1830–31 United States Senate elections

The 1830–31 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 1830 and 1831, 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.

1830–31 United States Senate elections

← 1828 & 1829 Dates vary by state 1832 & 1833 →
16 of the 48 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Jacksonian Anti-Jacksonian Last election 26 seats 19 seats Seats before 25 23 Seats won 8 6 Seats after 26 20 Seat change 1 3 Seats up 7 9   Third party   Party Nullifier Seats before New party Seats won 1 Seats after 1 Seat change 1 Seats up 0
Results:      Jacksonian Hold      Jacksonian Gain      Anti-Jacksonian Hold      Anti-Jacksonian Gain      Nullifier Gain      Legislature Failed To Elect
Majority Party before election Jacksonian Elected Majority Party Jacksonian

The Jacksonians gained one seat from the Anti-Jacksonian coalition, but lose one seat to the short-lived Nullifier Party. By the time Congress first met in December 1831, however, the Jacksonians had a net loss of one seat.

Results summary

Senate party division, 22nd Congress (1831–1833)

• Majority party: Jacksonian (24–23)
• Minority party: Anti-Jackson (21–23)
• Other parties: Nullifier (2–1)
• Total seats: 48

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the January 7, 1830 special election in Delaware.

						AJ1	AJ2	AJ3	AJ4
AJ14	AJ13	AJ12	AJ11	AJ10	AJ9	AJ8	AJ7	AJ6	AJ5
AJ15 Ind. Ran	AJ16 La. Ran	AJ17 Md. Ran	AJ18 Mo. Ran	AJ19 N.Y. Ran	AJ20 Pa. Ran	AJ21 Conn. Unknown	AJ22 Vt. Unknown	AJ23 Ohio Retired	J25 N.C. Retired
Majority →									J24 N.H. Unknown
J15	J16	J17	J18	J19 Ala. Ran	J20 Ga. Ran	J21 Ill. Ran	J22 S.C. Ran	J23 Ky. Ran
J14	J13	J12	J11	J10	J9	J8	J7	J6	J5
						J1	J2	J3	J4

As a result of the elections

						AJ1	AJ2	AJ3	AJ4
AJ14	AJ13	AJ12	AJ11	AJ10	AJ9	AJ8	AJ7	AJ6	AJ5
AJ15 Ind. Re-elected	AJ16 La. Re-elected	AJ17 Md. Re-elected	AJ18 Ala. Hold	AJ19 Conn. Hold	AJ20 Ohio Hold	V1 Ky. J Loss	N1 S.C. Gain	J26 Pa. Gain	J25 N.Y. Gain
Majority →									J24 Mo. Gain
J15	J16	J17	J18	J19 Ga. Re-elected	J20 Ill. Re-elected	J21 N.H. Hold	J22 N.C. Hold	J23 Vt. Hold
J14	J13	J12	J11	J10	J9	J8	J7	J6	J5
						J1	J2	J3	J4

At the beginning of the first session, December 5, 1831

						AJ1	AJ2	AJ3	AJ4
AJ14	AJ13	AJ12	AJ11	AJ10	AJ9	AJ8	AJ7	AJ6	AJ5
AJ15	AJ16	AJ17	AJ18	AJ19	AJ20	AJ21[a] Gain	AJ22[b] Gain	N1	N2 S.C. Changed
Plurality[c] →									J24
J15	J16	J17	J18	J19	J20	J21	J22	J23
J14	J13	J12	J11	J10	J9	J8	J7	J6	J5
						J1	J2	J3	J4

Key:	AJ# = Anti-Jacksonian J# = Jacksonian N# = Nullfier V# = Vacant

Race summaries

Bold states link to specific election articles.

Special elections during the 21st Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1830 or before March 4, 1831; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Illinois (Class 2)	David J. Baker	Jacksonian	1830 (appointed)	Incumbent appointee retired when elected successor qualified. Winner elected December 11, 1830. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y John M. Robinson (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Mississippi (Class 2)	Thomas B. Reed	Jacksonian	1826 (special) 1827 (lost) 1828	Incumbent died November 26, 1829. Winner elected January 6, 1830. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Robert H. Adams (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Delaware (Class 1)	Louis McLane	Jacksonian	1827	Incumbent resigned April 29, 1829 to become U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom. Winner elected January 7, 1830. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Arnold Naudain (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]

