1878–79 United States Senate elections

The 1878–79 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 1878 and 1879, 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 3.

1878–79 United States Senate elections

← 1876 & 1877 Dates vary by state (And other dates for special elections) 1880 & 1881 →
26 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 39 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader William A. Wallace[a] Henry B. Anthony[b] Party Democratic Republican Leader since March 4, 1877 March 4, 1863 Leader's seat Pennsylvania Rhode Island Seats before 36 38 Seats won 14 10 Seats after 42 31 Seat change 6 7 Seats up 8 17   Third party Fourth party   Party Anti-Monopoly Independent Seats before 1 1 Seats won 0 0 Seats after 1 1 Seat change Seats up 0 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      Legislature failed to elect
Majority Party before election Republican Elected Majority Party Democratic

The Democratic Party re-captured control of the Senate for the first time since before the Civil War.

Results summary

Senate party division, 46th Congress (1879–1881)

• Majority party: Democratic (42)
• Minority party: Republican (31)
• Other parties: Independent (1), Anti-Monopoly (1)
• Total seats: 76

Change in composition

Before the elections

D8	D7	D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1
D9	D10	D11	D12	D13	D14	D15	D16	D17	D18
D28	D27	D26	D25	D24	D23	D22	D21	D20	D19
D29 Ran	D30 Ran	D31 Ran	D32 Ran	D33 Unknown	D34 Unknown	D35 Retired	D36 Retired	AM1	I1
Plurality →									R38 Retired
R29 Unknown	R30 Unknown	R31 Retired	R32 Retired	R33 Retired	R34 Retired	R35 Retired	R36 Retired	R37 Retired
R28 Ran	R27 Ran	R26 Ran	R25 Ran	R24 Ran	R23 Ran	R22 Ran	R21	R20	R19
R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18
R8	R7	R6	R5	R4	R3	R2	R1

After the elections

D8	D7	D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1
D9	D10	D11	D12	D13	D14	D15	D16	D17	D18
D28	D27	D26	D25	D24	D23	D22	D21	D20	D19
D29 Re-elected	D30 Re-elected	D31 Hold	D32 Hold	D33 Hold	D34 Hold	D35 Hold	D36 Gain	D37 Gain	D38 Gain
Majority →									D39 Gain
R29 Hold	R30 Hold	R31 Gain	V1 R loss	AM1	I1	D42 Gain	D41 Gain	D40 Gain
R28 Hold	R27 Re-elected	R26 Re-elected	R25 Re-elected	R24 Re-elected	R23 Re-elected	R22 Re-elected	R21	R20	R19
R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18
R8	R7	R6	R5	R4	R3	R2	R1

Key	AM# Anti-Monopoly Party D# Democratic I# Independent R# Republican V# Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 45th Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated in 1879 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Missouri (Class 3)	David H. Armstrong	Democratic	1877 (appointed)	Interim appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected January 27, 1879. Democratic hold. Winner did not run for the next term; see below.	▌Y James Shields (Democratic) [data missing]
Indiana (Class 3)	Daniel W. Voorhees	Democratic	1877 (appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 31, 1879. Winner was also elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Daniel W. Voorhees (Democratic) [data missing]
Michigan (Class 1)	Isaac P. Christiancy	Republican	1874	Incumbent resigned February 10, 1879, due to ill health. New senator elected February 22, 1879. Republican hold.	▌Y Zachariah Chandler (Republican) [data missing]

