1854–55 United States Senate elections

1854–55 United States Senate elections
21 of the 62 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections); 32 seats needed for a majority
	Results:; Democratic gain Democratic hold ; Whig hold; Free Soil Gain Know Nothing Gain; Republican Gain Legislature failed to elect
Majority party before election; ; Democratic	Elected Majority party ; ; Democratic

The 1854–55 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 1854 and 1855, 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.

These elections saw the final decline of the Whig Party and the maintained majority of the Democrats. Those Whigs in the South who were opposed to secession ran on the "Opposition Party" ticket, and were elected to a minority. Along with the Whigs, the Senate roster also included Free Soilers, Know Nothings, and a new party: the Republicans. Only five of the twenty-one senators up for election were re-elected.

Results summary

Senate party division, 34th Congress (1855–1857)

Majority party: Democratic (35)
Minority party: Opposition (20) (Whigs, Republicans, Know Nothings, Free Soilers)
Vacant: 7
Total seats: 62

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the October 14, 1854 special election in Vermont.

D₁
D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂
D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆ Ran	D₂₇ Ran	D₂₈ Ran	D₂₉ Ran	D₃₀ Ran	D₃₁ Ran
Majority →									D₃₂ Ran
FS₄ Retired	KN₁	V₁	V₂	V₃	D₃₆ Retired	D₃₅ Unknown	D₃₄ Unknown	D₃₃ Ran	D₃₂ Ran
FS₃ Retired	FS₂ Retired	FS₁	W₁₈ Retired	W₁₇ Retired	W₁₆ Retired	W₁₅ Unknown	W₁₄ Unknown	W₁₃ Ran	W₁₂ Ran
W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀	W₁₁
W₁

As a result of the elections

D₁
D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂
D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆ Re-elected	D₂₇ Re-elected	D₂₈ Re-elected	D₂₉ Hold	D₃₀ Gain	D₃₁ Gain
Majority →									D₃₂ Gain
V₂	V₃	V₄	V₅ D Loss	V₆ D Loss	V₇ D Loss	V₈ D Loss	V₉ D Loss	D₃₃ Gain	D₃₂ Gain
V₁ W Loss	KN₁	FS₂ Gain	FS₁	R₃ Gain	R₂ Gain	R₁ Gain	W₁₄ Hold	W₁₃ Re-elected	W₁₂ Re-elected
W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀	W₁₁
W₁

Beginning of the next Congress

D₁
D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂
D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈	D₂₉	D₃₀	D₃₁
Majority →									D₃₂
V₂	V₃	V₄	V₅	V₆	V₇	D₃₅ Gain	D₃₄ Gain	D₃₃	D₃₂
V₁	KN₂ Changed	KN₁	FS₂	FS₁	R₇ Gain	R₆ Changed	R₅ Changed	R₄ Changed	R₃
W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	R₁	R₂
W₁

Beginning of the first session, December 3, 1855

D₁
D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂
D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈	D₂₉	D₃₀	D₃₁
Majority →									D₃₂
KN₂	V₁	V₂	V₃	V₄	D₃₆ Gain	D₃₅	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂
KN₁	FS₂	FS₁	R₉ Gain	R₈ Gain	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃
W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	R₁	R₂
W₁

Key:

