1792–93 United States Senate elections

The 1792–93 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with President George Washington's unanimous re-election. 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 1792 and 1793, 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 ten senators in Class 2.

1792–93 United States Senate elections

← 1790 & 1791 Dates vary by state 1794 & 1795 →
1798 & 1799 →
10 of the 30 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections) 16 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Pro-Administration Anti-Administration Last election 16 seats 9 Seats before 17 10 Seats after 18 11 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 4 6 Races won 5 5
Results:      Pro-Administration hold      Pro-Administration gain      Anti-Administration hold      Anti-Administration gain
Majority Faction before election Pro-Administration Elected Majority Faction Pro-Administration

Formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of Senators who supported George Washington's administration were known as the Pro-Administration Party, and the Senators against him as the Anti-Administration Party.

Results summary

Senate party division, 3rd Congress (1793–1795)

• Majority party: Pro-Administration Party (16)
• Minority party: Anti-Administration Party (13)
• Other parties: 0
• Total seats: 30
• Vacant: 1 (later filled by Pro-Administration)

Change in composition

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

Virginia's elections are considered a single race here.

Before the elections

After the June 1792 admission of Kentucky.

A5	A4	A3	A2	A1
A6	A7 Ga. Ran	A8 Ky. Ran	A9 N.H. Ran	A10 R.I. Unknown	A11 S.C. Ran	A12 Va. Resigned/Ran	V1 Pa.	P15 N.C. Ran	P17 N.J. Retired
Majority →
P6	P7	P8	P9	P10	P11	P12	P16 Del. Unknown	P13 Md. (sp) Resigned	P14 Mass. Ran
P5	P4	P3	P2	P1

Results of the election

A5	A4	A3	A2	A1
A6	A7 Ga. Hold	A8 Ky. Re-elected	A9 N.C. Gain	A10 S.C. Re-elected	A11 Va. Ran/Re-elected	V1 Pa.	P18 R.I. Gain	P16 N.J. Hold	P17 N.H. Gain
Majority →
P6	P7	P8	P9	P10	P11	P12	P15 Del. Hold	P13 Md. (sp) Hold	P14 Mass. Re-elected
P5	P4	P3	P2	P1

Beginning of the next Congress

Two Pro-Administration senators (Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina and John Langdon of New Hampshire) changed to Anti-Administration.

The vacant seat in Pennsylvania was filled February 28, 1793 by an Anti-Administration senator.

A5	A4	A3	A2	A1
A6	A7	A8	A9	A10	A11	A12 N.H. (cl. 1) Changed	A13 N.C. (cl. 3) Changed	A14 Pa. Late	P16
Majority →
P6	P7	P8	P9	P10	P11	P12	P13	P14	P15
P5	P4	P3	P2	P1

Key:	A# Anti-Administration P# Pro-Administration V# Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 2nd Congress

In these elections, the winner was seated before March 4, 1793; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	First elected
Kentucky (Class 2)	None (new state)			Kentucky was admitted to the Union June 1, 1792. Winner elected June 18, 1792. Anti-Administration gain.	▌Y John Brown (Anti-Admin.) 100%[3]
Kentucky (Class 3)	None (new state)			Kentucky was admitted to the Union June 1, 1792. Winner elected June 18, 1792. Anti-Administration gain.	▌Y John Edwards (Anti-Admin.) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 2)	Richard Henry Lee	Anti-Administration	1788	Incumbent resigned October 8, 1792. Winner elected October 18, 1792. Anti-Administration hold.	▌Y John Taylor (Anti-Admin.) 55.56% (90 votes) ▌Arthur Lee (Unknown) 24.07% (39 votes) ▌Francis Corbin (Unknown) 20.37% (33 votes)[4]
Maryland (Class 1)	Charles Carroll	Pro-Administration	1788	Incumbent resigned November 30, 1792. Winner elected January 10, 1793. Pro-Administration hold.	▌Y Richard Potts (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
Pennsylvania (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature failed to elect in 1791–1792, leaving the seat vacant. Winner elected February 28, 1793. Anti-Administration gain.	▌Y Albert Gallatin (Anti-Admin.) 54.88% (45 votes) ▌Henry Miller (Pro-Admin.) 42.68% (35 votes) ▌Arthur St. Clair (Anti-Admin.) 1.22% (1 vote) ▌William Irvine (Anti-Admin.) 1.22% (1 vote)[5]

