1890–91 United States Senate elections

The 1890–91 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 1890 and 1891, 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.

1890–91 United States Senate elections

← 1888 & 1889 Dates vary by state 1892 & 1893 →
29 of the 88 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections) 45 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader George F. Edmunds[a] (retired) Arthur Pue Gorman[b] Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1885 March 4, 1889 Leader's seat Vermont Maryland Seats before 38 37 Seats won 12 14 Seats after 47 39 Seat change 9 2 Seats up 16 12   Third party Fourth party   Party Populist Independent Seats before 0 0 Seats won 1 1 Seats after 1 1 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 0 0
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      Populist gain      Independent gain      Legislature failed to elect
Majority Party before election Republican Elected Majority Party Republican

The Republican Party lost four seats, though still retaining a slim majority. That majority was increased, however, upon the admission of two more states with Republican senators.

Results summary

Senate party division, 52nd Congress (1891–1893)

• Majority party: Republican (47)
• Minority party: Democratic (39)
• Other parties: Populist (2)
• Total seats: 88

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the admission of Montana's new senators in January 1890.

								D1	D2
D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7	D6	D5	D4	D3
D13	D14	D15	D16	D17	D18	D19	D20	D21	D22
D32 Ran	D31 Ran	D30 Ran	D29 Ran	D28 Ran	D27 Ran	D26 Ran	D25	D24	D23
D33 Ran	D34 Ran	D35 Ran	D36 Retired	D37 Retired	R47 Retired	R46 Ran	R45 Ran	R44 Ran	R43 Ran
Majority →
R33 Ran	R34 Ran	R35 Ran	R36 Ran	R37 Ran	R38 Ran	R39 Ran	R40 Ran	R41 Ran	R42 Ran
R32 Ran	R31	R30	R29	R28	R27	R26	R25	R24	R23
R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22
R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6	R5	R4	R3
								R1	R2

After the class 3 elections

								D1	D2
D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7	D6	D5	D4	D3
D13	D14	D15	D16	D17	D18	D19	D20	D21	D22
D32 Re-elected	D31 Re-elected	D30 Re-elected	D29 Re-elected	D28 Re-elected	D27 Re-elected	D26 Re-elected	D25	D24	D23
D33 Hold	D34 Hold	D35 Hold	D36 Hold	D37 Gain	D38 Gain	D39 Gain	V1 D Loss	I1 Gain	P1 Gain
Majority →									R43 New seat
R33 Re-elected	R34 Re-elected	R35 Re-elected	R36 Re-elected	R37 Re-elected	R38 Re-elected	R39 Re-elected	R40 Re-elected	R41 Hold	R42 Hold
R32 Re-elected	R31	R30	R29	R28	R27	R26	R25	R24	R23
R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22
R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6	R5	R4	R3
								R1	R2

Beginning of the next Congress

						D1	D2	D3	D4
D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7	D6	D5
D15	D16	D17	D18	D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24
D34	D33	D32	D31	D30	D29	D28	D27	D26	D25
D35	D36	V1 D seated late	V2 D elected late	V3 D died Later D	I1 Later P	P1	V3 D died Later R	R46 New seat	R45 New seat
Majority →
R35	R36	R37	R38	R39	R40	R41	R42	R43	R44 New seat
R34	R33	R32	R31	R30	R29	R28	R27	R26	R25
R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24
R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6	R5
						R1	R2	R3	R4

