzik of The New York Times compared Dan Humphrey’s character to The O.C.'s Seth Cohen, saying they both fulfilled the role of “the darkly comic observer”.[19] Similarly, Julie Weiner of Vanity Fair claimed that Dan was a Schwartzian archetype of Seth in that both characters were “attractive bookish outsiders”.[20]

text: Other colleagues have also commented on Dan Humphrey’s character. Blake Lively, Badgley’s co-star, declared that "Dan was supposed to be the goofy, nerdy guy who felt like he never measured up to other people, but Penn [Badgley] decided to play it a little more arrogant. Like he's smarter than these spoiled little brats."[21] The series executive producer, Stephanie Savage, claimed that “as he [Dan Humphrey] is the outsider, he's somebody who when he's pointing out what's absurd about the world, you have to believe he's smart enough to get it and also deliver it in a way that you find it kind of amusing and not just critical or judgmental.”[18]


document_title: List of United States militia units in the American Revolutionary War

question_text: what was the nickname for the massachusetts state militia

root

text: Connecticut[edit]

text:
see also Connecticut militia

Foot Guards:

1st Company Governor's Foot Guard, 1771
2nd Company Governor's Foot Guard, 1775

Horse Guards:

1st Company Governor's Horse Guards,1778
2nd Connecticut Light Horse, 1777
5th Connecticut Light Horse, 1776–79
Backus' Regiment of Light Horse, 1776
Skinner's Regiment of Light Horse, 1776
Starr's Regiment of Light Horse, 1779
Seymour's Regiment of Light Dragoons
1st Battalion State Regiment, 1776–77
1st Regiment of Militia, 1778–79
2nd Regiment of Militia, 1776
3rd Regiment of Foot, 1775
3rd Regiment of Militia, 1776
4th Regiment of Militia, 1775–76
5th Regiment of Militia, 1775–76
7th Regiment of Militia, 1775–76
8th Regiment of Militia, 1775–76
8th Regiment of Militia, 1780
9th Regiment of Militia, 1776–81
10th Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
11th Regiment of Militia, 1774
12th Regiment of Militia, 1776
13th Regiment of Militia, 1776
16th Regiment of Militia, 1776
18th Regiment of Militia, 1776
20th Regiment of Militia, 1779–81
21st Regiment of Militia, 1778–81
22nd Regiment of Militia, 1776
25th Regiment of Militia, 1776–78
33rd Regiment of Militia, 1775
Belding's Regiment, 1777
Bradley's Regiment, 1776–77
Burrell's Regiment, 1776–77
Canfield's Regiment of Militia, 1781
Chapman's Regiment of Militia, 1778
Chester's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Cook's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Douglas' Regiment of Levies, 1776
Douglas' Regiment, 1776
Elmore's Battalion, 1776–77
Ely's Regiment, 1777
Enos' Regiment, 1776–77
Gallup's Regiment, 1779
Gay's Regiment, 1776
Hooker's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Johnson's Regiment of Militia, 1778
Latimer's Regiment of Militia, 1777–78
Lewis' Regiment, 1776
Mason's Regiment of Militia, 1778
McClellan's Regiment, 1777–82
Mead's Regiment of Militia, 1779
Mott's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Newberry's Regiment, 1777
Parker's Company of Teamsters, 1778
Parson's Regiment, 1776
Parson's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Porter's Regiment, 1781
Sage's Regiment, 1776–77
Silliman's Regiment, 1776
Talcott's Regiment, 1776
Thompson's Company
Thompson's Regiment, 1777
Tyler's Regiment, 1777
Ward's Regiment, 1777
Waterbury's Regiment, 1776–78
Whiting's Regiment, 1777
Wells' Regiment of Militia, 1779
Wells' Regiment, 1780–81
Wolcott's Regiment, 1776

tag: ul

text: Delaware[edit]

text:
see also Delaware militia
1st Battalion, New Castle County, 1777
2nd Regiment, New Castle County, 1778–81
2nd Battalion of Militia, 1776
2nd Regiment of Militia, 1780
7th Regiment of Militia, 1782
Flying Camp Battalion, 1776
Kent County Militia
Latimer's Independent Company, 1776

text: Georgia[edit]

text:
see also Georgia militia
Emanuel's Regiment of Militia, 1781–82
Georgia Hussars, 1736
Liberty Independent Troop, 1776
1st Brigade Georgia Militia
1st Regiment Georgia Militia, Light Horse Troop

text: Maryland[edit]

text:
see also Maryland militia
Gale's Independent Company of Artillery, 1779–80
Smith's Artillery, 2nd and 3rd Companies, 1783
34th Battalion of Militia, 1776
37th Battalion of Militia, 1777
Extraordinary Regiment, 1780
Flying Camp Regiment (Ewing's), 1776
Flying Camp Regiment (Griffith's), 1776
Flying Camp Regiment (Richardson's), 1776
Lansdale's Detachment, 1783
Marbury's Detachment, 1784
Washington County Militia Company, 1777

text: Massachusetts[edit]

