1838–39 United States Senate elections explained

Election Name:1838–39 United States Senate elections
Country:United States
Flag Year:1837
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1836–37 United States Senate elections
Next Election:1840–41 United States Senate elections
Seats For Election:17 of the 52 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections)
Majority Seats:27
Election Date:Dates vary by state
1Blank:Seats up
Party1:Democratic Party (US)
Last Election1:35 seats
Seats Before1:35
Seats1:3
Seats After1:28
Seat Change1: 7
1Data1:10
Party2:Whig Party (US)
Last Election2:17 seats
Seats Before2:17
Seats2:10
Seats After2:20
Seat Change2: 3
1Data2:7
Majority Party
Before Party:Democratic Party (US)
After Party:Democratic Party (US)

The 1838–39 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 1838 and 1839, 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 1.

The Democratic Party lost seven seats, but still retained a majority.

Results summary

Senate party division, 26th Congress (1839–1841)

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the January 4, 1838 special election in Maryland.

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Majority →D

W

D

D

D

D

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D

D

D

W

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W

W

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WWWWWW

Result of the elections

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Majority →D

W

W

W

W

V

V

V

V

D

W

W

W

W

W

W

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Beginning of the next term

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Majority →D
WWWV

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Key:
align=center DDemocratic
align=center WWhig
align=center VVacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 25th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1838 or before March 4, 1839; ordered by election date.

StateIncumbentResultsCandidates
SenatorPartyElectoral history
Maryland
(Class 1)
Joseph KentWhig1833Incumbent died November 24, 1837.
New senator elected January 4, 1838.
Whig hold.
Winner was also elected to the next term, see below.
nowrap
Tennessee
(Class 1)
Felix GrundyDemocratic1829
1833
Incumbent resigned July 4, 1838 to become U.S. Attorney General.
New senator elected September 17, 1838.
Whig gain.
Winner was also elected to the next term (see below), but declined.
nowrap
Mississippi
(Class 1)
Thomas H. WilliamsDemocratic1838 Interim appointee elected January 30, 1839.
Democratic hold.
Successor was not elected to the next term, see below.
nowrap

Races leading to the 26th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1839; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

StateIncumbentResultsCandidates
SenatorPartyElectoral history
ConnecticutJohn NilesDemocratic1835 Incumbent retired.
Winner elected in 1838 or 1839.
Whig gain.
nowrap
DelawareRichard H. BayardWhig1836 Incumbent re-elected in 1838 or 1839.nowrap
IndianaJohn TiptonDemocratic1832
1832
Incumbent retired.
Winner elected in 1838.
Whig gain.
nowrap
MaineReuel WilliamsDemocratic1837 Incumbent re-elected in 1838 or 1839.nowrap
MarylandWilliam MerrickWhig1838 Incumbent re-elected in 1839.nowrap
MassachusettsDaniel WebsterWhig1827
1833
Incumbent re-elected in 1839.nowrap
MichiganLucius LyonDemocratic1835Incumbent retired.
Legislature failed to elect until 1840.
Democratic loss.
MississippiThomas H. WilliamsDemocratic1838
1839
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost.
Winner elected in 1838.
Whig gain.
nowrap
MissouriThomas H. BentonDemocratic1821
1827
1833
Incumbent re-elected in 1839.nowrap
New JerseySamuel L. SouthardWhig1821
1820
1823
1833
Incumbent re-elected in 1839.nowrap
New YorkNathaniel P. TallmadgeDemocratic1833Incumbent ran for re-election as a Whig.
Legislature failed to elect.
Democratic loss.
nowrap
OhioThomas MorrisDemocratic1833Incumbent retired.
Winner elected in 1838.
Democratic hold.
nowrap
PennsylvaniaSamuel McKeanDemocratic1833Unknown if incumbent retired or lost.
Legislature failed to elect until 1840 after the election in December 1838 was postponed due to the Buckshot War.
Democratic loss.
None.
Rhode IslandAsher RobbinsWhig1835
1827
1833
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost.
Winner elected November 3, 1838.
Whig hold.
nowrap
TennesseeEphraim H. FosterWhig1838 Incumbent re-elected.
Incumbent then declined the seat.
nowrap
VermontBenjamin SwiftWhig1833Incumbent retired.
Winner elected in 1839.
Whig hold.
nowrap
VirginiaWilliam C. RivesDemocratic1832
1834
1836
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost.
Legislature failed to elect until 1841.
Democratic loss.

Special election during the 26th Congress

In this special election, the winner was seated in 1839 after March 4.

Connecticut

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut.

Delaware

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware.

Indiana

See also: List of United States senators from Indiana.

Maine

See also: List of United States senators from Maine.

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland.