D_#	Democratic
FS_#	Free Soil
KN_#	Know Nothing
R_#	Republican
W_#	Whig
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 33rd Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1854 or in 1855 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Mississippi (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect in 1853. New senator elected January 7, 1854. Democratic gain.	▌Y Albert G. Brown (Democratic) [data missing]
Connecticut (Class 3)	Truman Smith	Whig	1848 or 1849	Incumbent resigned May 24, 1854. New senator elected May 24, 1854. Free Soil gain. Successor did not run for the next term, see below.	▌Y Francis Gillette (Free Soil) [data missing]
Vermont (Class 3)	Samuel S. Phelps	Whig	1853 (appointed)	Incumbent lost entitlement to sit on March 16, 1854.^[2] New senator elected October 14, 1854. Free Soil gain. Successor did not run for the next term, see below.	▌Y Lawrence Brainerd (Free Soil) [data missing]
Arkansas (Class 3)	Robert W. Johnson	Democratic	1853 (appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 10, 1854.^[3] Winner was later elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Robert W. Johnson (Democratic) [data missing]
North Carolina (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect in 1853. New senator elected December 6, 1854. Democratic gain.	▌Y David Settle Reid (Democratic) [data missing]
Massachusetts (Class 2)	Julius Rockwell	Whig	1854 (appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. Successor elected January 31, 1855. Know Nothing gain.	▌Y Henry Wilson (Know Nothing) ▌Nahum F. Bryant (Know Nothing) ▌Ephraim M. Wright (Whig) ▌Julius Rockwell (Whig)

Elections leading to the 34th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1855; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	Benjamin Fitzpatrick	Democratic	1848 (appointed) 1849 (successor elected) 1853 (appointed) 1853 (special)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until November 26, 1855; see below.	[data missing]
Arkansas	Robert W. Johnson	Democratic	1853 (appointed) 1854 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1855.	▌Y Robert W. Johnson (Democratic) [data missing]
California	William M. Gwin	Democratic	1850	Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1857.	▌William M. Gwin (Democratic)
Connecticut	Francis Gillette	Free Soil	1854 (special)	Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1854. Republican gain.	▌Y Lafayette S. Foster (Republican) [data missing]
Florida	Jackson Morton	Whig	1848	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1854. Democratic gain.	▌Y David Levy Yulee (Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia	William Crosby Dawson	Whig	1847^[4]	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1854 or 1855. Democratic gain.	▌Y Alfred Iverson Sr. (Democratic) [data missing]
Illinois	James Shields	Democratic	1849	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 8, 1855.^[5] Democratic hold.	▌Y Lyman Trumbull (Democratic) 51 ▌Joel A. Matteson (Democratic) 47 ▌Archibald Williams (Whig) 1
Indiana	John Pettit	Democratic	1853 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant util 1857.	▌John Pettit (Democratic) [data missing]
Iowa	Augustus C. Dodge	Democratic	1848 1849	Incumbent lost re-election. Incumbent then resigned February 22, 1855 to become U.S. Minister to Spain. Successor elected in 1855. Free Soil gain.	▌Y James Harlan (Free Soil) ▌Augustus C. Dodge (Democratic) [data missing]
Kentucky	Archibald Dixon	Whig	1851 (special)	Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1854. Whig hold.	▌Y John J. Crittenden (Whig): 78 ▌Lazarus W. Powell (Democratic): 59^[6]
Louisiana	John Slidell	Democratic	1853 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1854 or 1855.	▌Y John Slidell (Democratic) [data missing]
Maryland	James Pearce	Whig	1843 1849	Incumbent re-elected in 1855.	▌Y James Pearce (Whig) [data missing]
Missouri	David Rice Atchison	Democratic	1843 (appointed) 1843 (special) 1849	Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1857.	▌David Rice Atchison (Democratic) ▌Thomas Hart Benton (Democratic) ▌ [?] (Whig)
New Hampshire	John S. Wells	Democratic	1855 (appointed)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until July 30, 1855, see below.	[data missing]
New York	William H. Seward	Whig	1849	Incumbent re-elected February 6, 1855. Winner became a Republican shortly thereafter.	▌Y William H. Seward (Whig) ▌Daniel S. Dickinson (Dem./Hard) ▌Horatio Seymour (Dem./Soft) ▌Washington Hunt (Whig) ▌John Adams Dix (Dem./Soft) ▌Millard Fillmore (Whig) ▌William F. Allen (Democratic) Others, see below
North Carolina	George Badger	Whig	1846 (special) 1849	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1855. Democratic gain.	▌Y Asa Biggs (Democratic) [data missing]
Ohio	Salmon P. Chase	Free Soil	1849	Incumbent retired. Successor elected March 4, 1854.^[7] Democratic gain.	▌Y George E. Pugh (Democratic) 80 votes ▌Ephraim R. Eckley (Whig) 15 votes ▌Salmon P. Chase (Whig) 10 votes ▌Robert C. Schenck (Whig) 1 vote^[7]
Pennsylvania	James Cooper	Whig	1849	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1856.	▌Simon Cameron (Know Nothing) ▌Charles R. Buckalew (Democratic)
South Carolina	Andrew Butler	Democratic	1852 (appointed) ? (special) 1848	Incumbent re-elected in 1854.	▌Y Andrew Butler (Democratic) [data missing]
Vermont	Lawrence Brainerd	Free Soil	1854	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1855. Republican gain.	▌Y Jacob Collamer (Republican) [data missing]
Wisconsin	Isaac P. Walker	Democratic	1848 1849	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1854. Republican gain.	▌Y Charles Durkee (Republican) [data missing]

