1794–95 United States Senate elections

The 1794–95 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these U.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1794 and 1795, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 3.

1794–95 United States Senate elections

Dates vary by state

10 of the 30 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections)
16 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Federalist Democratic-Republican
Seats before 16
(as Pro-Administration)
13
(as Anti-Administration)
Seats after 19 10
Seat change Increase 3 Decrease 3
Seats up 5
(as Pro-Administration)
5
(as Anti-Administration)
Races won 8 2


     Federalist hold      Federalist gain
     Democratic-Republican hold

Majority Faction before election


Pro-Administration

Elected Majority Faction


Federalist

This was the first election cycle with organized political parties in the United States, with the Federalist Party emerging from the Pro Administration coalition, and the Democratic-Republican Party emerging from the Anti-Administration coalition.

Results summary

Senate party division, 4th Congress (1795–1797)

  • Majority party: Federalist (20)
  • Minority party: Democratic-Republican (10)
  • Other parties: 0
  • Total seats: 30

Change in composition

Before the elections

Note: There were no political parties in the 3rd Congress. Members are informally grouped here into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.[2]

After the March 31, 1794 special election in Pennsylvania.

A5 A4 A3 A2 A1
A6 A7 A8 A9
Ga.
Ran
A10
Ky.
Unknown
A11
N.H.
Ran
A12
N.C.
Unknown
A13
Vt.
Ran
V1
Del.
P16
S.C.
Retired
Majority →
P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12
Conn.
Retired
P13
Md.
Ran
P14
N.Y.
Ran
P15
Pa.
Retired
P5 P4 P3 P2 P1

Results of the elections

A5 A4 A3 A2 A1
A6 A7 A8 DR1
N.H.
Gain
from A
DR2
N.C.
Gain
from A
V1
Del.
F8
Vt.
Gain
from A
F7
S.C.
Gain
from P
F6
Pa.
Gain
from P
F5
N.Y.
Gain
from P
  F4
Md.
Gain
from P
P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 F1
Conn.
Gain
from P
F2
Ga.
Gain
from A
F3
Ky.
Gain
from A
P5 P4 P3 P2 P1

Beginning of the next Congress

Seven senators who were considered "Anti-Administration" became Democratic-Republicans and eleven "Pro-Administration" became Federalists.

DR5
Changed
DR4
Changed
DR3
Changed
DR2
Changed
DR1
Changed
DR6
Changed
DR7
Changed
DR8
Changed
DR9 DR10 F20
Del.
Gain
F19 F18 F17 F16
Majority →
F6
Changed
F7
Changed
F8
Changed
F9
Changed
F10
Changed
F11
Changed
F12 F13 F14 F15
F5
Changed
F4
Changed
F3
Changed
F2
Changed
F1
Changed
Key:
A# Anti-Administration
DR# Democratic-Republican
F# Federalist
P# Pro-Administration
V# Vacant

Race summaries

Except if/when noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.

Special elections during the 3rd Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated before March 4, 1795; ordered by election date.

State Incumbent Results Candidates
Senator Party First elected
Pennsylvania
(Class 1)
Albert Gallatin Anti-Administration [[1794 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania|1793 (special)]] Incumbent disqualified February 28, 1794.
New senator elected March 31, 1794.
Pro-Administration gain.
Winner would become a Federalist in the next Congress.
Virginia
(Class 1)
James Monroe Anti-Administration [[1790 United States Senate special election in Virginia|1790 (special)]] Incumbent resigned May 11, 1794 to become U.S. Minister to France.
New senator elected November 18, 1794.
Anti-Administration hold.
Winner would become a Democratic-Republican in the next Congress.
Virginia
(Class 2)
John Taylor Anti-Administration [[1792 United States Senate special election in Virginia|1792 (special)]] Incumbent resigned May 11, 1794.
New senator elected November 18, 1794.
Anti-Administration hold.
Winner would become a Democratic-Republican in the next Congress.
Delaware
(Class 1)
Vacant George Read (P) had resigned September 18, 1793 to become Chief Justice of Delaware.
New senator elected February 7, 1795.
Pro-Administration gain.
Winner would become a Federalist in the next Congress.

