| Election Name: | 1844–45 United States Senate elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Flag Year: | 1837 |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1842–43 United States Senate elections |
| Next Election: | 1846–47 United States Senate elections |
| Seats For Election: | 18 of the 54 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) |
| Election Date: | Various dates |
| Majority Seats: | 28 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Last Election1: | 23 seats |
| Seats Before1: | 23 |
| Seats1: | 8 |
| Seats After1: | 27 |
| Seat Change1: | 3 |
| 1Data1: | 5 |
| Party2: | Whig Party (US) |
| Last Election2: | 27 seats |
| Seats Before2: | 27 |
| Seats2: | 8 |
| Seats After2: | 24 |
| Seat Change2: | 3 |
| 1Data2: | 11 |
| Party3: | Law and Order Party (US) |
| Last Election3: | New party |
| Seats Before3: | 1 |
| Seats3: | 0 |
| Seats After3: | 0 |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| 1Data3: | 1 |
| Majority Party | |
| Before Party: | Whig Party (US) |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (US) |
The 1844–45 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with James K. Polk's election. 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 1844 and 1845, 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 re-captured control of the Senate, gaining a net total of eleven seats from the Whigs.
Senate party division, 29th Congress (1845–1847)
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| Majority → | |||||||||||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | W | W | V | V | V | ||||||||||
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| Majority ↑ | |||||||||||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | W | W | V | V | V | ||||||||||
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| D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | ||||||||||
| Majority → | D | ||||||||||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | |||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | W | W | |||||||||||||
| Key: |
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In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1844 or in 1845 before March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||||||
| Rhode Island (Class 1) | William Sprague | Whig | 1842 | Incumbent resigned January 17, 1844. New senator elected January 25, 1844. Law and Order gain. | nowrap | ||||
| Louisiana (Class 3) | Alexander Porter | Whig | 1833 1837 1843 | Incumbent died January 13, 1844. New senator elected February 12, 1844. Whig hold. | nowrap | ||||
| Arkansas (Class 2) | William S. Fulton | Democratic | 1836 1840 | Incumbent died August 15, 1844. New senator elected November 8, 1844. Democratic hold. | nowrap | ||||
| New York (Class 1) | Daniel S. Dickinson | Democratic | 1844 | Appointee elected January 18, 1845. New senator would later be elected to the next term, see below. | nowrap | ||||
| New York (Class 3) | Henry A. Foster | Democratic | 1844 | Unknown if appointee retired or lost election. New senator elected January 18, 1845. Democratic hold. | nowrap | ||||
In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1845; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | ||||||
| Connecticut | Jabez W. Huntington | Whig | 1840 | Incumbent re-elected in 1844 or 1845. | nowrap | |||
| Delaware | Richard H. Bayard | Whig | 1836 1838 or 1839 1839 1841 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1845. Whig hold. | nowrap | |||
| Florida | New state | Florida was admitted March 3, 1845, but its first Class 1 senator elected late, during the next Congress. Vacant. | None. | |||||
| Indiana | Albert White | Whig | 1838 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1844. Democratic gain. | nowrap | |||
| Maine | John Fairfield | Democratic | 1843 | Incumbent re-elected in 1844 or 1845. | nowrap | |||
| Maryland | William Merrick | Whig | 1838 1839 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1844 or 1845. Whig hold. | nowrap | |||
| Massachusetts | Rufus Choate | Whig | 1841 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1845. Whig hold. | nowrap | |||
| Michigan | Augustus S. Porter | Whig | 1840 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1844 or 1845. Democratic gain. | nowrap | |||
| Mississippi | John Henderson | Whig | 1838 | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost. New senator elected in 1844. Democratic gain. | nowrap | |||
| Missouri | Thomas H. Benton | Democratic | 1821 1827 1833 1839 | Incumbent re-elected in 1845. | nowrap | |||
| New Jersey | William L. Dayton | Whig | 1842 ? | Incumbent re-elected in 1845. | nowrap | |||
| New York | Daniel S. Dickinson | Democratic | 1844 1845 | Incumbent re-elected February 4, 1845. | nowrap | |||
| Ohio | Benjamin Tappan | Democratic | 1838 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected December 5, 1844. Whig gain. | nowrap | |||
| Pennsylvania | Daniel Sturgeon | Democratic | 1840 | Incumbent re-elected January 14, 1845. | nowrap | |||
| Rhode Island | John B. Francis | Law and Order | 1844 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1844 or 1845. Whig gain. | nowrap | |||
| Tennessee | Ephraim H. Foster | Whig | 1838 1839 1843 | Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1844. Democratic gain. | nowrap | |||
| Vermont | Samuel S. Phelps | Whig | 1839 | Incumbent re-elected in 1845. | nowrap | |||
| Virginia | William C. Rives | Whig | 1832 1834 1836 1839 1841 | Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss. | ||||
In these special elections, the winners were elected in 1845 after March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | ||||||
| Pennsylvania (Class 3) | James Buchanan | Democratic | 1834 1836 1843 | Incumbent resigned March 5, 1845, to become U.S. Secretary of State. New senator elected March 13, 1845. Democratic hold. | nowrap | |||
| Massachusetts (Class 2) | Isaac C. Bates | Whig | 1841 1841 | Incumbent died March 16, 1845. New senator elected March 24, 1845. Whig hold. | nowrap | |||
| Florida (Class 1) | New state | Florida was admitted March 3, 1845. Its first senators were elected July 1, 1845. Democratic gain. | nowrap | |||||
| Florida (Class 3) | Florida was admitted March 3, 1845. Its first senators were elected July 1, 1845. Democratic gain. | nowrap | ||||||
| Georgia (Class 2) | John M. Berrien | Whig | 1825 1829 1840 | Incumbent resigned in May 1845 to become judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia. He did not remain on the court, however, and was re-elected November 13, 1845. Whig hold. | nowrap | |||
| South Carolina (Class 2) | Vacant | Incumbent Democrat Daniel E. Huger had resigned in the previous Congress. New senator was elected November 26, 1845. Democratic gain. | nowrap | |||||
| Virginia (Class 1) | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected late December 3, 1845. Democratic gain. | nowrap | |||||
See also: List of United States senators from Arkansas.