Races leading to the 22nd Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1831 (except where noted due to late election); ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	John McKinley	Jacksonian	1826 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1831. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Gabriel Moore (Jacksonian) ▌John McKinley (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Connecticut	Calvin Willey	Anti-Jacksonian	1825	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected May 20, 1830. Anti-Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Gideon Tomlinson (Anti-Jacksonian) 158 ▌R. M. Sherman (Unknown) 20 Scattering 17[2][3]
Georgia	John Forsyth	Jacksonian	1829 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1830 or 1831.	▌Y John Forsyth (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Illinois	Elias Kane	Jacksonian	1825	Incumbent re-elected in 1831.	▌Y Elias K. Kane (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Indiana	William Hendricks	Anti-Jacksonian	1824	Incumbent re-elected December 18, 1830 on the fourth ballot.	▌Y William Hendricks (Anti-Jacksonian) 44 ▌ Ratliff Boon (Jacksonian) 26 ▌ John Law (Jacksonian) 9 ▌ Charles Dewey (Jacksonian) 3[4]
Kentucky	John Rowan	Jacksonian	1824	Legislature elected late. Jacksonian loss.	[data missing]
Louisiana	Josiah S. Johnston	Anti-Jacksonian	1824 (appointed) 1825	Incumbent re-elected in 1831.	▌Y Josiah S. Johnston (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Maryland	Ezekiel F. Chambers	Anti-Jacksonian	1826 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1831.	▌Y Ezekiel F. Chambers (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Missouri	David Barton	Anti-Jacksonian	1821 1825	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1830. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Alexander Buckner (Jacksonian) ▌David Barton (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Levi Woodbury	Jacksonian	1825	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1831. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Isaac Hill (Jacksonian) [data missing]
New York	Nathan Sanford	Anti-Jacksonian	1826 (late)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected February 1, 1831. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y William L. Marcy (Jacksonian) 20+86 ▌Samuel Works (Anti-Masonic) 5+27 ▌Nathan Sanford (Anti-Jacksonian) 0+1
North Carolina	James Iredell Jr.	Jacksonian	1828 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1830. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Willie P. Mangum (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Ohio	Jacob Burnet	Anti-Jacksonian	1828 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1830. Anti-Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Thomas Ewing (Anti-Jacksonian) 54 ▌Micajah T. Williams (Jacksonian) 51 ▌Edward King (Anti-Jacksonian) 2
Pennsylvania	William Marks	Anti-Jacksonian	1825	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1830 or 1831. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y William Wilkins (Jacksonian) ▌William Marks (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
South Carolina	William Smith	Jacksonian	1826 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1830 or 1831. Nullifier gain.	▌Y Stephen D. Miller (Nullifier) ▌William Smith (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Vermont	Dudley Chase	Anti-Jacksonian	1825	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1831. Anti-Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Samuel Prentiss (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]

Elections during the 22nd Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated in 1831 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Kentucky (Class 3)	Vacant			Legislature elected late. New senator elected November 10, 1831. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Henry Clay (Anti-Jacksonian) 73 ▌Richard M. Johnson (Jacksonian) 64 ▌Worden Pope (Unknown) 1[5]
Louisiana (Class 2)	Edward Livingston	Jacksonian	1828 or 1829	Incumbent resigned May 24, 1831 to become U.S. Secretary of State. Winner elected November 15, 1831. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌Y George A. Waggaman (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Pennsylvania (Class 1)	Isaac D. Barnard	Jacksonian	1826	Incumbent resigned December 6, 1831 due to ill health. Winner elected December 13, 1831.[6] Jacksonian hold.	▌Y George M. Dallas (Jacksonian) 67 ▌Joseph Hemphill (Jacksonian) 34 ▌Richard Rush (Anti-Masonic) 30 ▌Samuel B. Davis (Jacksonian) 1 Not voting 1[6]

Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama and 1831 United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama

Connecticut

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut and 1831 United States House of Representatives election in Connecticut

Delaware (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware and 1830 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware

Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia and 1830 United States House of Representatives election in Georgia

Illinois

See also: List of United States senators from Illinois and 1831 United States House of Representatives election in Illinois

Illinois had two elections in this cycle: one for each seat.

Illinois (regular)

For the Class 3 seat, one-term incumbent Jacksonian Elias Kane was re-elected in 1831 for the term beginning March 4, 1831.

Illinois (special)

For the Class 2 seat, Jacksonian incumbent John McLean, who had been elected in 1828 or 1829, died October 14, 1830. Jacksonian David J. Baker was appointed November 12, 1830 to continue the term until a special election. On December 11, 1830, Jacksonian John McCracken Robinson was elected to finish the term and was seated January 4, 1831.

Indiana

See also: List of United States senators from Indiana and 1831 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana

Kentucky

Kentucky had two elections in this cycle.

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky and 1831 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

When Jacksonian John Rowan's term ended March 3, 1831, the legislature had not yet voted a replacement. When the legislature resumed for its session in November 1831, Anti-Jacksonian Henry Clay was elected, but still in time to participate when the 22nd Congress convened in December 1831.

