1874–75 United States Senate elections
The 1874–75 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 1874 and 1875, 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 1.
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25 of the 74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 38 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican hold Anti-monopoly gain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Although the Republican Party (the party of incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant) maintained their Senate majority, the Democratic Party gained nine seats.
Results summary
Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.
Parties | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Democratic | Republican | Liberal Republican |
Anti- Monopoly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Before these elections | 19 | 52 | 2 | 0 | 73 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Not up | 14 | 32 | 2 | — | 48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 2 (1870/71) | 9 | 15 | 1 | — | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class 3 (1872/73) | 5 | 17 | 1 | — | 31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Up | 5 | 22 | 1 | — | 36 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular: Class 1 | 5 | 20 | — | — | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Special: Class 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Special: Class 2 | 0 | 1 | — | — | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Incumbent retired | 2 | 11 | — | — | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Held by same party | 1 | 4 | — | — | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Replaced by other party | 7 Republicans replaced by 7 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Anti-Monopolist |
8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Result | 8 | 4 | — | 1 | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Incumbent's intent unknown | 1 | 4 | — | — | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Held by same party | 1 | 2 | — | — | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Replaced by other party | 2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Result | 3 | 2 | — | — | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Incumbent ran | 2 | 5 | — | — | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Won re-election | 2 | 2 | — | — | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lost re-election | 1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lost renomination but held by same party |
— | 2 | — | — | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Result | 3 | 4 | — | — | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total elected | 14 | 10 | — | 1 | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net change | 9 | 10 | — | 1 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Result | 28 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 73 |
Change in Senate composition
Before the elections
After the April 17, 1874, special election in Massachusetts.
D7 | D6 | D5 | D4 | D3 | D2 | D1 | |||
D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 | D12 | D13 | D14 | D15 Ran |
D16 Ran |
D17 Unknown |
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R48 Retired |
R49 Retired |
R50 Retired |
R51 Retired |
R52 Retired |
LR1 | LR2 | V1 | D19 Retired |
D18 Retired |
R47 Retired |
R46 Retired |
R45 Retired |
R44 Retired |
R43 Retired |
R42 Retired |
R41 Retired |
R40 Unknown |
R39 Unknown |
R38 Unknown |
Majority → | R37 Ran | ||||||||
R28 | R29 | R30 | R31 | R32 | R33 Ran |
R34 Ran |
R35 Ran |
R36 Ran | |
R27 | R26 | R25 | R24 | R23 | R22 | R21 | R20 | R19 | R18 |
R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 |
R7 | R6 | R5 | R4 | R3 | R2 | R1 |
Result of the elections
D7 | D6 | D5 | D4 | D3 | D2 | D1 | |||
D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 | D12 | D13 | D14 | D15 Re-elected |
D16 Re-elected |
D17 Hold |
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D27 Gain |
D26 Gain |
D25 Gain |
D24 Gain |
D23 Gain |
D22 Gain |
D21 Gain |
D20 Gain |
D19 Gain |
D18 Hold |
D28 Gain |
AM1 Gain |
V1 | LR2 | LR1 | R42 Hold |
R41 Hold |
R40 Hold |
R39 Hold |
R38 Hold |
Majority → | R37 Hold | ||||||||
R28 | R29 | R30 | R31 | R32 | R33 Re-elected |
R34 Re-elected |
R35 Hold |
R36 Hold | |
R27 | R26 | R25 | R24 | R23 | R22 | R21 | R20 | R19 | R18 |
R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 |
R7 | R6 | R5 | R4 | R3 | R2 | R1 |
Beginning of the next Congress
D7 | D6 | D5 | D4 | D3 | D2 | D1 | |||
D8 | D9 | D10 | D11 | D12 | D13 | D14 | D15 | D16 | D17 |
D27 | D26 | D25 | D24 | D23 | D22 | D21 | D20 | D19 | D18 |
D28 | AM1 | V1 | R44 Change |
R43 Change |
R42 | R41 | R40 | R39 | R38 |
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Majority → | R37 | ||||||||
R28 | R29 | R30 | R31 | R32 | R33 | R34 | R35 | R36 | |
R27 | R26 | R25 | R24 | R23 | R22 | R21 | R20 | R19 | R18 |
R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 |
R7 | R6 | R5 | R4 | R3 | R2 | R1 |
Key: |
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Race summaries
Elections during the 43rd Congress
In these elections, the winners were seated during 1874 or in 1875 before March 4; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Kansas (Class 2) |
Robert Crozier | Republican | 1873 (Appointed) | Interim appointee retired February 2, 1874. New senator elected February 2, 1874. Republican hold. |
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Mississippi (Class 1) |
Adelbert Ames | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent resigned March 17, 1873, to become Governor of Mississippi. New senator elected February 3, 1874. Republican hold. Winner did not run for the next term, see below. |
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Massachusetts (Class 1) |
Charles Sumner | Liberal Republican |
1851 (special) 1857 1863 1869 |
Incumbent died March 12, 1874. New senator elected April 17, 1874. Republican gain. Winner did not run for the next term, see below. |