Elections during the 34th Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1855 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
New Hampshire (Class 2)	Vacant			Charles G. Atherton (D) died November 15, 1853. Jared W. Williams (D) was appointed to continue Atherton's term. Williams's appointment expired July 15, 1854 when the legislature then failed to elect a successor. New senator elected July 30, 1855. Republican gain.	▌Y John P. Hale (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire (Class 3)	Vacant			John S. Wells's (D) term expired March 3, 1855. Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected late July 30, 1855. Republican gain.	▌Y James Bell (Republican) [data missing]
Alabama (Class 3)	Vacant			Benjamin Fitzpatrick's (D) term expired March 3, 1855. Legislature had failed to elect. Incumbent was then elected late November 26, 1855. Democratic gain.	▌Y Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Democratic) [data missing]

Kentucky

On January 10, 1854, the Kentucky legislature elected Whig U.S. Attorney General (and former-senator and former-Governor of Kentucky) John J. Crittenden to succeed Dixon, beating the then-incumbent Governor of Kentucky, Lazarus W. Powell.

John J. Crittenden (Whig) 78 votes
Lazarus W. Powell (Democratic) 59 votes^[6]

Maryland

James Pearce won re-election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[8]

New York

The election was held on February 6, 1855. William H. Seward had been elected in 1849 to this seat and his term would expire on March 3, 1855. At the time the Democratic Party was split into two opposing factions: the "Hards" and the "Softs". After most of the "Barnburners" had left the party, joining the Whigs, the majority of "Hunkers" split over the question of reconciliation with the minority of Barnburners who had remained Democrats. The Hard faction (led by Daniel S. Dickinson) was against it, in true Hunker fashion claiming all patronage for themselves; the Soft faction (led by William L. Marcy, which included the former Barnburners, advocated party unity as a necessity to defeat the Whigs.

In 1854, the Republican Party was founded as a national party, but in New York the Whigs and the Anti-Nebraska Party ran concurrently at the State election. The unification of these occurred in New York only during the nomination convention for the State election in November 1855. Also running in the 1854 election were the American Party and nominees of the Temperance movement. In a general way, party lines were blurred until the re-alignment during the late 1850s after the disbanding of the American Party.

At the State election in November 1853, 23 Whigs, 7 Hards and 2 Softs were elected for a two-year term (1854–1855) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1854, Whig State Senator Myron H. Clark was elected Governor of New York, and 82 Whigs, 26 Softs, 16 Hards and 3 Temperance men were elected for the session of 1855 to the New York State Assembly. "Know Nothings are sprinkled miscellaneously among Whigs, Hards and Softs; and exactly how many there are of these gentry in the Assembly Nobody Knows."^[9] The 78th New York State Legislature met from January 2 to April 14, 1855, at Albany, New York.

