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.

1874–75 United States Senate elections

← 1872 & 1873 Dates vary by state (And other dates for special elections) 1876 & 1877 →
25 of the 74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 38 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Henry B. Anthony[a] John W. Stevenson[b] Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1863 March 4, 1873 Leader's seat Rhode Island Kentucky Seats before 52 19 Seats won 10 14 Seats after 42 28 Seat change 10 9 Seats up 20 5   Third party Fourth party   Party Liberal Republican Anti-Monopoly Seats before 2 0 Seats won 0 1 Seats after 2 1 Seat change 1 Seats up 0 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      Anti-monopoly gain
Majority Party before election Republican Elected Majority Party Republican

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
		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
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
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
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:	AM# Anti-Monopoly Party D# Democratic LR# Liberal Republican R# Republican V# Vacant

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
	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.	▌Y James M. Harvey (Republican) [data missing]
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.	▌Y Henry R. Pease (Republican) [data missing]
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.	▌Y William B. Washburn (Republican) [data missing]

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
	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.	▌Y Newton Booth (Anti-Monopoly) 60[2] [data missing]
Connecticut	William A. Buckingham	Republican	1868–69	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected May 19, 1874. Democratic gain. Incumbent died February 5, 1875, and Eaton was appointed to finish the term.	▌Y William W. Eaton (Democratic) 59.95% ▌William A. Buckingham (Republican) 32.39% ▌Joseph R. Hawley (Republican) 4.45% ▌Charles R. Ingersoll (Democratic) 1.62% Others 1.62%[3]
Delaware	Thomas F. Bayard	Democratic	1869	Incumbent re-elected in 1875.	▌Y Thomas F. Bayard (Democratic) [data missing]
Florida	Abijah Gilbert	Republican	1868–69	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic gain.	▌Y Charles W. Jones (Democratic) [data missing]
Indiana	Daniel D. Pratt	Republican	1868	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1874 or 1875. Democratic gain.	▌Y Joseph E. McDonald (Democratic) [data missing]
Maine	Hannibal Hamlin	Republican	1857 1861 (resigned) 1869	Incumbent re-elected in 1875.	▌Y Hannibal Hamlin (Republican) [data missing]
Maryland	William P. Whyte	Democratic	1874 (appointed)	Incumbent retired to run for Maryland Governor. New senator elected in 1874. Democratic hold.	▌Y William P. Whyte (Democratic) [data missing]
Massachusetts	William B. Washburn	Republican	1874 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	▌Y Henry L. Dawes (Republican) [data missing]
Michigan	Zachariah Chandler	Republican	1857 1863 1869	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1874. Republican hold.	▌Y Isaac P. Christiancy (Republican) ▌Zachariah Chandler (Republican) [data missing]
Minnesota	Alexander Ramsey	Republican	1863 1869	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	▌Y Samuel J. R. McMillan (Republican) [data missing]
Mississippi	Henry R. Pease	Republican	1874 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in February 1874. Republican hold.	▌Y Blanche Bruce (Republican) [data missing]
Missouri	Carl Schurz	Republican	1868	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1874. Democratic gain.	▌Y Francis Cockrell (Democratic) ▌Carl Schurz (Republican) [data missing]
Nebraska	Thomas Tipton	Republican	1867 1869	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	▌Y Algernon Paddock (Republican) [data missing]
Nevada	William M. Stewart	Republican	1865 1869	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 12, 1875. Republican hold.	▌Y William Sharon (Republican) [data missing]
New Jersey	John P. Stockton	Democratic	1864 1866 (lost dispute) 1869	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic hold.	▌Y Theodore Fitz Randolph (Democratic) [data missing]
New York	Reuben Fenton	Republican	1869	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 20, 1875. Democratic gain.	▌Y Francis Kernan (Democratic) 87 ▌Edwin D. Morgan (Republican) 68 ▌John T. Hoffman (Democratic) 1
Ohio	Allen G. Thurman	Democratic	1868	Incumbent re-elected in 1874.	▌Y Allen G. Thurman (Democratic) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	John Scott	Republican	1869	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 19, 1875. Democratic gain.	▌Y William A. Wallace (Democratic) 49.8% ▌John Allison (Republican) 46.22%
Rhode Island	William Sprague IV	Republican	1862 1868	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	▌Y Ambrose Burnside (Republican) [data missing]
Tennessee	Parson Brownlow	Republican	1867 (early)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 26, 1875, on the 54th ballot. Democratic gain.	▌Y Andrew Johnson (Democratic) 52[c][4] ▌John C. Brown (Democratic) ▌William B. Bate (Democratic) ▌William A. Quarles (Liberal Republican) ▌John H. Stephens (Democratic) ▌John Houston Savage (Democratic) ▌Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr. (Democratic)
Texas	James W. Flanagan	Republican	1870 (readmission)	Incumbent retired.[d] New senator elected on January 28, 1875. Democratic gain.	▌Y Samuel B. Maxey (Democratic) 59 ▌James W. Throckmorton (Democratic) 40 ▌Edward T. Randle (Republican) 13[5]
Vermont	George F. Edmunds	Republican	1866 (appointed) 1866 (special) 1868	Incumbent re-elected on October 20, 1874.	▌Y George F. Edmunds (Republican) 279 ▌Edward J. Phelps (Democratic) 49 ▌Charles W. Willard (Republican) 13[6]
Virginia	John F. Lewis	Republican	1870 (readmission)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic gain.	▌Y Robert E. Withers (Democratic) [data missing]
West Virginia	Arthur I. Boreman	Republican	1868–69	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1874 or 1875. Democratic gain.	▌Y Allen T. Caperton (Democratic) [data missing]
Wisconsin	Matthew H. Carpenter	Republican	1869	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 8, 1875. Republican hold.	▌Y Angus Cameron (Republican) ▌Matthew H. Carpenter (Republican) ▌George C. Hazelton (Republican) ▌Orsamus Cole (Republican) ▌Edward S. Bragg (Democratic) ▌Cadwallader C. Washburn (Republican) ▌Luther S. Dixon (Republican)

Elections during the 44th Congress

There were no special elections in 1875 to the 44th Congress.

