1864–65 United States Senate elections

The 1864–65 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. They occurred during the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's 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 1864 and 1865, 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.

1864–65 United States Senate elections

← 1862 & 1863 Various dates 1866 & 1867 →
24 of the 72 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Henry B. Anthony[a] Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1863 Leader's seat Rhode Island Last election 32 seats 10 seats Seats before 31 10 Seats after 33 9 Seat change 2 1 Seats up 9 4 Races won 11 3   Third party Fourth party   Party Unconditional Unionist Party (US) Union Last election 1 seat 5 seats Seats before 5 3 Seats after 4 2 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 1 1 Races won 0 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      Confederacy      Barred from being seated
Majority Party before election Republican Elected Majority Party Republican

The Republican Party gained two seats. Most of the Southern states were absent because of the Civil War.

Results summary

Senate party division, 39th Congress (1865–1867)

• Majority party: Republican (37)
• Minority party: Democratic (9)
• Other parties: Unconditional Unionist (1); Unionist (1)
• Vacant: (24)
• Total seats: 72

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

V5 Seceded	V4 Seceded	V3 Seceded	V2	V1
V6 Seceded	V7 Seceded	V8 Seceded	V9 Seceded	V10 Seceded	V11 Seceded	D1	D2	D3	D4
UU5 Ran	U1	U2	U3 Retired	D10 Ran	D9 Retired	D8 Unknown	D7 Retired	D6	D5
UU4	UU3	UU2	UU1	R31 Ran	R30 Ran	R29 Retired	R28 Ran	R27 Ran	R26 Retired
Majority →									R25 Unknown
R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22	R23 Ran	R24 Ran
R15	R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6
V16	V15	V14	V13	V12	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
V17	V18	V19	V20	V21

As a result of the elections

V5 Seceded	V4 Seceded	V3 Seceded	V2	V1
V6 Seceded	V7 Seceded	V8 Seceded	V9 Seceded	V10 Seceded	V11 Seceded	D1	D2	D3	D4
UU2	UU3	UU4	U1	U2	D9 Gain	D8 Hold	D7 Re-elected	D6	D5
UU1	R33 Gain	R32 Gain	R31 Re-elected new party	R30 Hold	R29 Hold	R28 Hold	R27 Re-elected	R26 Re-elected	R25 Re-elected
Majority →
R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22	R23 Re-elected	R24 Re-elected
R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6	R5
V17	V16	V15	V14	V13	V12 U Loss	R1	R2	R3	R4
V18	V19	V20	V21	V22

Beginning of the next Congress

V6	V5	V4	V3	V2	V1
V7	V8	V9	V10	V11	D1	D2	D3	D4	D5
R36 Changed	R37 Changed	UU1	V13 UU Loss	U1	V12 D Loss	D9 Gain	D8	D7	D6
R35 New state	R34 New state	R33	R32	R31	R30	R29	R28	R27	R26
Majority →									R25
R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24
R15	R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6
V18	V17	V16	V15	V14	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
V19	V20	V21	V22	V23	V24

Key:	D# Democratic R# Republican UU# Unconditional Unionist U# Unionist V# Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 38th Congress

In these elections — some special and some initial — the winners were seated during 1864 or in 1865 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Maryland (Class 3)	Thomas Holliday Hicks	Unconditional Unionist	1862 (appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 11, 1864[2] to finish the term.	▌Y Thomas Holliday Hicks (Unconditional Unionist) [data missing]
Delaware (Class 1)	James A. Bayard Jr.	Democratic	1851 1857 1863	Incumbent resigned January 29, 1864. Winner elected January 29, 1864. Democratic hold.	▌Y George R. Riddle (Democratic) [data missing]
Nevada (Class 1)	None (new state)			Nevada's first Senators were elected February 1, 1865. Republican gain.	▌Y William M. Stewart (Republican) [data missing]
Nevada (Class 3)				Nevada's first Senators were elected February 1, 1865. Republican gain.	▌Y James W. Nye (Republican) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 1)	Lemuel J. Bowden	Unionist	1863	Incumbent died January 2, 1864. Winner elected sometime in 1865. The Senate refused to seat him to avoid setting a precedent for allowing premature re-entry of Confederate states.[3] Unionist loss. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	▌Y Joseph Segar (Unionist) [data missing]