See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut.
See also: List of United States senators from Delaware.
See also: List of United States senators from Florida and 1845 United States House of Representatives election in Florida.
See also: List of United States senators from Georgia.
See also: List of United States senators from Indiana.
See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana.
See also: List of United States senators from Maine.
See also: List of United States senators from Maryland.
| Election Name: | 1844 United States Senate election in Maryland |
| Popular Vote1: | - |
| Colour1: | F0C862 |
| Percentage1: | -% |
| Party1: | Whig Party (United States) |
| Candidate1: | Reverdy Johnson |
| Next Year: | 1849 |
| Next Election: | 1849 United States Senate election in Maryland |
| Previous Year: | 1839 |
| Previous Election: | 1839 United States Senate election in Maryland |
| Votes For Election: | 80 members of the Maryland General Assembly |
| Vote Type: | Legislative |
| Election Date: | - |
| Type: | presidential |
Reverdy Johnson won election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.[2]
See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts.
See also: List of United States senators from Michigan.
See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi.
See also: List of United States senators from Missouri.
See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey.
See main article: 1845 United States Senate elections in New York.
See also: List of United States senators from New York. There were three elections: Two special elections were held on January 18, 1845, and one regular election was held on February 4, 1845.
The 68th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 14, 1845.
Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been re-elected in 1840 to the Class 1 seat (term 1839-1845), but resigned June 17, 1844, to become Governor of Wisconsin Territory. On November 30, Governor of New York William C. Bouck appointed his Democratic Lieutenant Governor Daniel S. Dickinson to fill the vacancy temporarily, and Dickinson was seated December 9, 1844.
| House | Democratic | Whig | American Republican | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate (32 members) | Daniel S. Dickinson | 27 | Millard Fillmore | 3 | Jonathan Thompson | 1 | |
| State Assembly (128 members) | Daniel S. Dickinson | ||||||
Silas Wright Jr. had been re-elected in 1843 to the Class 3 seat (term 1843-1849), but resigned November 26, 1844, when elected Governor of New York. On November 30, Governor Bouck appointed Democratic State Senator Henry A. Foster to fill the vacancy temporarily, and Foster took his seat on December 9, 1844.
| House | Democratic | Whig | American Republican | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate (32 members) | John Adams Dix | 27 | Willis Hall | 3 | Harman B. Cropsey | 1 | |
| State Assembly (128 members) | John Adams Dix | ||||||
Dix took his seat on January 27, 1845, and remained in office until March 3, 1849, when his term expired.
| House | Democratic | Whig | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate (32 members) | Daniel S. Dickinson | 25 | John C. Clark | 4 | |
| State Assembly (128 members) | Daniel S. Dickinson | ||||
Dickinson re-took his seat under the new credentials on January 27, 1845, and re-elected, remained in office until March 3, 1851, when his term expired.
See also: List of United States senators from Ohio.
See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania.
See main article: 1845 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania. The regular election was held January 14, 1845. Incumbent Daniel Sturgeon was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.[3] The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 14, 1845, to elect a Senator to serve the term beginning on March 4, 1845. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:
|-|-bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| colspan="3" align="right" | Totals| align="right" | 133| align="right" | 100.00%|}
See main article: 1845 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania.
A special election was held March 13, 1845. Simon Cameron was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.[4] Democratic future-U.S. president James Buchanan was elected in an 1834 special election and was re-elected in 1836 and 1843.
Senator Buchanan resigned on March 5, 1845, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of State by President James K. Polk.[5]
Following the resignation of senator Buchanan, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 13, 1845, to elect a new Ssenator to fill the vacancy and serve the remainder of the term set to expire on March 4, 1849. Five ballots were recorded. The results of the fifth and final ballot of both houses combined are as follows:|-|-bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| colspan="3" align="right" | Totals| align="right" | 133| align="right" | 100.00%|}
See also: List of United States senators from Rhode Island.
See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina.
See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee.
See also: List of United States senators from Vermont.
See also: List of United States senators from Virginia.