Races leading to the 3rd Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1793; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	First elected
Delaware	Richard Bassett	Pro-Administration	1788	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1793. Pro-Administration hold.	▌Y John Vining (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
Georgia	William Few	Anti-Administration	1789	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1793. Anti-Administration hold.	▌Y James Jackson (Anti-Admin.) 85.37% (35 votes) ▌William Few (Unknown) 12.20% (5 votes) ▌George Mathews (Unknown) 2.44% (1 vote)[6]
Kentucky	John Brown	Anti-Administration	1792 (new state)	Incumbent re-elected December 11, 1792.	▌Y John Brown (Anti-Admin.) Unopposed[7]
Massachusetts	Caleb Strong	Pro-Administration	1788	Incumbent re-elected in 1793.	▌Y Caleb Strong (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Paine Wingate	Anti-Administration	1788	Incumbent lost re-election in 1792. Pro-Administration gain.	▌Y Samuel Livermore (Pro-Admin.) 58.43% (52 votes) ▌Paine Wingate (Federalist) 31.46% (28 votes) ▌Nathaniel Peabody (Unknown) 8.99% (8 votes) ▌Abiel Foster (Federalist) 1.12% (1 vote)[8]
New Jersey	Philemon Dickinson	Pro-Administration	1790 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner's election date unknown. Pro-Administration hold.	▌Y Frederick Frelinghuysen (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
North Carolina	Samuel Johnston	Pro-Administration	1789	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1792.[9] Anti-Administration gain.	▌Y Alexander Martin (Anti-Admin.) 24.71% (42 votes) ▌John Leigh (Unknown) 20.00% (34 votes) ▌Thomas Blount (Unknown) 18.24% (31 votes) ▌John Steele (Unknown) 18.24% (31 votes) ▌Gaiter (Unknown) 16.47% (28 votes) ▌Samuel Johnston (Pro-Admin.) 0.59% (1 vote) ▌William Lenoir (Unknown) 0.59% (1 vote) ▌Alfred Moore (Unknown) 0.59% (1 vote) ▌Richard Dobbs Spaight (Unknown) 0.59% (1 vote) ▌Willie Jones (Unknown) 0.00% (0 votes)
Rhode Island	Joseph Stanton Jr.	Anti-Administration	1790	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1793. Pro-Administration gain.	▌Y William Bradford (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
South Carolina	Pierce Butler	Anti-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected December 5, 1792.	▌Y Pierce Butler (Anti-Admin.) 88.06% (118 votes) ▌Charles Pinckney (Unknown) 5.97% (8 votes) ▌Zachariah Horskins (Unknown) 1.49% (2 votes) ▌John Little Ward (Unknown) 1.49% (2 votes) ▌John Baxter (Unknown) 0.75% (1 vote) ▌John E. Colhoun (Unknown) 0.75% (1 vote) ▌Adam C. Jones (Unknown) 0.75% (1 vote) ▌Jacob Read (Federalist) 0.75% (1 vote)[10]
Virginia	John Taylor	Anti-Administration	1792 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1793.	▌Y John Taylor (Anti-Admin.) [data missing]

Election in 1793 during the 3rd Congress

In this special election, the winner was seated after March 4, 1793, the beginning of the next Congress.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	First elected
Connecticut (Class 3)	Roger Sherman	Pro-Administration	1791 (special)	Incumbent died July 23, 1793. Winner elected December 2, 1793. Pro-Administration hold.	▌Y Stephen Mitchell (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]

Connecticut (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut

Delaware

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware

Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia

1792/1793 United States Senate election in Georgia

← 1789 1792/1793 1796 (special) →

Majority party Minority party   Candidate James Jackson William Few Party Anti-Federalist Anti-Federalist Legislative vote 35 5 Percentage 85.4% 12.2%

U.S. senator before election William Few Anti-Administration Elected U.S. senator James Jackson Anti-Administration

One-term Anti-Federalist William Few was defeated by fellow Anti-Federalist, James Jackson. Jackson won 24 votes in the Georgia House of Representatives and 11 in the State Senate for a combined total of 35. Few won 3 in the House and 2 in the Senate for a combined total of 5. Jackson took office as a member of the 3rd United States Congress on March 4, 1793. He would later resign in 1795 to run for his state's legislature.