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Races leading to the 44th Congress
In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1875; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
California | Eugene Casserly | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent resigned November 29, 1873. New senator elected early December 20, 1873.[2] Anti-Monopoly gain. |
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Connecticut | William Alfred Buckingham | Republican | 1868 or 1869 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected May 19, 1874. Democratic gain. Incumbent died February 5, 1875, and winner was then appointed to finish the term. |
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Delaware | Thomas F. Bayard | Democratic | 1869 | Incumbent re-elected in 1875. |
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Florida | Abijah Gilbert | Republican | 1868 or 1869 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic gain. |
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Indiana | Daniel D. Pratt | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1874 or 1875. Democratic gain. |
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Maine | Hannibal Hamlin | Republican | 1857 1861 (Resigned) 1869 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1875. |
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Maryland | William P. Whyte | Democratic | 1874 (Appointed) | Incumbent retired to run for Maryland Governor. New senator elected in 1874. Democratic hold. |
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Massachusetts | William B. Washburn | Republican | 1874 (special) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold. |
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Michigan | Zachariah Chandler | Republican | 1857 1863 1869 |
Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1874. Republican hold. |
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Minnesota | Alexander Ramsey | Republican | 1863 1869 |
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold. |
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Mississippi | Henry R. Pease | Republican | 1874 (special) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in February 1874. Republican hold. |
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Missouri | Carl Schurz | Republican | 1868 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1874. Democratic gain. |
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Nebraska | Thomas Tipton | Republican | 1867 1869 |
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold. |
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Nevada | William M. Stewart | Republican | 1865 1869 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 12, 1875. Republican hold. |
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New Jersey | John P. Stockton | Democratic | 1864 1866 (Lost election dispute) 1869 |
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic hold. |
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New York | Reuben E. Fenton | Republican | 1869 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 20, 1875. Democratic gain. |
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Ohio | Allen G. Thurman | Democratic | 1868 | Incumbent re-elected in 1874. |
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Pennsylvania | John Scott | Republican | 1869 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 19, 1875. Democratic gain. |
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Rhode Island | William Sprague IV | Republican | 1862 1868 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold. |
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Tennessee | William G. Brownlow | Republican | 1867 (Early) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 26, 1875, on the 54th ballot. Democratic gain. |
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Texas | James W. Flanagan | Republican | 1870 (Readmission) | Incumbent retired.[lower-alpha 4] New senator elected on January 28, 1875. Democratic gain. |
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Vermont | George F. Edmunds | Republican | 1866 (Appointed) 1866 (special) 1868 |
Incumbent re-elected on October 20, 1874. |
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Virginia | John F. Lewis | Republican | 1870 (Readmission) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic gain. |
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West Virginia | Arthur I. Boreman | Republican | 1868 or 1869 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1874 or 1875. Democratic gain. |
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Wisconsin | Matthew H. Carpenter | Republican | 1868 or 1869 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 1875. Republican hold. |
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Elections during the 44th Congress
There were no special elections in 1875 to the 44th Congress.
Maryland
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80 members of the Maryland General Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
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William Pinkney Whyte won election for an unknown margin of votes for the Class 1 seat.[7]
New York
The New York election was held on January 19 and 20, 1875, by the New York State Legislature.
Republican Reuben E. Fenton had been elected in January 1869 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1875.
At the state election in November 1873, a Republican majority was elected for a two-year term (1874-1875) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1874, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden was elected Governor, 75 Democrats and 53 Republicans were elected for the session of 1875 to the Assembly, and Democrat Albert P. Laning was elected in the 31st District to fill a vacancy in the State Senate. The 98th New York State Legislature met from January 5 to May 19, 1875, at Albany, New York.