Races leading to the 46th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1885; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	George E. Spencer	Republican	1868 (special) 1872	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in August 1878. Democratic gain.	▌Y George S. Houston (Democratic) [data missing]
Arkansas	Stephen W. Dorsey	Republican	1872–73	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1878. Democratic gain.	▌Y James D. Walker (Democratic) [data missing]
California	Aaron A. Sargent	Republican	1872–73	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1878. Democratic gain.	▌Y James T. Farley (Democratic) 28 ▌Morris Estee (Republican) 12[2]
Colorado	Jerome B. Chaffee	Republican	1876	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1879. Republican hold.	▌Y Nathaniel P. Hill (Republican) [data missing]
Connecticut	William Barnum	Democratic	1876 (special)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1879. Republican gain.	▌Y Orville H. Platt (Republican) [data missing]
Florida	Simon B. Conover	Republican	1872–73	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 21, 1879.[3] Democratic gain.	▌Y Wilkinson Call (Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia	John B. Gordon	Democratic	1873	Incumbent re-elected in 1879.	▌Y John B. Gordon (Democratic) [data missing]
Illinois	Richard J. Oglesby	Republican	1873	Incumbent retired. New senator elected Jan 22, 1879. Republican hold.	▌Y John A. Logan (Republican) 51.46% ▌John C. Black (Democratic) 41.75% ▌Alexander Campbell (Greenback) 4.85% ▌John McAuliffe (Independent) 1.94%[4]
Indiana	Daniel W. Voorhees	Democratic	1877 (appointed) 1879 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1879.	▌Y Daniel W. Voorhees (Democratic) [data missing]
Iowa	William B. Allison	Republican	1872	Incumbent re-elected January 23, 1878.[5]	▌Y William B. Allison (Republican) 104 ▌Daniel F. Miller (Republican) 35 ▌E. N. Gates (Unknown) 3[5]
Kansas	John J. Ingalls	Republican	1873	Incumbent re-elected in 1879.	▌Y John J. Ingalls (Republican) [data missing]
Kentucky	Thomas C. McCreery	Democratic	1872	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1879. Democratic hold.	▌Y John Stuart Williams (Democratic) [data missing]
Louisiana	James B. Eustis	Democratic	1876 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1879. Democratic hold.	▌Y Benjamin F. Jonas (Democratic) [data missing]
Maryland	George R. Dennis	Democratic	1872–73	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 19, 1878. Democratic hold.	▌Y James Black Groome (Democratic) 78.5% ▌Lewis H. Steiner (Republican) 18.28% ▌John M. Robinson (Democratic) 2.15% ▌James A. Garey (Unknown) 1.08%[6]
Missouri	James Shields	Democratic	1849 (Ill.) 1849 (Ill.–election voided) 1849 (Ill.–special) 1855 (Ill.–lost) 1858 (Minn.) 1859 (Minn.–lost) 1879 (Mo.–special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1879. Democratic hold.	▌Y George G. Vest (Democratic) [data missing]
Nevada	John P. Jones	Republican	1873	Incumbent re-elected in 1879.	▌Y John P. Jones (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Bainbridge Wadleigh	Republican	1872	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Republican loss.	[data missing]
New York	Roscoe Conkling	Republican	1867 1873	Incumbent re-elected January 22, 1879.	▌Y Roscoe Conkling (Republican) ▌William Dorsheimer (Democratic) ▌Peter Cooper (Greenback)
North Carolina	Augustus Merrimon	Democratic	1872	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1879. Democratic hold.	▌Y Zebulon Vance (Democratic) ▌Augustus Merrimon (Democratic)
Ohio	Stanley Matthews	Republican	1877 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1878 or 1879. Democratic gain.	▌Y George H. Pendleton (Democratic) [data missing]
Oregon	John H. Mitchell	Republican	1872	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1878 or 1879. Democratic gain.	▌Y James H. Slater (Democratic) ▌John H. Mitchell (Republican) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	J. Donald Cameron	Republican	1877 (special)	Incumbent re-elected January 20, 1879.	▌Y J. Donald Cameron (Republican) 53.78% ▌Hiester Clymer (Democratic) 36.65% ▌Daniel Agnew (Greenback) 6.37% ▌Edward McPherson (Republican) 1.20% ▌Russell Thayer (Republican) 0.40% ▌Galusha A. Grow (Republican) 0.40%
South Carolina	John J. Patterson	Republican	1872–73	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1878. Democratic gain.	▌Y Wade Hampton III (Democratic) [data missing]
Vermont	Justin S. Morrill	Republican	1866 1872	Incumbent re-elected in 1878.	▌Y Justin S. Morrill (Republican) [data missing]
Wisconsin	Timothy O. Howe	Republican	1861 1866 1872	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 22, 1879.[7] Republican hold.	▌Y Matthew H. Carpenter (Republican) ▌Timothy O. Howe (Republican) ▌Elisha W. Keyes (Republican)

Elections during the 46th Congress

In this election, the winner was elected in 1879 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
New Hampshire (Class 3)	Charles H. Bell	Republican	1879 (appointed)	Legislature had failed to elect; see above. Interim appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected June 17, 1879. Republican hold.	▌Y Henry W. Blair (Republican) [data missing]

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1878 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1872 January 19, 1878 1884 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate James Black Groome Lewis Henry Steiner Party Democratic Republican Legislative vote 73 17 Percentage 78.50% 18.28%

James Black Groome was elected by a margin of 60.22%, or 56 votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[8]

New York

Senator Roscoe Conkling

Main article: 1879 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York and 1878 United States House of Representatives elections in New York

In New York, the election was held on January 21, 1879, by the New York State Legislature. Republican Roscoe Conkling had been re-elected in January 1873 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1879. At the State election in November 1877, 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1878–1879) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1878, 97 Republicans, 28 Democrats and 3 Greenbackers were elected for the session of 1879 to the Assembly, and Republican Thomas Murphy was elected to fill the vacancy in the State Senate caused by the death of Democrat John Morrissey. The 102nd New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 22, 1879, at Albany, New York.

The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 20, Temporary President of the State Senate William H. Robertson presided. Present were all Republican legislators except State Senator Louis S. Goebel^[9] (6th D.) and Assemblyman James W. Wadsworth. They re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator Conkling unanimously. The caucus of the Democratic State legislators met also on January 20. State Senator Thomas C. E. Ecclesine (8th D.) offered to adopt a prostest against the senatorial election proceedings, claiming that the senatorial and assembly districts were incorrectly apportioned and thus the State Legislature did not represent the wish of the people of the State. The protest was substituted by a resolution to appoint a committee which would elaborate an address on the apportionment at a later date. Ecclesine then marched out, and the remaining legislators nominated Lieutenant Governor William Dorsheimer for the U.S. Senate.

1879 Democratic caucus for United States Senator result

Candidate	First ballot	Second ballot
William Dorsheimer	11	18
James F. Starbuck	8	8
DeWitt C. West[10]	8	6
Elijah Ward	2

The two Greenback assemblymen John Banfield (Chemung Co.) and George E. Williams (Oswego Co.) voted for 87-year-old Peter Cooper, a New York City inventor, industrialist and philanthropist who had run for U.S. president in 1876 on the Greenback ticket.

Roscoe Conkling was the choice of both the Assembly and the State Senate, and was declared elected.

1879 United States Senator election result

	Republican		Democrat		Greenback
State Senate (32 members)	Roscoe Conkling	20	William Dorsheimer	12
State Assembly (128 members)	Roscoe Conkling	95	William Dorsheimer	23	Peter Cooper	2

Note: The votes were cast on January 21, but both Houses met in a joint session on January 22 to compare nominations, and declare the result.

Pennsylvania

Senator J. Donald Cameron

Main article: 1879 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania and 1878 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, the election was held January 20, 1879. J. Donald Cameron was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[11]

After Sen. Simon Cameron resigned from office, his son J. Donald Cameron was elected by the General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in 1877 to serve the remainder of the unexpired term, which was to expire on March 4, 1879. The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 20, 1879, to elect a Senator to serve the term beginning on March 4, 1879. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	J. Donald Cameron (Inc.)	135	53.78
	Democratic	Hiester Clymer	92	36.65
	Greenback	Daniel Agnew	16	6.37
	Republican	Edward McPherson	3	1.20
	Republican	Russell Thayer	1	0.40
	Republican	Galusha A. Grow	1	0.40
	N/A	Not voting	3	1.20
Totals			251	100.00%

See also

• 1878 United States elections
  • 1878–79 United States House of Representatives elections
• 45th United States Congress
• 46th United States Congress

Notes

1. as Democratic Caucus Chair
2. 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. "The Vote in the Senate". Santa Barbara Daily Press. Santa Barbara. December 18, 1877. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
3. "THE FLORIDA SENATORSHIP". The New York Times. January 22, 1879. p. 1.
4. "IL US Senate". OurCampaigns.com. December 4, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2019., citing Chicago Tribune.
5. Clark, p. 185.
6. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 19, 1878". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
7. Thompson, p. 262.
8. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 19, 1878". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
9. State Senator Goebel refused to caucus with any of the parties, but voted for Conkling at the election.
10. DeWitt Clinton West (1824-1880), of Lowville, assemblyman 1853
11. "U.S. Senate Election - 20 January 1879" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

Further reading

• Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). "History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa". Iowa City, Iowa.
• Thompson, E. Bruce (1954). Matthew Hale Carpenter, Webster of the West. Madison, WI: State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
• Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
• "VICTORIOUS REPUBLICANS" (PDF). The New York Times. November 6, 1878., gives 1 Greenbacker elected, but Williams of Oswego is not in the list; this seems to have been a preliminary result which was later amended
• "NEW-YORK'S NEXT SENATOR; ROSCOE CONKLING RENOMINATED" (PDF). The New York Times. January 21, 1879.
• "THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS.; A REMARKABLE PROTEST OFFERED AND TABLED; LIEUT.-GOV. DORSHEIMER TENDERED THE EMPTY HONOR OF A NOMINATION" (PDF). The New York Times. January 21, 1879.
• "CONKLING WINS THE SENATORSHIP" (PDF). The New York Times. January 22, 1879.
• "CHOOSING THEIR SENATORS.; ...LIEUT.-GOV. DORSHEIMER FORMALLY ANNOUNCES THE ELECTION" (PDF). The New York Times. January 23, 1879.
• Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006. Wilkes University Election Statistics Project.