Maryland (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland.

Election Name:1838 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Popular Vote1:-
Colour1:F0C862
Percentage1:-%
Party1:Whig Party (United States)
Candidate1:William Duhurst Merrick
Next Year:1839
Next Election:1839 United States Senate election in Maryland
Previous Year:1833
Previous Election:1833 United States Senate election in Maryland
Votes For Election:80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Vote Type:Legislative
Election Date:December 1837
Type:presidential

William Duhurst Merrick won election over to fill the seat vacated by Joseph Kent by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.[2]

Maryland (regular)

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland.

Election Name:1839 United States Senate election in Maryland
Popular Vote1:-
Colour1:F0C862
Percentage1:-%
Party1:Whig Party (United States)
Candidate1:William Duhurst Merrick
Next Year:1844
Next Election:1844 United States Senate election in Maryland
Previous Year:1838
Previous Election:1838 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Votes For Election:80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Vote Type:Legislative
Election Date:February 1839
Type:presidential

William Duhurst Merrick won election to a full term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.[3]

Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts.

Michigan

See also: List of United States senators from Michigan.

Mississippi

See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi.

Mississippi (special)

Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri.

New Jersey

See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey.

New York

See main article: 1839–1840 United States Senate election in New York.

See also: List of United States senators from New York. The New York election was held February 5, 1839 by the New York State Legislature. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been elected as a Jacksonian Democratic in 1833 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1839.

On February 4, 1839, the State Legislature elected on joint ballot Spencer, Cooke, Hall and Haight to the offices they were nominated for, but on the next day they could not agree on a U.S. Senator.

The Assembly nominated Nathaniel P. Tallmadge "by the votes of all the Whig members." (see Hammond, page 512)

Although the Democratic State Senate majority did not object to be outvoted on joint ballot for the election of Whigs to State offices, they rejected the idea of electing a renegade Democratic to the U.S. Senate, and took refuge to the only means to defeat Tallmadge: They did not nominate anybody, following the precedents of 1819–1820 and 1825–1826, so that a joint ballot could not be held. On the first ballot, Tallmadge received 13 votes out of 31 cast, all Whigs. The Democratic vote was scattered among many men, nobody receiving more than 2. Four more ballots were held with a similar result. On the sixth ballot, all Whigs and two Democrats voted for Samuel Beardsley, who received 16 votes, one short of the necessary number for a nomination. The Democrats then abandoned further balloting, fearing that the Whigs would vote for anybody who received by chance three Democratic votes, just to force any nomination, thus enabling the Legislature to proceed to the joint ballot.

CandidatePartyNew York Senate
(32 members)
Assembly
(128 members)
First
ballot
Second
ballot
Third
ballot
Fourth
ballot
Fifth
ballot
Sixth
ballot
First
ballot
Nathaniel P. TallmadgeWhig131313 82
Samuel NelsonDemocratic2
Samuel BeardsleyDemocratic12216
William C. BouckDemocratic1111
Churchill C. CambrelengDemocratic1111
Hiram DenioDemocratic1111
John A. DixDemocratic1111
Charles E. DudleyDemocratic111 1
Azariah C. FlaggDemocratic1111
Freeborn G. JewettDemocratic1111
Ebenezer MackDemocratic1111
Charles McVeanDemocratic1111
Joseph D. MonellDemocratic1111
John SavageDemocratic1111
Jacob SutherlandDemocratic1111
John TracyDemocratic1111
Greene C. BronsonDemocratic1
Reuben H. WalworthDemocratic1
Levi BeardsleyDemocratic111
Benjamin F. ButlerDemocratic111
Abijah Mann Jr.Democratic111

No further action was taken by this Legislature, and the seat became vacant on March 4, 1839. Tallmadge would later be elected in 1840.

Ohio

See also: List of United States senators from Ohio.

Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania.

Rhode Island

See also: List of United States senators from Rhode Island.

Tennessee

See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee. There were three elections to the same seat due to the July 4, 1838 resignation of Democrat Felix Grundy to become U.S. Attorney General.

Tennessee (special, 1838)

Whig Ephraim H. Foster was elected September 17, 1838 to finish the term.

Tennessee (regular)

Foster was also elected to the next term, but Foster declined the seat, refusing to take the Tennessee General Assembly's instructions on how to vote, so he left office March 3, 1839 and the seat was vacant when the term began.

Tennessee (special, 1839)

The legislature then elected Grundy back to the seat November 19, 1839, but he died a year later.

Vermont

See also: List of United States senators from Vermont.

Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from Virginia.

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913). National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
  2. Web site: Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 00, 1837. 2022-11-05. www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. Web site: Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 00, 1839. 2022-11-05. www.ourcampaigns.com.