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1874 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1868 1874 1880 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate William Pinkney Whyte Party Democratic Legislative vote - Percentage -%

William Pinkney Whyte won election for an unknown margin of votes for the Class 1 seat.^[7]

New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York and 1874 United States House of Representatives elections in 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.

Democratic caucus

Candidate	First ballot
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
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

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania and 1874 United States House of Representatives elections in 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]

State Legislature Results^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	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

1875 United States Senate election in West Virginia

← 1869 January 26–February 17, 1875 1877 (special) →
Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature
Candidate Allen Caperton Party Democratic First ballot 6 votes 6.9% 23rd ballot 68 votes 80.9%
U.S. senator before election Arthur Boreman Republican Elected U.S. Senator Allen Caperton Democratic

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]

Prior to the election, Johnson Camden and Henry S. Walker were seen as the foremost contenders for the Democratic nomination, which, because of Democrats' large majorities in both houses, was tantamount to election under normal circumstances.^[11] However, after repeated failures of any candidate to win a majority either in internal caucus votes or on the floor, legislative Democrats turned to finding a compromise candidate, settling on former Confederate senator Allen T. Caperton. Republican votes were similarly split on most ballots, though on the final one, they supported former Appeals Court chief justice and state senator Ralph Berkshire nearly unanimously.

House and Senate ballots

Party		Candidate	House		Senate
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jonathan M. Bennett	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Democratic	John Brannon	10	15.6	3	12.5
	Democratic	Gideon D. Camden	0	0.0	3	12.5
	Democratic	Johnson N. Camden	17	26.6	2	8.3
	Republican	Archibald Campbell	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	Allen T. Caperton	6	9.4	1	4.2
	Democratic	John Cunningham	5	7.8	0	0.0
	Democratic	Charles J. Faulkner	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Republican	Nathan Goff Jr.	2	3.1	1	4.2
	Democratic	Daniel D. Johnson	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Democratic	Okey Johnson	1	1.6	1	4.2
	Democratic	Samuel Price	10	15.6	3	12.5
	Republican	George C. Sturgiss	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Republican	Thomas B. Swann	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Democratic	Henry S. Walker	11	17.2	6	25.0
Total			64	100	24	100
Needed to win			33	>50	13	>50

Joint Session

Party		Candidate	Ballots
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
	Democratic	Allen T. Caperton	6	3	1	1	1	2	0	1	1	1	3	7	13	0	1	2	1	1	0	0	3	30	68
	Democratic	Jonathan M. Bennett	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	2	16	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Republican	Ralph Berkshire	1	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	14
	Democratic	John Brannon	11	14	12	10	16	12	13	10	14	5	1	0	0	6	5	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	Gideon D. Camden	2	1	0	0	0	0	6	4	1	1	1	35	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	Johnson N. Camden	19	27	15	24	20	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	28	31	27	2	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	Robert Dennis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	17	0	0
	Democratic	Ira J. McGinnis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	29	36	0	0
	Democratic	John J. Jackson Sr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	32	26	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	Okey Johnson	2	2	0	1	0	0	8	20	27	20	13	7	3	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	Samuel Price	12	10	15	11	12	13	15	12	15	9	16	0	0	13	19	18	18	20	17	12	14	17	0
	Democratic	Henry S. Walker	19	20	23	22	21	20	22	23	22	22	21	25	25	22	21	23	24	23	23	0	0	0	0
	Other candidates		15	10	17	14	14	17	22	16	4	11	4	11	18	13	13	10	10	6	17	17	14	35	2
Total			87	87	86	85	85	87	86	87	86	85	84	85	84	87	87	85	85	85	83	84	84	84	84
Needed to win			44	44	44	43	43	44	44	44	44	43	43	43	43	44	44	43	43	43	42	43	43	43	43

See also

• 1874 United States elections
  • 1874–75 United States House of Representatives elections
• 43rd United States Congress
• 44th United States Congress

Notes

1. as Republican Conference Chair
2. as Democratic Caucus Chair
3. Johnson attained 47 votes before switches, four short of a majority.
4. Democrats regained control of the state government following the end of Reconstruction, so Flanagan was not a candidate.

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. "THE CALIFORNIAN SENATORSHIP ELECTION OF BOOTH". The New York Times. December 21, 1873. p. 1. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
3. "CT US Senate". OurCampaigns.com. October 11, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
4. Hearn, Chester G. (2000). The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-7864-0863-4.
5. Horton, Louise (1974). Samuel Bell Maxey: A Biography. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-292-72261-3.
6. "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.
7. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 17, 1868". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
8. "U.S. Senate Election - 19 January 1875" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
9. "PA US Senate - 1875". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
10. Journal of the Senate. West Virginia Legislature. 1875. p. 217.
11. "The Senatorial Fight- Two Ballots Taken- Camden Supposed to be Dead- The Fight Between Walker, Price, and Brannon". The Intelligencer. January 26, 1875 – via NewspaperArchive.

• 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