In the Assembly, Seward received 69 votes, given by 65 Whigs; 1 Democrat; 1 Temperance man; 1 Republican and 1 Whig-Republican. Dickinson received 14 votes, given by 13 Democrats and 1 American. Horatio Seymour received the votes of 12 Democrats. Dix received 7 votes, given by 5 Democrats; 1 Independent Democrat and 1 Temperance man. Fillmore received 4 votes, given by 2 Whigs; 1 Democrat and 1 Temperance-American. Horatio Seymour Jr., received the votes of 2 Americans. King, Butler, Lester, Wait and Bronson received 1 Democratic vote each. Campbell received 1 Temperance-American vote. Howell received 1 American vote. Hoffman and Haven received 1 Whig vote each.

In the State Senate, Seward received 18 Whig votes, Dickinson 5 Hard votes, and Allen 2 Whig votes. Preston and Church received 1 Soft vote each. Hoffman, Babcock, Ullmann and Fillmore received 1 American vote each.

Seward was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

Candidate	Party	Senate (32 members)	Assembly (128 members)
√ William H. Seward	Whig	√ 18	√ 69
Daniel S. Dickinson	Dem./Hard	5	14
Horatio Seymour	Dem./Soft		12
Washington Hunt	Whig		9
John Adams Dix	Dem./Soft		7
Millard Fillmore	Whig	1	4
William F. Allen	Democratic	2
Horatio Seymour Jr.			2
Preston King		1	1
Ogden Hoffman	Whig	1	1
Daniel Ullmann	American	1
Sanford E. Church	Democratic	1
George R. Babcock	Whig	1
William W. Campbell	American		1
Benjamin F. Butler	Democratic		1
Albert Lester	Democratic		1
Greene C. Bronson	Democratic		1
Solomon G. Haven	Opposition		1
John D. Howell			1
L. or J. Wait			1

Notes

^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
^ Samuel S. Phelps (W-VT) had been appointed by the governor during a recess of the state legislature, and the legislature later convened and adjourned a session without electing a senator to replace fill the vacancy. The Senate ruled that Phelps had lost his entitlement to sit when the legislature adjourned. See Currie, David P. (May 10, 2005). The Constitution in Congress. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226129006.
^ 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., page 80
^ "Stryker's American Register and Magazine". 1849.
^ Journal of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, 1855. Springfield, IL: Lanphier & Walker, Printers. 1855.
^ ^a ^b Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, December 31, 1853 - March 10, 1854. Frankfort, Kentucky: Albert G. Hodges. 1853. p. 67.
^ ^a ^b Taylor & Taylor, p. 30, vol II.
^ "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1855". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
^ Result and comment in The Whig Almanac 1855 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune

References

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators; pg. 137 for State Senators 1855; pg. 248ff for Members of Assembly 1855)
Members of the 34th United States Congress
STATE AFFAIRS; Election of a U.S. Senator for Six Years in NYT on February 7, 1855
Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900. State of Ohio.
Result Senate: Journal of the Senate (78th Session) (1855; pg. 198)

[1] "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.

[2] Samuel S. Phelps (W-VT) had been appointed by the governor during a recess of the state legislature, and the legislature later convened and adjourned a session without electing a senator to replace fill the vacancy. The Senate ruled that Phelps had lost his entitlement to sit when the legislature adjourned. See Currie, David P. (May 10, 2005). The Constitution in Congress. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226129006.

[Byrd-3] 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., page 80

[4] "Stryker's American Register and Magazine". 1849.

[5] Journal of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, 1855. Springfield, IL: Lanphier & Walker, Printers. 1855.

[Kentucky1854-6] Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, December 31, 1853 - March 10, 1854. Frankfort, Kentucky: Albert G. Hodges. 1853. p. 67.

[FOOTNOTETaylor_&_Taylor30,_vol_II-7] Taylor & Taylor, p. 30, vol II.

[8] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1855". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.

[9] Result and comment in The Whig Almanac 1855 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune

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[2]

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