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The 1840–41 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 1840 and 1841, 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 2.
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18 of the 52 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 27 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results: Democratic hold Whig gain Whig hold Legislature failed to elect | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Corresponding with their party's success in the 1840 presidential election, the Whig Party took control of the Senate.
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Senate party division, 27th Congress (1841–1843)
- Majority party: Whig (29)
- Minority party: Democratic (22–20)
- Other parties: (0)
- Vacant: (1–3)
- Total seats: 52
Before the elections
After the November 25, 1840 special elections in North Carolina.
| D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | ||||
| D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 | D11 | D10 | D9 | D8 | D7 |
| D17 Ran |
D18 Ran |
D19 Ran |
D20 Ran |
D21 Ran |
D22 Unknown |
D23 Unknown |
D24 Retired |
D25 Retired |
D26 Retired |
| Majority → | D27 Retired | ||||||||
| W17 Ran |
W18 Mass. (sp 1) Resigned |
W19 Mass. (sp 2) Mass. (reg) Resigned |
W20 Retired |
W21 N.C. (reg) Ran |
V2 | V1 | D29 Ran |
D28 Ran | |
| W16 Retired |
W15 | W14 | W13 | W12 | W11 | W10 | W9 | W8 | W7 |
| W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | ||||
After the elections
| D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | ||||
| D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 | D11 | D10 | D9 | D8 | D7 |
| D17 Re-elected |
D18 Re-elected |
D19 Re-elected |
D20 Hold |
D21 Hold |
D22 Re-elected |
V3 D Loss |
V2 | V1 | W27 Gain |
| Majority → | |||||||||
| W17 Re-elected |
W18 Mass. (sp 1) Hold |
W19 Mass. (reg) Mass. (sp 2) Hold |
W20 Hold |
W21 N.C. (reg) Re-elected |
W22 Gain |
W23 Gain |
W24 Gain |
W25 Gain |
W26 Gain |
| W16 Hold |
W15 | W14 | W13 | W12 | W11 | W10 | W9 | W8 | W7 |
| W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | ||||
Beginning of the next Congress
| D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | ||||
| D16 | D15 | D14 | D13 | D12 | D11 | D10 | D9 | D8 | D7 |
| D17 | D18 | D19 | D20 | D21 | D22 | V2 | W29 Gain |
W28 Gain |
W27 |
| Majority → | |||||||||
| W17 | W18 | W19 | W20 | W21 | W22 | W23 | W24 | W25 | W26 |
| W16 | W15 | W14 | W13 | W12 | W11 | W10 | W9 | W8 | W7 |
| W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | ||||
| Key: |
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Special elections during the 26th Congress
In these elections, the winners were elected during 1840 or in 1841 before March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Pennsylvania (Class 1) |
Vacant since 1839. | Incumbent Samuel McKean's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor. New senator elected January 14, 1840. Democratic hold. |
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| Michigan (Class 1) |
Vacant since 1839. | Incumbent Lucius Lyon (D) retired, his term expired, and the legislature failed to elect a successor. New senator elected January 20, 1840. Whig gain. |
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| New York (Class 1) |
Vacant since 1839. | Incumbent Nathaniel P. Tallmadge's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor. Incumbent re-elected January 27, 1840 to his former position as a Whig. Whig gain. |
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| Tennessee (Class 2) |
Hugh Lawson White | Whig | 1825 (special) 1829 1835 |
Incumbent resigned January 13, 1840, after refusing to vote for the Subtreasury Bill as demanded by the Tennessee legislature.[2] New senator elected February 26, 1840. Democratic gain. Winner was not elected to the next term; see below. |
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| Connecticut (Class 1) |
Thaddeus Betts | Whig | 1838 or 1839 | Incumbent died April 7, 1840. New senator elected May 4, 1840. Whig hold. |
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| North Carolina (Class 2) |
Bedford Brown | Democratic | 1829 (special) 1835 |
Incumbent resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly. New senator elected November 25, 1840. Whig gain. Winner was also be elected to the next term; see below. |
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| North Carolina (Class 3) |
Robert Strange | Democratic | 1836 (special) 1836 |
Incumbent resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly. New senator elected November 25, 1840. Whig gain. |
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| Maryland (Class 3) |
John S. Spence | Whig | 1836 (special) 1837 |
Incumbent died October 24, 1840. New senator elected January 5, 1841. Whig hold. |
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| Delaware (Class 1) |
Richard H. Bayard | Whig | 1836 (special) 1838 or 1839 |
Incumbent resigned September 19, 1839, to become Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. New senator elected January 12, 1841 to his former position. Whig hold. |
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| Massachusetts (Class 2) |
John Davis | Whig | 1835 | Incumbent resigned January 5, 1841, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts. New senator elected January 13, 1841. Whig hold. Winner also elected to the next term; see below. |
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| Virginia (Class 1) |
Vacant since 1839. | Incumbent William C. Rives's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor. Incumbent re-elected January 18, 1841 to his former position as a Whig. Whig gain. |
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| Massachusetts (Class 1) |
Daniel Webster | Whig | 1827 1833 1839 |
Incumbent resigned February 22, 1841, to become U.S. Secretary of State. New senator elected February 23, 1841. Whig hold. |
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Races leading to the 27th Congress
In these regular elections, the winner was elected for the term beginning March 4, 1841; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Alabama | William R. King | Democratic | 1819 1822 1828 1834 |
Incumbent re-elected December 14, 1840. |
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| Arkansas | William S. Fulton | Democratic | 1836 | Incumbent re-elected in 1840. |
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| Delaware | Thomas Clayton | Whig | 1837 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1841. |
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| Georgia | Wilson Lumpkin | Democratic | 1837 (special) | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain. |
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| Illinois | John M. Robinson | Democratic | 1830 (special) 1835 |
Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1840 or 1841. Democratic hold. |
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| Kentucky | John J. Crittenden | Whig | 1835 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1841. Whig hold. |
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| Louisiana | Robert C. Nicholas | Democratic | 1836 (special) | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain. |
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| Maine | John Ruggles | Democratic | 1835 (special) 1835 |
Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain. |