United States Senate election in Georgia, 1792/93^[11]

Party	Candidate	Votes in the House	Votes in the Senate	Total	%
Anti-Federalist	James Jackson	24	11	35	85.4%
Anti-Federalist	William Few (incumbent)	3	2	5	12.2%
Anti-Federalist	George Mathews	1	-	1	2.4%

Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky

1792 United States Senate election in Kentucky

← 1792 (special) December 11, 1792 1798 →

Majority party   Candidate John Brown Party Anti-Federalist Legislative vote Unanimous (exact total unknown) Percentage 100%

U.S. senator before election John Brown Anti-Administration Elected U.S. Senator John Brown Anti-Administration

Incumbent John Brown, who had previously been elected in a special election was easily reelected with no opposition and 100% of votes from the legislators.

Maryland (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1793 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1790 December 6, 1792 1796 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate Richard Potts Josh Hoskins Stone Party Federalist Federalist Legislative vote 53 34 Percentage 60.92% 39.08%

Richard Potts won election to fill the seat vacated by Charles Carroll over Josh Hoskins Stone by a margin of 21.84%, or 19 votes, for the Class 1 seat.^[12]

Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts

New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire

1792 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

← 1788 1792 1798 →

Majority party Minority party Third party   Candidate Samuel Livermore Paine Wingate Nathaniel Peabody Party Federalist Anti-Federalist Independent Legislative vote 52 28 8 Percentage 58.4% 31.5% 9%

U.S. senator before election Paine Wingate Anti-Administration Elected U.S. Senator Samuel Livermore Federalist

Incumbent U.S. Senator Paine Wingate was not reelected. The New Hampshire General Court instead elected Federalist Samuel Livermore, a U.S. Representative, to the seat. Livermore, like his fellow senator, John Langdon, would go on to serve as President Pro-Tempore during this term.

New Jersey

See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey

North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina

Pro-Administration Samuel Johnston lost re-election to Anti-Administration Alexander Martin for the class 2 seat. The other senator, Benjamin Hawkins, switched his support from Pro- to Anti-Administration.

Pennsylvania (special)

Main article: 1793 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania

There was a special election on February 28, 1793, for the Class 1 seat from Pennsylvania. Incumbent William Maclay's term had ended on March 3, 1791, but the legislature failed to elect a successor due to a disagreement on the procedure to be followed in the election.

The seat remained vacant until Albert Gallatin was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the seat during this election.^[13]

Upon agreement between the two houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate, regarding the procedure to elect a new Senator, an election was finally held on February 28, 1793. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Anti-Administration	Albert Gallatin	45	51.72%
	Pro-Administration	Henry Miller	35	40.23%
	Pro-Administration	Arthur St. Clair	1	1.15%
	Pro-Administration	William Irvine	1	1.15%
	N/A	Not voting	5	5.75%
Total votes			87	100%

On February 28, 1794, the Senate determined that Gallatin did not satisfy the citizenship requirement for service and he was removed from office. He later went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Gallatin was replaced in the Senate by a special election in 1794.^[14]

Rhode Island

See also: List of United States senators from Rhode Island

South Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina

Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from Virginia and 1793 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia

Anti-Administration senator Richard Henry Lee resigned October 8, 1792, just before the March 3, 1793 end of term. Anti-administration John Taylor of Caroline was elected October 18, 1792 to finish Lee's term and then re-elected in 1793 to the next term.

Special

Virginia special election^[15]

Candidate		Votes	%
John Taylor of Caroline		90	55.6
Arthur Lee		39	24.1
Francis Corbin		33	20.4

Regular

See also

• 1792 United States elections
  • 1792 United States presidential election
  • 1792–93 United States House of Representatives elections
• 2nd United States Congress
• 3rd United States Congress