Key:	D# Democratic I# Independent P# Populist R# Republican V# Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 51st Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1890 or in 1891 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Montana (Class 1)	None (new state)			Montana admitted to the Union November 8, 1889. First senator elected January 1, 1890.[2] Sanders's election was challenged based on the legitimacy of the nascent state legislature. The Senate resolved the dispute in his favor April 16, 1890, and he was seated that day.[3] Republican gain.	▌Y Wilbur F. Sanders (Republican) ▌William A. Clark (Democratic)
Montana (Class 2)				Montana admitted to the Union November 8, 1889. Second senator elected January 2, 1890.[2] Power's election was challenged based on the legitimacy of the nascent state legislature. The Senate resolved the dispute in his favor April 16, 1890, and he was seated that day.[3] Republican gain.	▌Y Thomas C. Power (Republican) ▌Martin Maginnis (Democratic)
Kentucky (Class 2)	James B. Beck	Democratic	1876 1882 1888	Incumbent died May 3, 1890. New senator elected May 26, 1890. Democratic hold.	▌Y John G. Carlisle (Democratic) [data missing]
Wyoming (Class 2)	None (new state)			Wyoming admitted to the Union July 10, 1890. First senators elected November 15, 1890. Republican gain.	▌Y Joseph M. Carey (Republican) 39 ▌George W. Baxter (Democratic) 7[4]
Wyoming (Class 1)				Wyoming admitted to the Union July 10, 1890. First senators elected November 18, 1890. Republican gain.	▌Y Francis E. Warren (Republican) 29 ▌ Henry A. Coffeen (Democratic) 9 ▌M. C. Brown (Unknown) 7 ▌John McCormick (Unknown) 3 ▌H. R. Mann (Unknown) 1[4]
Idaho (Class 2)	None (new state)			Idaho admitted to the Union July 3, 1890. First senators elected December 18, 1890. Republican gain.	▌Y George L. Shoup (Republican) [data missing]
Idaho (Class 3)				Idaho admitted to the Union July 3, 1890. First senators elected December 18, 1890. Republican gain.	▌Y William J. McConnell (Republican) [data missing]

Races leading to the 52nd Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1891; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	James L. Pugh	Democratic	1880 (special) 1884	Incumbent re-elected in 1890.	▌Y James L. Pugh (Democratic) [data missing]
Arkansas	James K. Jones	Democratic	1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y James K. Jones (Democratic) [data missing]
California	Leland Stanford	Republican	1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y Leland Stanford (Republican) [data missing]
Colorado	Henry M. Teller	Republican	1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y Henry M. Teller (Republican) [data missing]
Connecticut	Orville H. Platt	Republican	1879 1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y Orville H. Platt (Republican) [data missing]
Florida	Wilkinson Call	Democratic	1879 1885	Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss.	None.
Georgia	Joseph E. Brown	Democratic	1880 (special) 1885	Incumbent retired due to illness. Democratic hold.	▌Y John B. Gordon (Democratic) [data missing]
Idaho	William J. McConnell	Republican	1890 (special)	McConnell was elected only to finish the term (see above) and thereafter retired. New senator elected December 18, 1890. Republican hold.	▌Y Fred Dubois (Republican) [data missing]
Illinois	Charles B. Farwell	Republican	1887	Incumbent lost renomination.[5] New senator elected on March 11, 1891, after 154 ballots.[6] Democratic gain.	▌Y John M. Palmer (Democratic) 102 ▌Cicero Lindly (Republican) 100 ▌Alson Streeter (Farmers' Alliance) 1[6]
Indiana	Daniel W. Voorhees	Democratic	1877 (appointed) 1879 (special) 1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y Daniel W. Voorhees (Democratic) [data missing]
Iowa	William B. Allison	Republican	1872 1878 1884	Incumbent re-elected March 5, 1890.[7]	▌Y William B. Allison (Republican) 79 ▌Samuel L. Bestow (Democratic) 63[8] ▌William Larrabee (Republican) 8[7]
Kansas	John J. Ingalls	Republican	1873 1879 1885	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1891. Populist gain.	▌Y William A. Peffer (Populist) ▌John J. Ingalls (Republican) [data missing]
Kentucky	J. C. S. Blackburn	Democratic	1884	Incumbent re-elected in 1890.	▌Y J. C. S. Blackburn (Democratic) [data missing]
Louisiana	James B. Eustis	Democratic	1890–91	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1891. Democratic hold.	▌Y Edward Douglass White (Democratic) [data missing]
Maryland	Ephraim Wilson	Democratic	1884	Incumbent re-elected in 1890, but died February 24, 1891, before the beginning of the next term. Seat remained vacant until November 19, 1891. Democratic loss.	▌Y Ephraim Wilson (Democratic) [data missing]
Missouri	George G. Vest	Democratic	1879 1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y George G. Vest (Democratic) [data missing]
Nevada	John P. Jones	Republican	1879 1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y John P. Jones (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Henry W. Blair	Republican	1879 1885 (appointed) 1885 (special)	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1891. Republican hold.	▌Y Jacob H. Gallinger (Republican) [data missing]
New York	William M. Evarts	Republican	1885	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 21, 1891. Democratic gain.	▌Y David B. Hill (Democratic) 81 ▌William M. Evarts (Republican) 79
North Carolina	Zebulon Vance	Democratic	1879 1884	Incumbent re-elected in 1890.	▌Y Zebulon Vance (Democratic)
North Dakota	Gilbert A. Pierce	Republican	1889	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1891. Republican hold.	▌Y Henry C. Hansbrough (Republican) ▌Gilbert A. Pierce (Republican) [data missing]
Ohio	Henry B. Payne	Democratic	1884	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 15, 1890[9] Democratic hold.	▌Y Calvin S. Brice (Democratic) [data missing]
Oregon	John H. Mitchell	Republican	1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1890.	▌Y John H. Mitchell (Republican) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	J. Donald Cameron	Republican	1877 (special) 1879 1885	Incumbent re-elected January 20, 1891.	▌Y J. Donald Cameron (Republican) 144 ▌Chauncey F. Black (Democratic) 94 Others 12; see below
South Carolina	Wade Hampton III	Democratic	1884	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1890. Democratic hold.	▌Y John L. M. Irby (Democratic) ▌Wade Hampton III (Democratic) [data missing]
South Dakota	Gideon C. Moody	Republican	1889	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 16, 1891.[10] Independent gain. Winner later became a Populist.	▌Y James H. Kyle (Independent) 75 ▌Bartlett Tripp (Democratic) 8 ▌Norman B. Campbell (Unknown) 1[10][11]
Vermont	Justin S. Morrill	Republican	1866 1872 1878 1884	Incumbent re-elected in 1890.	▌Y Justin S. Morrill (Republican) [data missing]
Washington	Watson C. Squire	Republican	1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1891.	▌Y Watson C. Squire (Republican) [data missing]
Wisconsin	John C. Spooner	Republican	1885	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 28, 1891. Democratic gain.	▌Y William F. Vilas (Democratic) 61.7% ▌John C. Spooner (Republican) 33.8% Null vote 4.5%