Kentucky (regular)

Kentucky (special)

Louisiana

Louisiana had two elections in this cycle.

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana and 1830 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana

Louisiana (regular)

Louisiana (special)

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1831 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1826 February 24, 1831 1835 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate Ezekiel F. Chambers No votes Party National Republican Legislative vote 53 20 Percentage 72.60% 27.40%

Ezekiel F. Chambers won election over non-voters by a margin of 45.21%, or 33 votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[7]

Mississippi (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi and 1830 United States House of Representatives election in Mississippi

Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri and 1831 United States House of Representatives election in Missouri

New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire and 1831 United States House of Representatives election in New Hampshire

New York

Main article: 1831 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York and 1830 United States House of Representatives elections in New York

The Senate election in New York was held on February 1, 1831, by the New York State Legislature. Nathan Sanford had been elected in 1826 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1831. At the state election in November 1830, the Jacksonians managed to defeat the combined Anti-Masons and Anti-Jacksonians. Enos T. Throop was narrowly re-elected Governor, a large Jacksonian majority was elected to the Assembly, and five of the nine State Senators elected were Jacksonian Democrats. The 54th New York State Legislature met from January 4 to April 26, 1831, at Albany, New York. The Jacksonian State legislators held a caucus before the election, and n The Jacksonian State legislators held a caucus before the electionominated New York Supreme Court Justice William L. Marcy. The vote was 77 for Marcy, 15 for Erastus Root, 6 for the incumbent Nathan Sanford and 6 scattering votes. William L. Marcy was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

House	Jacksonian		Anti-Mason		Anti-Jacksonian
State Senate (32 members)	William L. Marcy	20	Samuel Works	5
State Assembly (128 members)	William L. Marcy	86	Samuel Works	27	Nathan Sanford	1

North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina and 1831 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina

Ohio

See also: List of United States senators from Ohio and 1830 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio

The two houses of the Ohio General Assembly met during the winter of 1830–1831 in joint assembly to elect a Senator (Class 3). After seven ballots, on various dates, Thomas Ewing was elected on a majority of the ballots. The balloting was as follows:^[8]

Ballot	Thomas Ewing (Anti-Jacksonian)	Micajah T. Williams (Jacksonian)	Edward King (Anti-Jacksonian)
1	33	49	21
2	37	50	21
3	42	49	16
4	46	52	9
5	51	51	5
6	54	53	2
7	Y 54	51	2

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania had two election in this cycle.

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania and 1830 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania (regular)

Main article: 1830 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

-

Pennsylvania (special)

Main article: 1831 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania

Following the December 6, 1831 resignation of Senator Isaac Barnard due to ill health, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on December 13, 1831, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy. Eleven ballots were recorded. The results of the eleventh and final ballot of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George M. Dallas	67	50.38
	Democratic	Joseph Hemphill	34	25.56%
	Anti-Masonic	Richard Rush	30	22.56%
	Democratic	Samuel B. Davis	1	0.75%
	N/A	Not voting	1	0.75%
-	Totals			133	100.00%

Vermont

See also: List of United States senators from Vermont and 1830–1832 United States House of Representatives elections in Vermont

See also

• 1830 United States elections
  • 1830–31 United States House of Representatives elections
• 21st United States Congress
• 22nd United States Congress

Notes

1. Kentucky class 3 seat: Legislature elected Anti-Jacksonian late in the Congress, on November 10, 1831.
2. Indiana class 1 seat: Jacksonian died February 26, 1831, in the previous Congress, and an Anti-Jacksonian Senator was appointed August 19, 1831.
3. The Jacksonians maintained Senate control as evidenced by their electing Jacksonians as Presidents pro tempore: Samuel Smith, Littleton W. Tazewell, and Hugh Lawson White.

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. "Legislature of Connecticut". Litchfield enquirer. Litchfield, Conn. May 27, 1830. p. 2. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
3. "Litchfield, May 27, 1830". Litchfield enquirer. Litchfield, Conn. May 27, 1830. p. 3. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
4. "The "Indiana Republican" says". Niles' Weekly Register. Vol. III, no. 19. Baltimore. January 8, 1831. p. 334. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
5. "Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, November 7, 1831 - December 23, 1831". Journals of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 14. A. G. Meriwether: 47. 1831.
6. "U.S. Senate Election - 13 December 1831" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
7. "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 24, 1831". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
8. Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900…. State of Ohio. p. 151.
9. "U.S. Senate Election - 13 December 1831" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
10. "PA US Senate - Special Election". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

Sources

• Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov