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The 1876–77 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with Rutherford B. Hayes's narrow election as president. 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 1876 and 1877, 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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26 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 39 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold Independent gain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Although the Republican Party maintained their Senate majority, the Democratic Party gained five seats.
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Senate party division, 45th Congress (1877–1879)
- Majority party: Republican (39)
- Minority party: Democratic (35)
- Other parties: Anti-Monopoly (1), Independent (1)
- Total seats: 76
Before the elections
After the November 15, 1876 elections in the new state of Colorado.
| D8 | D7 | D6 | D5 | D4 | D3 | D2 | D1 | ||
| D9 | D10 | D11 | D12 | D13 | D14 | D15 | D16 | D17 | D18 |
| D28 Retired |
D27 Retired |
D26 Ran |
D25 Ran |
D24 Ran |
D23 Ran |
D22 Ran |
D21 | D20 | D19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D29 Retired |
D30 Retired |
AM1 | R45 Retired |
R44 Retired |
R43 Retired |
R42 Retired |
R41 Unknown |
R40 Unknown |
R39 Unknown |
| Majority → | |||||||||
| R29 Ran |
R30 Ran |
R31 Ran |
R32 Ran |
R33 Ran |
R34 Ran |
R35 Ran |
R36 Ran |
R37 Ran |
R38 Ran |
| R28 | R27 | R26 | R25 | R24 | R23 | R22 | 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 Hold |
D27 Hold |
D26 Hold |
D25 Re-elected |
D24 Re-elected |
D23 Re-elected |
D22 Re-elected |
D21 | D20 | D19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D29 Hold |
D30 Hold |
D31 Gain |
D32 Gain |
D33 Gain |
D34 Gain |
D35 Gain |
I1 Gain |
AM1 | R39 Hold |
| Majority → | |||||||||
| R29 Re-elected |
R30 Re-elected |
R31 Re-elected |
R32 Re-elected |
R33 Re-elected |
R34 Hold |
R35 Hold |
R36 Hold |
R37 Hold |
R38 Hold |
| R28 | R27 | R26 | R25 | R24 | R23 | R22 | R21 | R20 | R19 |
| R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | R18 |
| R8 | R7 | R6 | R5 | R4 | R3 | R2 | R1 | ||
| Key: |
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Special elections during the 44th Congress
In these elections, the winners were seated during 1876 or in 1877 before March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Louisiana (Class 3) |
Vacant | Senate had declined to seat rival claimants William L. McMillen and P. B. S. Pinchback.[2] Senator elected January 12, 1876. Democratic gain. |
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| Connecticut (Class 3) |
James E. English | Democratic | 1875 (appointed) | Interim appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected May 17, 1876. Democratic hold. |
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| Colorado (Class 2) |
None (new state) | Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. First senator elected November 15, 1876. Republican gain. Winner was also elected to the next term; see below. |
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| Colorado (Class 3) |
Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. First senator elected November 15, 1876. Republican gain. |
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| Tennessee (Class 1) |
David M. Key | Democratic | 1875 (appointed) | Interim appointee lost special election. New senator elected January 19, 1877 on the 74th ballot. Democratic hold. |
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| Maine (Class 2) |
James G. Blaine | Republican | 1876 (appointed) | Interim appointee elected January 17, 1877. Winner was also elected to the next term; see below. |
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| West Virginia (Class 1) |
Samuel Price | Democratic | 1876 (appointed) | Interim appointee lost special election. New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the 5th ballot. Democratic hold. |
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Races leading to the 45th Congress
In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1877; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Alabama | George Goldthwaite | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic hold. |
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| Arkansas | Powell Clayton | Republican | 1870 | Unknown if incumbent retired or ran for re-election. New senator elected January 16, 1877. Democratic gain. |
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| Colorado | Henry M. Teller | Republican | 1876 (new state) | Incumbent re-elected in 1876 or 1877. |
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| Delaware | Eli Saulsbury | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent re-elected in 1876. |
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| Georgia | Thomas M. Norwood | Democratic | 1871 (readmission) | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot. Democratic hold. |
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| Illinois | John A. Logan | Republican | 1870–71 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 25, 1877 on the fortieth ballot. Independent gain. |
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| Iowa | George G. Wright | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 19, 1876. Republican hold. |
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| Kansas | James M. Harvey | Republican | 1874 (special) | Incumbent lost re-election. New elected January 31, 1877 on the seventeenth ballot. Republican hold. |
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| Kentucky | John W. Stevenson | Democratic | 1871 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic hold. |
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| Louisiana | Joseph R. West | Republican | 1870–71 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 10, 1877.[3] Republican hold. |
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| Maine | James G. Blaine | Republican | 1876 (appointed) | Interim appointee elected January 16, 1877.[3] Winner also elected to finish the term; see above. |
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| Massachusetts | George S. Boutwell | Republican | 1873 (special) | Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1877. Republican hold. |
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| Michigan | Thomas W. Ferry | Republican | 1871 | Incumbent re-elected in 1877. |
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| Minnesota | William Windom | Republican | 1870 (appointed) 1871 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1877. |
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| Mississippi | James L. Alcorn | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic gain. |
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| Nebraska | Phineas Hitchcock | Republican | 1870 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1877. Republican hold. |
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| New Hampshire | Aaron H. Cragin | Republican | 1864 1870 |
Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1876. Republican hold. |
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| New Jersey | Frederick T. Frelinghuysen | Republican | 1870–71 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 24, 1877. Democratic gain. |
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| North Carolina | Matt W. Ransom | Democratic | 1872 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1876. |
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| Oregon | James K. Kelly | Democratic | 1870 | Incumbent retired. Democratic hold. |
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| Rhode Island | Henry B. Anthony | Republican | 1858 1864 1870 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1876. |
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| South Carolina | Thomas J. Robertson | Republican | 1868 (readmission) 1870 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic gain. |
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| Tennessee | Henry Cooper | Democratic | 1870–71 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 10, 1877.[3] Democratic hold. |
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| Texas | Morgan C. Hamilton | Republican | 1870 (readmission) 1871 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected May 5, 1876 on third ballot. Democratic gain. |
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| Virginia | John W. Johnston | Democratic | 1870 (readmission) 1871 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1877. |
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| West Virginia | Henry G. Davis | Democratic | 1871 | Incumbent re-elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot. |
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Elections during the 45th Congress
In these elections, the winners were elected in 1877 after March 4.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Pennsylvania (Class 3) |
Simon Cameron | Republican | 1857 1861 (resigned) 1867 1873 |
Incumbent resigned March 12, 1877. New senator elected March 20, 1877. Republican hold. |
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| Ohio (Class 3) |
John Sherman | Republican | 1861 (special) 1866 1872 |
Incumbent resigned March 8, 1877 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. New senator elected March 21, 1877. Republican hold. |
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Colorado (initial, class 2)
Colorado (initial, class 3)
Colorado (regular)
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Louisiana (special)
Louisiana (regular)
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Maine (regular)
Maine (special)
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The special election in Pennsylvania was held March 20, 1877.
Republican Senator Simon Cameron had been elected to the United States Senate by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in 1867 and was re-elected in 1873. Sen. Cameron resigned on March 12, 1877.[6]
Following the resignation of Simon Cameron, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 20, 1877, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy. Former United States Secretary of War J. Donald Cameron, Simon Cameron's son, was elected to complete his father's term, set to expire on March 4, 1879.[7] The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | J. Donald Cameron | 147 | 58.57 | |
| Democratic | Andrew H. Dill | 92 | 36.65 | |
| Democratic | Hiester Clymer | 1 | 0.40 | |
| Democratic | Andrew G. Curtin | 1 | 0.40 | |
| Democratic | John Jackson | 1 | 0.40 | |
| N/A | Not voting | 9 | 3.59 | |
| Totals | 251 | 100.00% | ||
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Tennessee (regular)
Tennessee (special)
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Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature | ||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican Morgan C. Hamilton did not run for re-election. Since his initial election in 1870, the Democratic Party had taken control of the Texas Legislature, ensuring that a Democrat would replace him. Incumbent governor Richard Coke defeated former Texas Supreme Court justice John Ireland on the third ballot. U.S. Representative John Hancock and former governor Fletcher Stockdale also ran, but they dropped out after the second round of balloting.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard Coke | 49 | 40.2% | |
| Democratic | John Ireland | 39 | 32.0% | |
| Democratic | John Hancock | 29 | 23.8% | |
| Democratic | Fletcher Stockdale | 5 | 4.1% | |
| Total votes | 122 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Richard Coke | 68 | 58.1% | ||
| Democratic | John Ireland | 49 | 41.9% | ||
| Total votes | 117 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
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West Virginia (special)
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Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature | |||||||||||||||||||||
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First-term Democrat Allen T. Caperton died July 26, 1876, in his second year in office. Fellow-Democrat Samuel Price was appointed August 26, 1876 to continue the term, pending a special election in which he was a candidate. Price lost the election to Democratic congressman Frank Hereford January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot.[3]
Appointed incumbent Samuel Price and challengers Frank Hereford and Henry S. Walker, three prominent state Democrats, fought for the party's nomination over seven ballots and three sessions, without much movement in any direction. On January 26, with the Democrats unable to make a nomination, legislative Republicans broke the deadlock by throwing their support to Hereford on the floor.[10]
| Candidate | Ballots | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | |
| Frank Hereford | 21 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 18 |
| Samuel Price | 20 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 13 | 16 |
| Henry S. Walker | 17 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 17 |
| Scattered | 7 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| Total | 65 | 66 | 64 | 62 | 63 | 60 | 64 |
| Needed to win | 35 | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | House | Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Democratic | Frank Hereford | 18 | 28.6 | 3 | 13.0 | |
| Democratic | Samuel Price | 15 | 23.8 | 7 | 30.4 | |
| Democratic | Henry S. Walker | 9 | 14.3 | 6 | 26.1 | |
| Republican | John S. Carlile | 15 | 23.8 | 4 | 17.4 | |
| Democratic | Robert F. Dennis | 2 | 3.2 | 3 | 13.0 | |
| Democratic | Ira J. McGinnis | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Democratic | Thomas J. Farnsworth | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Democratic | John B. Hoge | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Democratic | William E. Arnold | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Total | 63 | 100 | 23 | 100 | ||
| Needed to win | 32 | >50 | 12 | >50 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Ballots | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |||
| Democratic | Frank Hereford | 21 | 28 | 25 | 70 | |
| Democratic | Samuel Price | 24 | 23 | 26 | 10 | |
| Democratic | Henry S. Walker | 16 | 12 | 19 | 4 | |
| Democratic | James H. Ferguson | 3 | 15 | 3 | 0 | |
| Democratic | Robert F. Dennis | 6 | 6 | 7 | 1 | |
| Other candidates | 17 | 3 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total | 87 | 87 | 87 | 86 | ||
| Needed to win | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 | ||
Hereford resigned from the House January 31, 1877, thereby qualifying for the Senate. He only finished the term and left office in 1881.
West Virginia (regular)
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Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature | ||||||||||||||||
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First-term Democrat Henry G. Davis was re-elected January 26, 1877 on the third ballot.
| Candidate | Ballots | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | |
| Charles J. Faulkner | 22 | 24 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 22 |
| Henry G. Davis | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 22 |
| John Brannon | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| Gideon D. Camden | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| John J. Davis | 4 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Scattered | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Total | 65 | 63 | 63 | 61 | 61 | 64 | 64 |
| Needed to win | 35 | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | House | Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Democratic | Henry G. Davis | 21 | 33.3 | 6 | 26.1 | |
| Democratic | Charles J. Faulkner | 18 | 28.6 | 7 | 30.4 | |
| Democratic | Gideon D. Camden | 3 | 4.8 | 4 | 17.4 | |
| Democratic | John Brannon | 5 | 7.9 | 2 | 8.7 | |
| Democratic | John J. Davis | 10 | 15.9 | 2 | 8.7 | |
| Democratic | Johnson N. Camden | 1 | 1.6 | 2 | 8.7 | |
| Republican | Archibald Campbell | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Democratic | Alpheus F. Haymond | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Democratic | Daniel D. Johnson | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Lamb | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Republican | George Loomis | 1 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Total | 63 | 100 | 23 | 100 | ||
| Needed to win | 32 | >50 | 12 | >50 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Ballots | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
| Democratic | Henry G. Davis | 24 | 26 | 60 | |
| Democratic | Charles J. Faulkner | 24 | 23 | 19 | |
| Democratic | John Brannon | 11 | 15 | 2 | |
| Democratic | Gideon D. Camden | 5 | 6 | 3 | |
| Democratic | John J. Davis | 15 | 12 | 1 | |
| Other candidates | 8 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Total | 87 | 87 | 87 | ||
| Needed to win | 44 | 44 | 44 | ||
Davis would retire after this second term, in 1883.
- "Eighteen Republicans voted for Garland, of whom five were colored."[3]
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