text:
see also Massachusetts militia
1st Regiment of Militia, 1776
First Bristol Regiment, 1776–80 – Commanded by Col. Thomas Carpenter III 1776–1780, Regiment under Gen. Lincoln's command Nov. 1776, Brig. General Godfrey's Brigade 1779–1780
1st Regiment of Guards, 1778
3rd Regiment of Militia, 1779
4th Regiment of Militia, 17787–80
18th Regiment of Militia, 1775
30th Regiment of Foot Massachusetts militia' 1775–1781
25th Regiment of Foot Massachusetts Militia, 1775
32nd Regiment of Militia, 1775
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1638
Ashley's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Bailey's Regiment of Militia
Brewer's Regiment, 1776
Brooks' Regiment of Militia, 1778
Bucks of America, 1781
Bullards' Regiment of Militia, 1777
Burt's Company of Militia, 1776–77
Cady's Regiment, 1776
Carpenter's Regiment of Militia, See First Bristol Regiment
Cary's Regiment of Militia, 1780
Cary's Regiment, 1776
Cogswell's Regiment of Militia, 1775–77
Cushing's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Denny's Regiment of Militia
Fellows' Regiment, 1775
French's Regiment, 1777
Frye's Regiment, 1775
Gage's Regiment of Militia, 1777 a.k.a. the 4th Essex County Militia Regiment
Gerrish's Regiment, 1778
Gill's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Holman's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Independent Company of Cadets, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, 1741 a.k.a. "First Corps of Cadets"
Jacob's Regiment, 1778–79
Johnson's Regiment of Militia, 1775–1777
Hyde's Detachment of Militia, 1777
Keyes' Regiment, 1777
Leonard's Regiment of Militia
May's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Murray's Regiment of Militia, 1780
Perce's Battalion of Militia, 1779
Plymouth Artillery Company organized January 7, 1777
Poor's Regiment of Militia, 1778
Porter's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Rand's Regiment of Levies, 1776
Reed's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Robinson Regiment of Militia, 1777
Simonds' Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Smith's Regiment of Foot, 1776
Sparhawk's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Stearns' Regiment of Militia, 1778
Storer's Regiment of Militia' 1777
Turner's Regiment, 1781
Wells' Regiment of Militia, 1777
Whitney's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Williams' Regiment of Militia, 1777
Wood's Regiment of Militia, 1778–79
Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Wright's Regiment of Militia, 1777

text: New Hampshire[edit]

text:
see also New Hampshire militia
Baker's Company of Volunteer, 1777
Baldwin's Regiment, 1776
Bartlett's Regiment of Militia, 1780
Bedel's Militia Regiment, 1777–79
Bell's Regiment of Militia, 1781
Bellow's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Chase's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Dame's Regiment, 1779–80
Drake's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Evans' Regiment of Militia, 1777
Fogg's Regiment, 1776–77
Gale's Regiment of Volunteers, 1778
Gerrish's Regiment, 1777
Gilman's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Hale's Regiment of Militia, 1776–78
Hobart's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Kelley's Regiment of Volunteers, 1777–78
Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers, 1777–78
Lovewell's Regiment, 1778–81
McClary's Regiment of Militia, 1777–81
Mooney's Regiment of Militia, 1779–80
Moore's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Morey's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Moulton's Regiment of Militia, 1775–83
Nichols' Regiment of Militia, 1777–80
Peabody's New Hampshire State Regiment, 1778–79
Poor's Regiment, 1775
Reed's Regiment, 1775
Reynold's Regiment of Militia, 1781
Scott's Battalion, 1783
Senter's Regiment, 1777–78
Stark's Regiment, 1775
Stickney's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Tash's Regiment, 1776
Waldron's Regiment, 1776
Webster's Regiment, 1777–82
Welch's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Wingate's Regiment, 1776–78
Wyman's Regiment, 1776

text: New Jersey[edit]

text:
see also New Jersey militia
1st Regiment, Bergen County Militia, 1777–78
1st Regiment, Essex County, 1777
1st Battalion of Monmouth, 1777–82
1st Battalion of Somerset, 1777–81
2nd Regiment of Essex County Troop, 1778
2nd Battalion of Hunterdon, 1777
2nd Battalion of Middlesex, 1777
2nd Battalion of Somerset, 1777–80
3rd Battalion of Gloucester, 1777
3rd Battalion of Middlesex, 1781
Borden' Regiment, Burlington County, 1776
Chambers' Regiment, Burlington County, 1776
Crane's Troops of Horse, 1780
Eastern Battalion, Morris County, 1777–78
Forman's Regiment of Militia, 1776–80
Hankinson's Regiment of Militia, 1777–79
Holmes' Battalion of Militia, Salem County, 1778
Hunt's Regiment, Burlington County, 1776
Martin's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Mehelm's Regiment, Burlington County, 1776
Newcomb's Regiment of Foot, 1776
Smith's Regiment, Burlington County, 1776
Shreve's Battalion, Burlington Militia
Randolph's Company, 1782
Reynolds' Regiment, Burlington County, 1776
Philip's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Seely's Regiment of Militia, 1777–81
Summer's Battalion of Militia, 1776
Thomas' Battalion of Essex Militia, 1776
Van Courtlandt's Battalion, 1776–80

text: New York[edit]

text:
see also New York militia[dead link]
1st Battalion Grenadiers and Light Infantry, 1776
1st Regiment of Levies, 1780–81
2nd Regiment of Levies, 1776
3rd Regiment of Levies, 1780–83
Allison's Regiment of Militia, 1775–78
Benedict's Regiment of Militia, 1780–81
Brinckerhoff's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Budd's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Campbell's Battalion of Militia, 1776–82
Cantine's Regiment of Militia Levies, 1778–79
Church's Regiment of Militia 1776
Clyde's Regiment of Militia, 1779–83
Cooper's Regiment
Crane's Regiment of Militia, 1779–81
Cuyler's Regiment of Militia, 1781–83
Drake's (Joseph) Regiment of Militia, 1776
Drake's (Samuel) Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
DuBois' Regiment of Levies, 1780
Field's Regiment of Militia, 1777–80
Fisher's Regiment of Militia (Third Tryon County militia), 1775–81
Freer's Regiment of Militia, 1777–79
Golden's Company of Militia, 1776
Graham's Regiment of Militia, 1777–79
Hamman's Regiment of Militia, 1777–82
Hardenburgh's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Harper's Regiment of Militia, 1779
Hasbrouck's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Hathorn's Regiment of Militia, 1777–81
Hay's Regiment of Militia, 1778–80
Hearts of Oak (New York militia), 1775
Hopkins' Regiment of Militia, 1779
Humphrey's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Jansen's Regiment of Militia, 1779–82
Lansing's Detachment of Militia, 1777
Livingston's Regiment of Militia, 1777–81
Ludington's Regiment of Militia, 1777–80
McClaughrey's Regiment of (Ulster County) Militia, 1776–81
McCrea's Regiment of Levies, 1779
Morrison co. Militia,1776
New York Provincial Company of Artillery, 1776
Nicholson's Regiment, 1776
Nicoll's Regiment of Levies, 1776
Palmer's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Pawling's Regiment of Levies and Militia, 1779–81
Pawling's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Poughkeepsie Invincibles, {4th Duchess County regiment, New York Militia}
Quackenbos' Regiment of Militia, 1779–80
Sacket's Westchester County Regiment, 1776
Schuyler's Regiment of Militia, 1781–82
Schuyler's Regiment of Albany County Militia, (Fifth Regiment of Albany County Militia)1777
Snyder's Regiment of Militia, (First Regiment of Ulster County Militia) 1776–82
Swartwout's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Thomas' Battalion or Regiment of Militia, 1776–79
Tryon County militia
Van Alstyne's Regiment of Militia, 1777–81
Van Bergen's Regiment of Militia, 1777–80
Van Brunt's Regiment of Militia, 1776
Van Cortlandt's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Vandenbergh's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Vandenbergh's Regiment of Militia, 1778
Van Ness' Regiment of Militia, 1777–80
Van Rensselaer's Regiment, 1779–81
Van Schaick's Battalion, 1776
Van Schoonhoven's Regiment of Militia, 1778–82
Van Veghten's Regiment of Militia, 1779–80
Van Woert's Regiment of Militia, 1779–80
Vrooman's Regiment of Militia, 1779–83
Webster's Regiment of Militia, 1780–82
Weissenfels' Regiment of Levies, 1781–82
Wemple's Regiment of Militia, (2nd Albany County Militia Regiment) 1777–80
Whiting's Regiment of Militia, 1777–81
Willett's Regiment of Levies, 1781–83
Williams' Regiment of Militia, 1778–81
Woodhull's Regiment, 1776
Yate's Regiment of Militia, 1779–80

text: North Carolina[edit]

text:
see also North Carolina militia
Collier's Regiment of Militia, 1780
Graham's Tryon County Regiment, 1776
Hillsborough District militia, 1776–1783
Lytle's Regiment of Levies (Caswell County), 1778
1st Mecklenburg County Regiment
2nd Mecklenburg County Regiment
Seawell's Regiment of Militia, Pitt County, 1780

text: Pennsylvania[edit]

text:
see also Pennsylvania militia
Artillery Battalion, Pennsylvania Militia 1747 {Artillery Batteries of the Associated Regiment of Foot of Philadelphia}
1st Battalion Flying Camp, 1776
1st Battalion of Bedford County Militia, 1777
1st Battalion of Chester County Militia, 1776–77
1st Battalion of Cumberland County Militia, 1776–77
1st Regiment Flying Camp of Lancaster County, 1776
1st Battalion of Philadelphia County Militia, 1776
1st Battalion of Riflemen, Philadelphia County Militia, 1776
1st Battalion of Westmoreland County Militia, 1777
1st Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, 1774
2nd Regiment Flying Camp, 1776
2nd Battalion of Cumberland County Militia, 1776
2nd Battalion of Cumberland County Militia, 1777
2nd Battalion of Northampton County Miliia, 1778
2nd Battalion of Riflemen, Lancaster County, 1776–77
2nd Battalion of Westmoreland County Militia, 1777
3rd Battalion of Chester County Militia, 1776–77
3rd Battalion of Cumberland County Militia, 1776
3rd Battalion of Lancaster County Militia, 1776
3rd Battalion of the Northhampton County Milita, 1777–84
3rd Battalion of Northumberland County Militia, 1779
3rd Battalion of Washington County Militia, 1779–83
4th Battalion of Chester County Militia, 1776
4th Battalion of Philadelphia County Militia, 1776 (a.k.a. 4th Battalion of Associators ?)
5th Battalion of Chester County Militia, 1776
5th Battalion of Cumberland County Militia, 1776
5th Battalion of Philadelphia County Militia, 1776
5th Battalion of York County Militia, 1777
Andrews' Battalion of York County Militia, 1777–78
Atlee's Musket Battalion, 1777
Baxter's Battalion Flying Camp, 1776
Barr's Detachment of Westmoreland County Militia, 1778
Clugage's Battalion, 1778
Burd's Battalion, 1776
Clotz' Battalion Flying Camp, Lancaster County, 1776
Duncan's Company of Volunteers (Pittsburgh), 1778
Enslow's Company of Bedford County Militia, 1782–83
Ferreis' Battalion of Militia (Lancaster County), 1776
Haller's Battalion Flying Camp, 1776
Hart's Battalion of Bucks County Militia, 1776
Matlack's Rifle Battalion, 1777
Miles' Rifle Regiment, 1776
Lochny's Battalion
Moorhead's Independent Company, 1777–79
Philadelphia Brigade of Militia, 1747 {Associated Regiment of Foot of Philadelphia/Associators of the City and Liberties of Philadelphia}
Philadelphia Light Horse Troop, 1780
Quaker Blues
Militia of York County
Rankin's Regiment of York County Militia, 1777
Reed's Volunteer, 1780–81
Schott's Corps (Independent), 1778
Swope's Regiment Flying Camp, 1776–80
Watt's Regiment Flying Camp, 1776

text: Rhode Island[edit]

text:
see also Rhode Island militia
1st Battalion Providence County Militia, 1781
2nd Battalion Providence County Militia, 1781
15th Regiment of Rhode Island Militia, 1775
Arnold's Regiment of Pawtuxet Rangers, 1774
Artillery Company of Westerly, Charleston and Hopkinton, 1755
Babcock's Regiment of Militia, 1776–77
Bowen's Regiment of Militia, 1778
Bristol Train of Artillery, February 12, 1776
Cook's Regiment of Militia (Rhode Island), 1777
Crary's Regiment, 1777–79
Elliott's Regiment of Artillery, 1776–78
Kentish Guards, 1774
Kimball's Regiment of Militia, 1781
Lippitt's Regiment, 1776
Mathewson's Regiment, 1778
Miller's Regiment of Militia, 1778
Newport Artillery Company, 1741
North Providence Rangers, 1775
Noyes' Regiment of Militia, 1777–78
Olney's Regiment of Militia, 1781
Pawtuxet Rangers, 1774
Peck's Regiment, 1780–81
Porter's Regiment of Militia, 1781
Col. William Richmond's Regiment of State Troops in Continental service 1775–1777
Tillinghast's Regiment, 1781
Topham's Regiment, 1778–80
Waterman's Regiment, 1776–88

text: South Carolina[edit]

text:
see also South Carolina militia
Charleston Battalion of Artillery, 1775–80
Casey's Regiment, 1782
Dutch Fork Militia, 1781–82
German Fusiliers of Charleston, 1775
Horse Guards, 1753

text: Vermont[edit]

text:
see also Vermont militia
Green Mountain Boys, 1777
Herrick's Regiment, 1775–83
Marsh's Regiment, 1777

text: Virginia[edit]

text:
see also Virginia militia
Culpeper Minutemen of 1775–1776
Dabney's State Legion
Frederick County Militia, 1777
Fluvanna County militia, 1781
Gaskin's Virginia Battalion, 1781
Illinois Regiment of Virginia Volunteers, 1783–84
Captain Johnson's Company of Mounted Militia of Augusta County 1780
Monongalia County Militia, 1777
Pendleton's Regiment of Militia, 1777
Taylor's Regiment of Militia (Albemarle County), 1779
Virginia Legion
Virginia State Regiment, 1775–83
Western Battalion, 1781–82


document_title: Elections in the United States

question_text: when do you vote for house of representatives

text: Elections in the United States

text: Voting[edit]

text: The most common method used in U.S. elections is the first-past-the-post system, where the highest polling candidate wins the election. Some may use a two-round system, where if no candidate receives a required number of votes then there is a runoff between the two candidates with the most votes.[citation needed]

tag: p

text: Since 2002, several cities have adopted instant-runoff voting in their elections. Voters rank the candidates in order of preference rather than voting for a single candidate. If a candidate secures more than half of votes cast, that candidate wins. Otherwise, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Ballots assigned to the eliminated candidate are recounted and assigned to those of the remaining candidates who rank next in order of preference on each ballot. This process continues until one candidate wins by obtaining more than half the votes.[citation needed]

text: Eligibility[edit]

text: The eligibility of an individual for voting is set out in the constitution and also regulated at state level. The constitution states that suffrage cannot be denied on grounds of race or color, sex or age for citizens eighteen years or older. Beyond these basic qualifications, it is the responsibility of state legislatures to regulate voter eligibility. Some states ban convicted criminals, especially felons, from voting for a fixed period of time or indefinitely.[3] The number of American adults who are currently or permanently ineligible to vote due to felony convictions is estimated to be 5.3 million.[4] Some states also have legacy constitutional statements barring legally declared incompetent from voting; such references are generally considered obsolete and are being considered for review or removal where they appear.[5]

text: Voter registration[edit]

text: While the federal government has jurisdiction over federal elections, most election laws are decided at the state level. All U.S. states except North Dakota require that citizens who wish to vote be registered. Traditionally, voters had to register at state offices to vote, but in the mid-1990s efforts were made by the federal government to make registering easier, in an attempt to increase turnout. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (the "Motor Voter" law) required state governments that receive certain types of federal funding to make the voter registration process easier by providing uniform registration services through drivers' license registration centers, disability centers, schools, libraries, and mail-in registration. Other states allow citizens same-day registration on Election Day.

text: In many states, citizens registering to vote may declare an affiliation with a political party.[6] This declaration of affiliation does not cost money, and does not make the citizen a dues-paying member of a party. A party cannot prevent a voter from declaring his or her affiliation with them, but it can refuse requests for full membership. In some states, only voters affiliated with a party may vote in that party's primary elections (see below). Declaring a party affiliation is never required. Some states, including Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, practice non-partisan registration.[7]

text: Absentee voting[edit]

text: Voters unable or unwilling to vote at polling stations on Election Day can vote via absentee ballots. Absentee ballots are most commonly sent and received via the United States Postal Service. Despite their name, absentee ballots are often requested and submitted in person. About half of all states and U.S. territories allow "no excuse absentee," where no reason is required to request an absentee ballot. Others require a valid reason, such as infirmity or travel, be given before a voter can participate using an absentee ballot. Some states, including California,[8] and Washington[9][10] allow citizens to apply for permanent absentee voter status, which will automatically receive an absentee ballot for each election. Typically a voter must request an absentee ballot before the election occurs.

text: A significant source of absentee ballots is the population of Americans living outside the United States. In 1986 Congress enacted the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). UOCAVA requires that the states and territories allow members of the United States Uniformed Services and merchant marine, their family members, and United States citizens residing outside the United States to register and vote absentee in elections for Federal offices. Though many states had pre-existing statutes in place UOCAVA made it mandatory and nationally uniform. "Generally, all U.S. citizens 19 years or older who are or will be residing outside the United States during an election period are eligible to vote absentee in any election for Federal office. In addition, all members of the Uniformed Services, their family members and members of the Merchant Marine and their family members, who are U.S. citizens, may vote absentee in Federal, state and local elections."[11] Absentee ballots from these voters can often be transmitted private delivery services, fax, or email.[12]

text: Mail ballots[edit]

text: Mail ballots are similar in many respects to an absentee ballot. However they are used for Mailing Precincts where on Election Day no polling place is opened for a specific precinct.[13] In Oregon, Washington, and Colorado, all ballots are delivered through the mail.

text: Early voting[edit]

text: Early voting is a formal process where voters can cast their ballots prior to the official Election Day. Early voting in person is allowed in 33 states and in Washington, D.C., with no excuse required.[14]

text: Voting equipment[edit]

text: Voters casting their ballots in polling places record their votes most commonly with optical scan voting machines or DRE voting machines. Voting machine selection is typically done through a state's local election jurisdiction including counties, cities, and townships. Many of these local jurisdictions have changed their voting equipment since 2000 due to the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which allocated funds for the replacement of lever machine and punch card voting equipment.

text: Since the 1980s many jurisdictions and voting locations have given out "I Voted" stickers to people casting ballots. In the state of Illinois it's a state law to have stickers available to voters after they have cast their ballots. State and local governments pay $30 million per year for the stickers that cost about one cent each.[15]

text: Levels of election[edit]

text: Federal elections[edit]

text: The United States has a presidential system of government, which means that the executive and legislature are elected separately. Article One of the United States Constitution requires that any election for the U.S. President must occur on a single day throughout the country; elections for Congressional offices, however, can be held at different times. Congressional and presidential elections take place simultaneously every four years, and the intervening Congressional elections, which take place every two years, are called Midterm elections.

text: The constitution states that members of the United States House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and be a (legal) inhabitant of the state they represent. Senators must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and be a (legal) inhabitant of the state they represent. The President must be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen of the United States and a resident in the United States for at least fourteen years. It is the responsibility of state legislatures to regulate the qualifications for a candidate appearing on a ballot paper, although in order to get onto the ballot, a candidate must often collect a legally defined number of signatures.

text: Presidential elections[edit]

text: The President and the Vice President are elected together in a Presidential election.[16] It is an indirect election, with the winner being determined by votes cast by electors of the Electoral College. In modern times, voters in each state select a slate of electors from a list of several slates designated by different parties or candidates, and the electors typically promise in advance to vote for the candidates of their party (whose names of the presidential candidates usually appear on the ballot rather than those of the individual electors). The winner of the election is the candidate with at least 270 Electoral College votes. It is possible for a candidate to win the electoral vote, and lose the (nationwide) popular vote (receive fewer votes nationwide than the second ranked candidate). Prior to ratification of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1804), the runner-up in a Presidential election[17] became the Vice President.

text: Electoral College votes are cast by individual states by a group of electors; each elector casts one electoral college vote. Until the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution of 1961 the District of Columbia citizens did not have representation and/or electors in the electoral college. In modern times, with electors usually committed to vote for a party candidate in advance, electors that vote against the popular vote in their state are called faithless electors, and occurrences are rare. State law regulates how states cast their electoral college votes. In all states except Maine and Nebraska, the candidate that wins the most votes in the state receives all its electoral college votes (a "winner takes all" system). From 1969 in Maine, and from 1991 in Nebraska, two electoral votes are awarded based on the winner of the statewide election, and the rest (two in Maine, three in Nebraska) go to the highest vote-winner in each of the state's congressional districts.

text:
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United States presidential elections

Elections by year

1788–89
1792
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020

Elections by state

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington, D.C.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Primaries and caucuses