Election during the 52nd Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1891 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
California (Class 1)	George Hearst	Democratic	1887	Incumbent died February 28, 1891. New senator elected March 19, 1891. Republican gain.	▌Y Charles N. Felton (Republican) [data missing]
Florida (Class 3)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect; see above. Predecessor re-elected May 26, 1891.[12] Democratic hold.	▌Y Wilkinson Call (Democratic) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 1)	John W. Daniel	Democratic	1887	Incumbent re-elected early December 16, 1891 for the term beginning March 4, 1893.[13]	▌Y John W. Daniel (Democratic) [data missing]

Idaho

Senator George Shoup
(class 2)

Idaho class 3 senator

William J. McConnell
(December 18, 1890 – March 3, 1891)

Fred Dubois
(March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1897)

Main article: 1890 United States Senate elections in Idaho

See also: List of United States senators from Idaho and 1890 United States House of Representatives elections in Idaho

In July 1890, Idaho became a state. In November, Fred Dubois helped engineer a plan for the Idaho Legislature to effectively elect three people to the U.S. Senate: Governor George Shoup to the class 2 seat up for election in 1894, state constitutional convention member William J. McConnell to serve for the remainder of the Fifty-first United States Congress, ending in March 1891, and Dubois himself to succeed McConnell and serve a full six-year term in the class 3 seat beginning in March 1891.

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1890 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1884 January 1890 1892 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate Ephraim King Wilson II Party Democratic Legislative vote - Percentage -%  %

Ephraim King Wilson II was re-elected by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[14]

New York

Senator David B. Hill

Main article: 1891 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York and 1890 United States House of Representatives elections in New York

The New York election was held January 20 and 21, 1891, by the New York State Legislature.

Republican William M. Evarts had been elected to this seat in 1885, and his term would expire on March 3, 1891.

At the State election in November 1889, 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1890–1891) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1890, 68 Democrats and 60 Republicans were elected for the session of 1891 to the Assembly. The 114th New York State Legislature met from January 6 to April 30, 1891, at Albany, New York.

The Democratic caucus met on January 19, 74 State legislators attended, and State Senator John C. Jacobs presided. Governor David B. Hill was nominated by acclamation.

The Republican caucus met immediately after the Democratic caucus ended, Assemblyman James W. Husted presided. They re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator William M. Evarts unanimously.

On January 20, both Houses of the State legislature took ballots separately. The incumbent U.S. Senator Evarts was the choice of the State Senate, Governor Hill the choice of the Assembly. On January 21, both Houses met in joint session, and comparing nominations, found that they disagreed and proceeded to a joint ballot. Governor Hill was elected by a majority of 2, every member of the Legislature being present.

House	Democratic		Republican
State Senate (32 members)	David B. Hill	13	Y William M. Evarts	19
State Assembly (128 members)	Y David B. Hill	65	William M. Evarts	58
Joint ballot (160 members)	Y David B. Hill	81	William M. Evarts	79

The seat became vacant on March 4, 1891. David B. Hill remained in office as Governor of New York until December 31, 1891, and took his seat only on January 7, 1892, missing actually only one month of session. There were no special sessions during the 52nd United States Congress and the regular session began only on December 7, 1891. Hill served a single term, and remained in the U.S. Senate until March 3, 1897. In January 1897, Hill was defeated for re-election by Republican Thomas C. Platt who had been a U.S. Senator briefly in 1881.

Pennsylvania

Senator J. Donald Cameron

Main article: 1891 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania and 1890 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania election was held on January 20, 1891. J. Donald Cameron was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[15]

The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 20, 1891. Incumbent Republican J. Donald Cameron, who was elected in an 1877 special election and re-elected in 1879 and 1885, was a successful candidate for re-election to another term. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	J. Donald Cameron (Incumbent)	144	56.69
	Democratic	Chauncey F. Black	94	37.01
	Republican	Austin L. Taggart	7	2.76
	Republican	Theodore L. Flood	3	1.18
	Democratic	J. C. Sibley	1	0.39
	Republican	Harry White	1	0.39
	N/A	Not voting	4	1.57
Totals			254	100.00%

See also

• 1890 United States elections
  • 1890 United States House of Representatives elections
• 51st United States Congress
• 52nd United States Congress

Notes

1. as Republican Conference Chair
2. as Democratic Caucus 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. "Congressional Series of United States Public Documents". Government Printing Office. 1893. p. 64.
3. Taft, et al., p. 727.
4. Goodspeed, Weston Arthur (1904). Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming. University of California. p. 382 – via Google Books.
5. RICHARD J. OGLESBY THE NOMINEE. Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922); Chicago, Ill. [Chicago, Ill]. 16 Jan 1891: 4.
6. Newcombe, Alfred W. (1946). "Alson J. Streeter: An Agrarian Liberal". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. Vol. 39, no. 1. University of Illinois Press. pp. 68–95 – via JSTOR.
7. Clark, p. 221.
8. Wilcox, Henry S., ed. (March 5, 1890). "Election of U.S. Senator". Journal of the Iowa House of Representatives. 23 (1): 158–168. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
9. Taylor & Taylor, p. 111, vol II.
10. "SENATOR JAMES H. KYLE". The New York Times. February 17, 1891. p. 5.
11. Proceedings of the House of Representatives, ... Legislative session, State of South Dakota. Published under the direction and authority of the Legislature. 1923.
12. "CALL DECLARED ELECTED". The New York Times. May 26, 1891. p. 1.
13. Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia 1891-1892. p. 135. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
14. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1890". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
15. "U.S. Senate Election - 20 January 1891" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

Further reading

• Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy (ed.). The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789–1992. United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160632563.
• Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Cox, Harold (January 31, 2007). "Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682–2006". The Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
• Taft, George S.; Furber, George P.; Buck, George M.; Webb, Charles A.; Pierce, Herbert R. (1913). Compilation of Senate Election Cases from 1789 to 1913. U.S. Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900. State of Ohio.
• Members of the 52nd United States Congress
• "EXIT DAVID BENNETT HILL" (PDF). The New York Times. January 20, 1891., The headline expresses the erroneous belief that Hill, after his election, would resign the governorship and go to Washington, D.C.
• "HILL'S FRIENDS NERVOUS" (PDF). The New York Times. January 21, 1891.
• "HILL'S MAJORITY OF TWO" (PDF). The New York Times. January 22, 1891.
• "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". via Senate.gov.