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| Massachusetts | John Davis | Whig | 1835 | Incumbent resigned January 5, 1841, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts. New senator elected January 13, 1841. Whig hold. Successor also elected to finish the current term, see above. |
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| Michigan | John Norvell | Democratic | 1835 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1841. Whig gain. |
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| Mississippi | Robert J. Walker | Democratic | 1835 | Incumbent re-elected in 1841. |
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| New Hampshire | Henry Hubbard | Democratic | 1835 | Incumbent retired to run for New Hampshire Governor. New senator elected in 1841. Democratic hold. |
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| New Jersey | Garret D. Wall | Democratic | 1835 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 19, 1841. Whig gain. |
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| North Carolina | Willie Mangum | Whig | 1840 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1841. |
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| Rhode Island | Nehemiah R. Knight | Whig | 1821 (special) 1823 1829 1835 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected October 29, 1840. Whig hold. |
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| South Carolina | John C. Calhoun | Democratic | 1832 (special) 1834 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1840. |
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| Tennessee | Alexander O. Anderson | Democratic | 1840 (special) | Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would not be filled until 1843. |
None. |
| Virginia | William H. Roane | Democratic | 1837 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain. |
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Special elections during the 27th Congress
In this special election, the winner was elected in 1841 after March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Alabama (Class 3) |
Clement Comer Clay | Democratic | 1837 (Appointed) | Incumbent resigned November 15, 1841. New senator elected November 24, 1841. Democratic hold. |
|
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Alabama (regular)
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Alabama (special)
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Delaware (special)
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Delaware (regular)
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80 members of the Maryland General Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
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John Leeds Kerr won election to a full term an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.[7]
There were three elections due to the February 22, 1841, resignation of Whig Daniel Webster to become U.S. Secretary of State and the January 5, 1841, resignation of Whig John Davis to become Governor of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts (special, class 2)
Whig Isaac C. Bates was elected January 13, 1841, to finish Davis's term.
Massachusetts (regular)
Bates was also elected January 13, 1841, to the next term.
Bates would only serve, however, until his March 16, 1845, death, and Davis was again elected to the seat.
Massachusetts (special, class 1)
Whig Rufus Choate was elected February 23, 1841, to finish Webster's term which would continue until 1845.
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Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been elected as a Jacksonian Democrat in 1833 to this seat, and his term expired March 3, 1839. An election was held February 5, 1839. Although Tallmadge received the most votes, no candidate received a majority and the seat was declared vacant due to the legislature's failure to elect.
At the State election in November 1839, 7 Whigs and 3 Democrats were elected to the State Senate, which gave the Whigs a majority, the first anti-Bucktails/Jacksonian/Democratic majority in 20 years. The 63rd New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 14, 1840, at Albany, New York. The strength of the parties in the Assembly, as shown by the vote for Speaker, was: 68 for Whig George Washington Patterson and 56 for Democrat Levi S. Chatfield.
On January 14, 1840, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge received a majority in both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.
| Candidate | Party | Senate (32 members) |
Assembly (128 members) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathaniel P. Tallmadge | Whig | 19 | |
| Samuel Beardsley | Democratic | 2 | |
| Levi Beardsley | Democratic | 1 | |
| William C. Bouck | Democratic | 1 | |
| Benjamin F. Butler | Democratic | 1 | |
| Churchill C. Cambreleng | Democratic | 1 | |
| Hiram Denio | Democratic | 1 | |
| John A. Dix | Democratic | 1 | |
| Azariah C. Flagg | Democratic | 1 | |
| John Savage | Democratic | 1 | |
| John Tracy | Democratic | 1 |
Tallmadge re-took his seat on January 27, 1840,[8] and remained in office until June 17, 1844, when he resigned to be appointed Governor of Wisconsin Territory. Daniel S. Dickinson was appointed to fill the vacancy temporarily, and subsequently elected by the State Legislature to succeed Tallmadge.
There were three elections due to the November 16, 1840, resignations of Democrats Bedford Brown and Robert Strange.
North Carolina (special, class 2)
Whig Willie Mangum was elected November 25, 1840, to finish Brown's term that would end in March 1841.
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North Carolina (regular)
Mangum was later re-elected in 1841 to the next term.
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North Carolina (special, class 3)
Whig William Alexander Graham was elected November 25, 1840, to finish Strange's term that would end in 1843.
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The election was held on January 14, 1840, after the regularly scheduled election in December 1838 was postponed due to the Buckshot War. Daniel Sturgeon was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.[9][10]
Democrat Samuel McKean was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the 1832–1833 Senate election. Sen. McKean's term was to expire on March 4, 1839, and an election would have occurred during the winter of 1838–1839 elect a senator for the successive term. The election did not occur, however, due to significant political unrest in Harrisburg, the state capital, over disputed election returns during the Buckshot War. McKean's seat was vacated when his term expired in March 1839 and remained vacant until the General Assembly elected a new senator in 1840.[9]
The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 14, 1840, to elect a senator to serve out the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1839. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Daniel Sturgeon | 87 | 65.41% | |
| Whig | Charles Ogle | 26 | 19.55% | |
| Anti-Masonic | Richard Biddle | 17 | 12.78% | |
| N/A | Not voting | 3 | 2.26% | |
| Total votes | 133 | 100.00% | ||
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Tennessee (special)
Tennessee (regular)
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Virginia (regular)
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Virginia (special)
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