Iowa caucuses
New Hampshire primary
South Carolina primary
Super Tuesday

Nominating conventions

Brokered convention
Convention bounce
Superdelegate

Electoral College
and Popular vote

Results

Summary
Elections in which the winner lost the popular vote
Electoral College margins
Electoral College results by state
Electoral vote changes between elections
Electoral vote recipients
Popular vote margins

Contingent election
Faithless elector
Unpledged elector
Voter turnout

Related topics

Campaign slogans
Historical election polling
Election Day
Major party tickets
Major party losers
Presidential debates
October surprise
Red states and blue states
Swing state
Election recount

House elections
Senate elections
Gubernatorial elections

text: Congressional elections[edit]

text: Congress has two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

text: Senate elections[edit]

text: The Senate has 100 members, elected for a six-year term in dual-seat constituencies (2 from each state), with one-third being renewed every two years. The group of the Senate seats that is up for election during a given year is known as a "class"; the three classes are staggered so that only one of the three groups is renewed every two years. Until the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913, States chose how to elect Senators, and they were often elected by state legislatures, not the electorate of states.

text:
[show]

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United States Senate elections

1788/89
1790/91
1792/93
1794/95
1796/97
1798/99
1800/01
1802/03
1804/05
1806/07
1808/09
1810/11
1812/13
1814/15
1816/17
1818/19
1820/21
1822/23
1824/25
1826/27
1828/29
1830/31
1832/33
1834/35
1836/37
1838/39
1840/41
1842/43
1844/45
1846/47
1848/49
1850/51
1852/53
1854/55
1856/57
1858/59
1860/61
1862/63
1864/65
1866/67
1868/69
1870/71
1872/73
1874/75
1876/77
1878/79
1880/81
1882/83
1884/85
1886/87
1888/89
1890/91
1892/93
1894/95
1896/97
1898/99
1900/01
1902/03
1904/05
1906/07
1908/09
1910/11
1912/13
1914/15
1916
1918
1920/21
1922/23
1924/25
1926
1928
1930/31
1932/33
1934
1936/37
1938
1940/41
1942
1944
1946/47
1948/49
1950
1952
1954
1956/57
1958/59
1960/61
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974/75
1976
1978
1980
1982/83
1984
1986
1988
1990/91
1992/93
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022

Special elections
Election disputes
Results by state
List of elections in the United States
House elections
Presidential elections
Gubernatorial elections

text: House of Representatives elections[edit]

text: The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected for a two-year term in single-seat constituencies. House of Representatives elections are held every two years on the first Tuesday after November 1 in even years. Special House elections can occur between if a member dies or resigns during a term. House elections are first-past-the-post elections that elect a Representative from each of 435 House districts which cover the United States. The non-voting delegates of Washington, D.C. and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands are also elected.

text: House elections occur every two years, correlated with presidential elections or halfway through a President's term. The House delegate of Puerto Rico, officially known as the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, is elected to a four-year term, coinciding with those of the President.

text: As the redistricting commissions of states are often partisan, districts are often drawn which benefit incumbents. An increasing trend has been for incumbents to have an overwhelming advantage in House elections, and since the 1994 election, an unusually low number of seats has changed hands in each election.[citation needed] Due to gerrymandering, fewer than 10% of all House seats are contested in each election cycle. Over 90% of House members are reelected every two years, due to lack of electoral competition. Gerrymandering of the House, combined with the divisions inherent in the design of the Senate and of the Electoral College, result in a discrepancy between the percentage of popular support for various political parties and the actual level of the parties' representation.

text:
[show]

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United States House of Representatives elections

Years

1788/89
1790
1792
1794
1796
1798
1800
1802
1804
1806
1808
1810
1812
1814
1816
1818
1820
1822
1824
1826
1828
1830
1832
1834
1836
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858/59
1860
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870/71
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018

Special

1917
110th Congress
111th Congress
All

Senate elections
Presidential elections
Gubernatorial elections

text: State elections[edit]

text: State law and state constitutions, controlled by state legislatures regulate elections at state level and local level. Various officials at state level are elected. Since the separation of powers applies to states as well as the federal government, state legislatures and the executive (the governor) are elected separately. Governors and lieutenant governor are elected in all states, in some states on a joint ticket and in some states separately, some separately in different electoral cycles. The governors of the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands are also elected. In some states, executive positions such as Attorney General and Secretary of State are also elected offices. All members of state legislatures and territorial jurisdiction legislatures are elected. In some states, members of the state supreme court and other members of the state judiciary are elected. Proposals to amend the state constitution are also placed on the ballot in some states.

text: As a matter of convenience and cost saving, elections for many of these state and local offices are held at the same time as either the federal presidential or midterm elections. There are a handful of states, however, that instead hold their elections during odd-numbered "off years."

text:
[show]

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United States gubernatorial elections

List of current Governors

1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

House elections
Senate elections
Presidential elections

text: Local elections[edit]

text: At the local level, county and city government positions are usually filled by election, especially within the legislative branch. The extent to which offices in the executive or judicial branches are elected vary from county-to-county or city-to-city. Some examples of local elected positions include sheriffs at the county level and mayors and school board members at the city level. Like state elections, an election for a specific local office may be held at the same time as either the presidential, midterm, or off-year elections.

text: Comparison of recent and upcoming election years[edit]

text:
Basic rotation of U.S. general elections (fixed-terms only[1])