The caucus of Democratic State legislators met on January 15, State Senator Albert P. Laning, of Buffalo, presided. All but one of the legislators were present, only Assemblyman John M. Roscoe, of Schoharie County, was sick. The caucus nominated Francis Kernan for the U.S. Senate. Kernan had been the Democratic/Liberal Republican candidate for Governor in November 1872 but had been defeated by John Adams Dix. Now Kernan was the choice of Tammany boss John Kelly who had succeeded the corrupt William M. Tweed. Kelly was opposed by John C. Jacobs, who proposed Ex-State Senator Henry C. Murphy, Jacobs's predecessor from the 3rd District, and the Democratic candidate who had lost the U.S. Senate elections in 1867 and 1869 when the Democrats were the minority. Kelly stood firm in his intention to dominate the Democratic Party, and had the caucus nomination made by viva voce vote instead of the more traditional secret ballot. Jacobs and Murphy had expected to get votes from many legislators who would not dare to cross Kelly openly, but had to abandon their hopes when the secret ballot was voted down 74 to 13.
Candidate | First ballot |
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Francis Kernan | 77 |
Henry C. Murphy | 9 |
John T. Hoffman | 1 |
The caucus of the Republican State legislators nominated Ex-U.S. Senator from New York Edwin D. Morgan.
On January 19, the Democratic majority of the Assembly nominated Francis Kernan, and the Republican majority of the State Senate nominated Ex-U.S. Senator Edwin D. Morgan. On January 20, both Houses met in joint session to compare nominations, and finding that they disagreed, proceeded to a joint ballot. Francis Kernan was elected, the first Democratic U.S. Senator from New York since 1851 when Daniel S. Dickinson left office.
House | Democratic | Republican | Democratic | |||
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State Senate (32 members) |
Francis Kernan | 13 | Edwin D. Morgan | 16 | ||
State Assembly (128 members) |
Francis Kernan | 74 | Edwin D. Morgan | 52 | John T. Hoffman | 1 |
Joint Ballot (160 members) |
Francis Kernan | 87 | Edwin D. Morgan | 68 | John T. Hoffman | 1 |
Note: The vote for Ex-Governor of New York Hoffman was cast by Reuben E. Fenton's brother-in-law Samuel Scudder, a Democratic Assemblyman from Cattaraugus County.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania election was held on January 19, 1875. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, elected William A. Wallace.[8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | William A. Wallace | 125 | 49.80 | |
Republican | John Allison | 116 | 46.22 | |
N/A | Not voting | 10 | 3.98 | |
Totals | 251 | 100.00% |
West Virginia
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Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature | ||||||||||||||||
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On January 26, 1875, each house of the West Virginia Legislature held votes to elect a Senator, with no person receiving the majority of votes in either chamber. Pursuant to the 1866 Act regulating the election of senators (S.414), the legislature convened into a joint assembly the following day and held further voting. After 23 ballots held jointly, Allen T. Caperton received the majority of votes on February 17, 1875, and was declared duly elected as senator. Votes for senator across the 23 rounds were mostly scattered, with Caperton, the eventual winner, only starting out with 6 votes in the first joint ballot, and receiving only 30 (13 votes short) on the round before his victory.[10]
See also
Notes
- as Republican Conference Chair
- as Democratic Caucus Chair
- Johnson attained 47 votes before switches, four short of a majority.
- Democrats regained control of the state government following the end of Reconstruction, so Flanagan was not a candidate.
References
- "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
- "THE CALIFORNIAN SENATORSHIP ELECTION OF BOOTH". The New York Times. December 21, 1873. p. 1. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- "CT US Senate". OurCampaigns.com. October 11, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- Hearn, Chester G. (2000). The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-7864-0863-4.
- Horton, Louise (1974). Samuel Bell Maxey: A Biography. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-292-72261-3.
- "Vermont: re-election of George F. Edmunds to the United States Senate". New York Herald. New York, NY. October 21, 1874. p. 7 – via Library of Congress, Chronicling America.
- "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 17, 1868". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- "U.S. Senate Election - 19 January 1875" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- "PA US Senate - 1875". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
- Journal of the Senate. West Virginia Legislature. 1875. p. 217.
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
- Members of the 44th United States Congress, via GPO.gov
- NEW-YORK ELECTIONS.; Results of the Official Canvass for the Various Officers in NYT on November 19, 1874
- THE SENATORSHIP.; FRANCIS KERNAN'S SWEEPING VICTORY in NYT on January 16, 1875
- ALBANY.; ELECTION OF KERNAN TO THE SENATE in NYT on January 21, 1875
- Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project