Races leading to the 4th Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1795; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State Incumbent Results Candidates
Senator Party First elected
Connecticut Stephen Mitchell Pro-Administration 1793 (Appointed) Incumbent appointee retired.
New senator's election date unknown.
Federalist gain.
Georgia James Gunn Anti-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected November 13, 1794 to a new party.
Federalist gain.
Kentucky John Edwards Anti-Administration [[1792 United States Senate elections in Kentucky|1792 (New state)]] Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election.
New senator elected in 1794 on the second ballot.
Federalist gain.
Maryland John Henry Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-elected in 1795 to a new party.
Federalist gain.
New Hampshire John Langdon Anti-Administration 1788 Incumbent re-election date to a new party unknown.
Democratic-Republican gain.
New York Rufus King Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent re-elected January 27, 1795 to a new party.
Federalist gain.
North Carolina Benjamin Hawkins Anti-Administration 1789 Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election.
New senator elected in 1795 on the fifth ballot.
Democratic-Republican gain.
Pennsylvania Robert Morris Pro-Administration 1788 Incumbent retired.
New senator elected February 26, 1795.
Federalist gain.
South Carolina Ralph Izard Pro-Administration 1789 Incumbent retired.
New senator elected in 1794 on the second ballot.
Federalist gain.
Vermont Stephen R. Bradley Anti-Administration [[1791 United States Senate elections in Vermont|1791 (New state)]] Incumbent lost re-election.
New senator elected in 1794.
Federalist gain.

Elections during the 4th Congress

There were no elections in 1795 after March 4.

Connecticut

Delaware (special)

Delaware special election

February 7, 1795
 
Nominee Henry Latimer John Dickinson
Party Federalist Democratic-Republican
Popular vote 15 14
Percentage 51.72% 48.28%

U.S. senator before election

George Read
Federalist

Elected U.S. Senator

Henry Latimer
Federalist

The Delaware special election was held February 7, 1795. Incumbent Senator George Read had resigned to take the position of Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. Henry Latimer defeated the former Governor of Delaware, Governor of Pennsylvania and Continental Congressmen from Delaware and Pennsylvania by one vote.

1795 United States Senate election in Delaware[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Federalist Henry Latimer 15 51.72%
Democratic-Republican John Dickinson 14 48.28%
Total votes 29 100%

Georgia

Kentucky

Maryland

1795 United States Senate election in Maryland
December 16, 1794

80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
 
Candidate John Henry James Lloyd
Party Federalist Democratic-Republican
Legislative vote -
Percentage -%  %

John Henry won election over James Lloyd by an unknown number of votes for the Class 3 seat.[11]

New Hampshire

New York

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania (special)

Senator James Ross
Pennsylvania special election, March 31, 1794[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Pro-Administration James Ross 45 51.72%
Unknown Robert Coleman 35 40.23%
Federalist Samuel Sitgreaves 1 1.15%
N/A Not voting 6 6.70%
Total votes 87 100%

Pennsylvania (regular)

Incumbent Federalist Robert Morris, who was elected in 1788, was not a candidate for re-election to another term. The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on February 26, 1795, to elect a senator for the term beginning March 4, 1795.

Pennsylvania general election, February 26, 1795[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Pro-Administration William Bingham 58 56.86%
Anti-Administration Peter Muhlenberg 35 34.31%
N/A Not voting 9 8.82%
Total votes 102 100%

South Carolina

Vermont

Virginia

Even though neither of Virginia's incumbent's terms were up, both resigned in 1794, leading to two special elections.

Future-president James Monroe resigned March 27, 1794 to become U.S. Minister to France.

Stevens Thomson Mason was elected November 18, 1794 and would become a Democratic-Republican in the next Congress.

Virginia (special, class 2)

Incumbent John Taylor of Caroline resigned May 11, 1794.

Henry Tazewell was elected November 18, 1794 and would become a Democratic-Republican in the next Congress.

See also

References

  1. "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
  2. Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
  3. "Delaware 1795 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing South-Carolina State Gazette, and Timothy and Mason's Daily Advertiser (Charleston, SC). March 16, 1795.
  4. "Georgia 1794 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). December 13, 1794.
  5. "Kentucky 1794 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Election of United States Senators by the General Assembly (typed manuscript). Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort.
  6. "New York 1795 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 5, 2018., citing Journal of the New York Assembly, 1795. 32-33. Journal of the New York State Senate, 1795. 15.
  7. "North Carolina 1795 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 5, 2018., citing Legislative Papers. State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh.
  8. "Pennsylvania 1795 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 5, 2018., citing Gazette of the United States (Philadelphia, PA). February 26, 1795.
  9. "South Carolina 1794 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Rogers, George C. Evolution of a Federalist: William Loughton Smith of Charleston (1758-1812). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1962. 268.
  10. "1795 United States Senate election in Delaware".
  11. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 16, 1794". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  12. "PA US Senate - Special Election 1794". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  13. "U.S. Senate Election - 26 February 1795" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
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