Year
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020

Type
Presidential
Off-yeara
Midterm
Off-yearb
Presidential

President
Yes
No
Yes

Senate
Class III (34 seats)
No
Class I (33 seats)
No
Class II (33 seats)

House
All 435 seats[2]
No
All 435 seats[3]
No
All 435 seats[2]

Gubernatorial
11 states
DE, IN, MO, MT, NH, NC, ND, UT, VT, WA, WV
2 states
NJ, VA
36 states[4]
AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WI, WY
3 states
KY, LA, MS
11 states
DE, IN, MO, MT, NH, NC, ND, UT, VT, WA, WV

Other state and local offices
Varies

text:
view
talk
edit

text: Features of the election system[edit]

text: Party systems[edit]

text: Americans vote for a specific candidate instead of directly selecting a particular political party. The United States Constitution has never formally addressed the issue of political parties. The Founding Fathers such as Alexander Hamilton and James Madison did not support domestic political factions at the time the Constitution was written.[18] In addition, the first President of the United States, George Washington, was not a member of any political party at the time of his election or throughout his tenure as president. Furthermore, he hoped that political parties would not be formed, fearing conflict and stagnation. Nevertheless, the beginnings of the American two-party system emerged from his immediate circle of advisers, with Hamilton and Madison ending up being the core leaders in this emerging party system.

text: Thus, it is up to the candidate to decide under what party he/she should run, registers to run, pays the fees, etc. In the primary elections, the party organization stays neutral until one candidate has been elected. The platform of the party is written by the winning candidate (in presidential elections; in other elections no platform is involved). Each candidate has his or her own campaign, fund raising organization, etc. The primary elections in the main parties are organized by the states, who also register the party affiliation of the voters (this also makes it easier to gerrymander the congressional districts). The party is thus little more than a campaign organization for the main elections.

text: However, elections in the United States often do become de facto national races between the political parties. In what is known as "presidential coattails", candidates in presidential elections usually bring out supporters who then vote for his or her party's candidates for other offices, usually resulting in the presidential winner's party gaining seats in Congress. On the other hand, midterm elections are sometimes regarded as a referendum on the sitting president's and/or incumbent party's performance.[19][20] There is a historical pattern that the incumbent president's party loses seats in midterm elections. This may be because the President's popularity has slipped since election, or because the President's popularity encouraged supporters to come out to vote for him or her in the presidential election, but these supporters are less likely to vote when the President is not up for election.

text: Ballot access[edit]

text: Ballot access refers to the laws which regulate under what conditions access is granted for a candidate or political party to appear on voters' ballots. Each State has its own ballot access laws to determine who may appear on ballots and who may not. According to Article I, Section 4, of the United States Constitution, the authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of federal elections is up to each State, unless Congress legislates otherwise. Depending on the office and the state, it may be possible for a voter to cast a write-in vote for a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot, but it is extremely rare for such a candidate to win office.

text: Campaign finance[edit]

text: The funding of electoral campaigns has always been a controversial issue in American politics. Infringement of free speech (First Amendment) is an argument against restrictions on campaign contributions, while allegations of corruption arising from unlimited contributions and the need for political equality are arguments for the other side.[21] Private funds are a major source of finance, from individuals and organizations. The first attempt to regulate campaign finance by legislation was in 1867, but major legislation, with the intention to widely enforce, on campaign finance was not introduced until the 1970s.

text: Money contributed to campaigns can be classified into "hard money" and "soft money". Hard money is money contributed directly to a campaign, by an individual or organization. Soft money is money from an individual or organization not contributed to a campaign, but spent in candidate specific advertising or other efforts that benefits that candidate by groups supporting the candidate, but legally not coordinated by the official campaign.

text: The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 required candidates to disclose sources of campaign contributions and campaign expenditure. It was amended in 1974 to legally limit campaign contributions. It banned direct contributing to campaigns by corporations and trade unions and limited individual donations to $1,000 per campaign. It introduced public funding for Presidential primaries and elections. The Act also placed limits of $5,000 per campaign on PACs (political action committees). The limits on individual contributions and prohibition of direct corporate or labor union campaigns led to a huge increase in the number of PACs. Today many labor unions and corporations have their own PACs, and over 4,000 in total exist. The 1974 amendment also specified a Federal Election Commission, created in 1975 to administer and enforce campaign finance law. Various other provisions were also included, such as a ban on contributions or expenditures by foreign nationals (incorporated from the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) (1966)).

text: The case of Buckley v. Valeo (1976) challenged the Act. Most provisions were upheld, but the court found that the mandatory spending limit imposed was unconstitutional, as was the limit placed on campaign spending from the candidate's personal fortune and the provision that limited independent expenditures by individuals and organizations supporting but not officially linked to a campaign. The effect of the first decision was to allow candidates such as Ross Perot and Steve Forbes to spend enormous amounts of their own money in their own campaigns. The effect of the second decision was to allow the culture of "soft money" to develop.

text: A 1979 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act allowed political parties to spend without limit on get-out-the-vote and voter registration activities conducted primarily for a presidential candidate. Later, they were permitted by FECA to use "soft money", unregulated, unlimited contributions to fund this effort. Increasingly, the money began to be spent on issue advertising, candidate specific advertising that was being funded mostly by soft money.