Elections leading to the 39th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1865; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	Vacant since January 21, 1861 when Clement Claiborne Clay (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Arkansas	Vacant since July 11, 1861 when William K. Sebastian (D) was expelled.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Delaware	Willard Saulsbury Sr.	Democratic	1858	Incumbent re-elected in 1864.	▌Y Willard Saulsbury Sr. (Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia	Vacant since February 4, 1861 when Robert Toombs (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1871.	None.
Illinois	William A. Richardson	Democratic	1863 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1864 or 1865. Republican gain.	▌Y Richard Yates (Republican) [data missing]
Iowa	James W. Grimes	Republican	1858	Incumbent re-elected January 11, 1864.	▌Y James W. Grimes (Republican) 128 ▌John D. Jennings (Unknown) 5 ▌"Mr. Love" (Unknown) 1[4]
Kansas	James H. Lane	Republican	1861	Incumbent re-elected in 1865.	▌Y James H. Lane (Republican) [data missing]
Kentucky	Lazarus W. Powell	Democratic	1858	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1865. Democratic hold.	▌Y James Guthrie (Democratic) ▌Lovell H. Rousseau (Unconditional Unionist) [data missing]
Louisiana	Vacant since February 4, 1861 when Judah P. Benjamin (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Maine	Nathan A. Farwell	Republican	1864 (appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected in 1864 or 1865. Republican hold.	▌Y William P. Fessenden (Republican) [data missing]
Massachusetts	Henry Wilson	Republican	1855 (special) 1859	Incumbent re-elected in 1865.	▌Y Henry Wilson (Republican) [data missing]
Michigan	Jacob M. Howard	Republican	1862 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1865.	▌Y Jacob M. Howard (Republican) [data missing]
Minnesota	Morton S. Wilkinson	Republican	1858 or 1859	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1865. Republican hold.	▌Y Daniel S. Norton (Republican) 46 votes (77.97%) ▌James George (Democratic) 13 votes (22.03%)[5]
Mississippi	Vacant since January 12, 1861 when Albert G. Brown (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	None.
New Hampshire	John P. Hale	Republican	1846 1853 (retired) 1855 (special)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1864. Republican hold.	▌Y Aaron H. Cragin (Republican) [data missing]
New Jersey	John C. Ten Eyck	Republican	1858	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1864. Democratic gain. Election was later disputed and seat declared vacant.	▌Y John P. Stockton (Democratic) ▌John C. Ten Eyck (Republican) [data missing]
North Carolina	Vacant since March 6, 1861 when Thomas Bragg (D) resigned.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Oregon	Benjamin F. Harding	Democratic	1862 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1864. Republican gain.	▌Y George H. Williams (Republican) [data missing]
Rhode Island	Henry B. Anthony	Republican	1858	Incumbent re-elected in 1864.	▌Y Henry B. Anthony (Republican) [data missing]
South Carolina	Vacant since November 10, 1860 when James Chesnut Jr. (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Tennessee	Vacant since March 3, 1861 when Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1866.	None.
Texas	Vacant since July 11, 1861 when John Hemphill (D) was expelled.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	None.
Virginia	John S. Carlile	Unionist	1861	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1865. The Senate refused to seat him to avoid setting a precedent for allowing premature re-entry of Confederate states.[3] Unionist loss. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	▌Y John Curtiss Underwood (Unionist) [data missing]
West Virginia	Waitman T. Willey	Unconditional Unionist	1863	Incumbent re-elected in 1865 as a Republican. Republican gain.	▌Y Waitman T. Willey (Republican) 53 votes ▌Lee Roy Kramer (Republican) 7 votes ▌Daniel Polsley (Republican) 6 votes ▌Archibald Campbell (Republican) 2 votes ▌David Hunter Strother (Unknown) 1 vote

Elections during the 39th Congress

In this election, the winner was elected in 1865 after March 4.

1864 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1861 December 1864 1865 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate Thomas Holliday Hicks Party Unconditional Unionist Legislative vote - Percentage -%

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Maryland (Class 3)	Thomas Holliday Hicks	Unconditional Unionist	1862 (appointed) 1864 (special)	Incumbent died February 14, 1865. New senator elected March 9, 1865. Unconditional Unionist hold.	▌Y John Creswell (Unconditional Unionist) [data missing]

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

Maryland (1864 special)

James Pearce died, and Thomas Holliday Hicks was appointed to his seat. He then won election to finish the rest of the term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[6]

1865 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1864 February 1865 1868 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate John Creswell Party Unconditional Unionist Legislative vote - Percentage -%

Maryland (1865 special)

Thomas Holliday Hicks died, and John Creswell was appointed to his seat. He then won election to finish the rest of the term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[7]

West Virginia

Incumbent Waitman T. Willey was re-elected by the legislature to his first full term as United States Senator, with Willey being elected as a Republican. Willey would serve his term until 1871.

1865 United States Senate election in West Virginia

← 1863 January 31, 1865 1871 →
Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature 69 votes cast; 35 votes needed
Candidate Waitman Willey Party Republican First ballot 53 votes 76.8%
U.S. senator before election Waitman Willey Unconditional Union Elected U.S. senator Waitman Willey Republican

Willey was the only candidate to be formally nominated, though attempted nominations were made of Archibald Campbell and House Speaker Lee Roy Kramer. Campbell's nomination was promptly withdrawn, and Kramer declined his.^[8]

Party		Candidate	1st Ballot
			Votes	%
	Republican	Waitman Willey	53	76.8
	Republican	Lee Roy Kramer	7	10.1
	Republican	Daniel Polsley	6	8.7
	Republican	Archibald Campbell	2	2.9
	Republican	David Hunter Strother	1	1.4
Total			69	100
Needed to win			35	>50

See also

• 1864 United States elections
  • 1864 United States presidential election
  • 1864–65 United States House of Representatives elections
• 38th United States Congress
• 39th United States Congress

Notes

1. as Republican Conference Chair

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. Byrd & Wolff, page 120
3. "Musical Chairs (1861–1869)". United States Senate. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
4. Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). "History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa"., page 131
5. University of Minnesota Libraries, University of Minnesota. "1865 Minnesota U.S. Senate Election". Minnesota Historical Election Archive. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
6. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 00, 1862". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
7. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 00, 1865". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
8. Journal of the House of Delegates of West Virginia for the Session Commencing January 17, 1865. Wheeling: West Virginia Legislature. 1865. p. 57.

• Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
• Byrd, Robert C.; Wolff, Wendy (October 1, 1993). The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992 (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160632563.