text: The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 banned local and national parties from spending "soft money" and banned national party committees from accepting or spending soft money. It increased the limit of contributions by individuals from $1,000 to $2,000. It banned corporations or labor unions from funding issue advertising directly, and banned the use of corporate or labor money for advertisements that mention a federal candidate within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary. The constitutionality of the bill was challenged and in December 2003, the Supreme Court upheld most provisions of the legislation. (See McConnell v. FEC.)

text: A large number of "527 groups" were active for the first time in the 2004 election. These groups receive donations from individuals and groups and then spend the money on issue advocacy, such as the anti-Kerry ads by Swift Boat Veterans For Truth. This is a new form of soft money, and not surprisingly it is controversial. Many 527 groups have close links with the Democratic or Republican Parties, even though legally they cannot coordinate their activities with them. John McCain, one of the Senators behind the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, and President Bush have both declared a desire to ban 527s.

text: Changing campaign finance laws is a highly controversial issue. Some reformers wish to see laws changed in order to improve electoral competition and political equality. Opponents wish to see the system stay as it is, whereas other reformers wish even fewer restrictions on the freedom to spend and contribute money. The Supreme Court has made it increasingly difficult for those who wish to regulate election financing, but options like partial public funding of campaigns are still possible and offer the potential to address reformers' concerns with minimal restrictions on the freedom to contribute.[22]

text: Primaries and caucuses[edit]

text: In partisan elections, candidates are chosen by primary elections (abbreviated to "primaries") and caucuses in the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

text: A primary election is an election in which registered voters in a jurisdiction (nominating primary) select a political party's candidate for a later election. There are various types of primary: either the whole electorate is eligible, and voters choose one party's primary at the polling booth (an open primary); or only independent voters can choose a party's primary at the polling booth (a semi-closed primary); or only registered members of the party are allowed to vote (closed primary). The blanket primary, when voters could vote for all parties' primaries on the same ballot was struck down by the United States Supreme Court as violating the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of assembly in the case California Democratic Party v. Jones. Primaries are also used to select candidates at the state level, for example in gubernatorial elections.

text: Caucuses also nominate candidates by election, but they are very different from primaries. Caucuses are meetings that occur at precincts and involve discussion of each party's platform and issues such as voter turnout in addition to voting. Eleven states: Iowa, New Mexico, North Dakota, Maine, Nevada, Hawaii, Minnesota, Kansas, Alaska, Wyoming, Colorado and the District of Columbia use caucuses, for one or more political parties.

text: The primary and caucus season in Presidential elections lasts from the Iowa caucus in January to the last primaries in June. Front-loading - when larger numbers of contests take place in the opening weeks of the season—can have an effect on the nomination process, potentially reducing the number of realistic candidates, as fund-raisers and donors quickly abandon those they see as untenable. However, it is not the case that the successful candidate is always the candidate that does the best in the early primaries. There is also a period dubbed the "invisible primary" that takes place before the primary season, when candidates attempt to solicit media coverage and funding well before the real primary season begins.

text: A state's presidential primary election or caucus usually is an indirect election: instead of voters directly selecting a particular person running for President, it determines how many delegates each party's national political convention will receive from their respective state. These delegates then in turn select their party's presidential nominee. Held in the summer, a political convention's purpose is also to adopt a statement of the party's principles and goals known as the platform and adopt the rules for the party's activities.

text: The day on which primaries are held for congressional seats, and state and local offices may also vary between states. The only federally mandated day for elections is Election Day for the general elections of the President and Congress; all other elections are at the discretion of the individual state and local governments.

text: Election information on the web[edit]

text: In most states of the U.S., the chief election officer is the Secretary of state. In some states, local officials like a county Registrar of Voters or Supervisor of Elections manages the conduct of elections under the supervision of (or in coordination with) the chief election officer of the state. Many of these state and county offices have web sites that provide information to help voters obtain information on their polling places for each election, the various districts to which they belong (e.g., house and senate districts in the state and federal legislature, school boards, water districts, municipalities, etc.), as well as dates of elections and deadlines to file to run or register to vote. Some allow voters to download a sample ballot in advance of the election.

text: Beyond this, various media outlets provide information they think will interest their audience.

text: More systematic coverage is provided by web sites devoted specifically to collecting election information and making it available to the public. Two of the better known such sites are Ballotpedia and Vote Smart. These are run by non-profit, non-partisan organizations. They have paid staffs and are much more tightly controlled than Wikipedia.

text: USElections.com[23] tries to provide similar information but relies on volunteers in a way that is more like Wikipedia than Ballotpedia and Vote Smart.

text: The website 270towin provides actual electoral college maps (both current and historic) but also the ability to use an interactive 3d map in order to make election predictions. Ongoing election news is reported as well as data on Senate and House races.[24]

text: The Center for Responsive Politics (opensecrets.org) and the National Institute on Money in State Politics (followthemoney.org) also provide useful election information focusing especially on campaign finance.

text: Hurdles[edit]

text: In 2014 scientists from Princeton University did a study on the influence of the "elite", and their derived power from special interest lobbying, versus the "ordinary" US citizen within the US political system. They found that the US was looking more like an oligarchy than a real representative democracy; thus eroding a government of the people, by the people, for the people as stated by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address. In fact, the study found that average citizens had an almost nonexistent influence on public policies and that the ordinary citizen had little or no independent influence on policy at all.[25]

text: There were many US presidential elections in which foreign countries manipulate the voters.[26] Electoral College is criticised for being un-democratic (it can choose candidate who did not win the popular vote) and for focusing campaigns only on swing states.[27]