1860–61 United States Senate elections explained

Election Name:	1860–61 United States Senate elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1859
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1858–59 United States Senate elections
Next Election:	1862–63 United States Senate elections
Seats For Election:	22 of the 66 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections)
Majority Seats:	34
Election Date:	Various dates
1Blank:	Seats up
Party1:	Democratic Party (US)
Image1:	Blank2x3.svg
Last Election1:	38 seats
Seats Before1:	38
Seats1:	30
Seat Change1:	8
1Data1:	14
Party2:	Republican Party (US)
Leader2:	John P. Hale
Leader Since2:	March 4, 1859
Leaders Seat2:	New Hampshire
Last Election2:	25 seats
Seats Before2:	26
Seats2:	29
Seat Change2:	3
1Data2:	7
Party4:	Know Nothing
Last Election4:	2 seats
Seats Before4:	2
Seats4:	1
Seat Change4:	1
1Data4:	1
Majority party
Before Party:	Democratic Party (US)
After Party:	Democratic Party (US)
Map Size:	390px

The 1860–61 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 1860 and 1861, 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 corresponded with Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The nascent Republican Party increased their Senate seats in the regular elections, and after southern Democrats withdrew to join the Confederacy, Republicans gained control of the Senate. To establish a quorum with fewer members, a lower total seat number was taken into account.

Results summary

Senate party division, 37th Congress (1861–1863)

Majority party: Republican (29), later rose to 30
Minority party: Democratic (30), later dropped to 14
Other parties: Unionist (1), later rose to 4
Vacant: (8), later rose to 20
Total seats: 68

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the October 2, 1860 special election in Oregon.

	D₃		D₂		D₁
width=50px	D₄	width=50px	D₅	width=50px	D₆	width=50px	D₇	width=50px	D₈	width=50px	D₉	width=50px	D₁₀	width=50px	D₁₁	width=50px	D₁₂	width=50px	D₁₃
	D₂₃		D₂₂		D₂₁		D₂₀		D₁₉		D₁₈		D₁₇		D₁₆		D₁₅		D₁₄
	D₂₄		D₂₅ Ran		D₂₆ Ran		D₂₇ Ran		D₂₈ Unknown		D₂₉ Unknown		D₃₀ Retired		D₃₁ Retired		D₃₂ Retired		D₃₃ Retired
Majority →	D₃₄ Resigned
	R₂₄ Ran		R₂₅ Unknown		R₂₆ Retired		KN₁		KN₂ Ran		D₃₈ Withdrew		D₃₇ Withdrew		D₃₆ Withdrew		D₃₅ Withdrew
	R₂₃ Ran		R₂₂ Ran		R₂₁ Ran		R₂₀ Ran		R₁₉		R₁₈		R₁₇		R₁₆		R₁₅		R₁₄
	R₄		R₅		R₆		R₇		R₈		R₉		R₁₀		R₁₁		R₁₂		R₁₃
	R₃		R₂		R₁

As a result of the elections

	V₃ D Loss		V₂ D Loss		V₁ D Loss
width=50px	D₁	width=50px	D₂	width=50px	D₃	width=50px	D₄	width=50px	D₅	width=50px	D₆	width=50px	D₇	width=50px	D₈	width=50px	D₉	width=50px	D₁₀
	D₂₀		D₁₉		D₁₈		D₁₇		D₁₆		D₁₅		D₁₄		D₁₃		D₁₂		D₁₁
	D₂₁		D₂₃		D₂₂		D₂₄		D₂₅ Re-elected		D₂₆ Re-elected		D₂₇ Hold		D₂₈ Hold		D₂₉ Hold		D₃₀ Gain
Plurality ↑	KN₁
	R₂₁ Re-elected		R₂₂ Re-elected		R₂₃ Re-elected		R₂₄ Re-elected		R₂₅ Hold		R₂₆ Hold		R₂₇ Gain		R₂₈ Gain		R₂₉ Gain
	R₂₀ Re-elected		R₁₉		R₁₈		R₁₇		R₁₆		R₁₅		R₁₄		R₁₃		R₁₂		R₁₁
	R₁		R₂		R₃		R₄		R₅		R₆		R₇		R₈		R₉		R₁₀
	V₄ D Loss		V₅ D Loss		V₆ D Loss

Beginning of the next Congress

	V₄ D Loss		V₃ D Loss		V₂ D Loss		V₁ D Loss
width=50px	V₅ D Loss	width=50px	V₆ D Loss	width=50px	V₇ D Loss	width=50px	V₈ D Loss	width=50px	D₁	width=50px	D₂	width=50px	D₃	width=50px	D₄	width=50px	D₅	width=50px	D₆
	D₁₆		D₁₅		D₁₄		D₁₃		D₁₂		D₁₁		D₁₀		D₉		D₈		D₇
	D₁₇		D₁₈		D₁₉		D₂₀		D₂₁		D₂₂		U₁ Changed		R₂₉ Hold		R₂₈		R₂₇
Majority →	R₂₆
	R₁₇		R₁₈		R₁₉		R₂₀		R₂₁		R₂₂		R₂₃		R₂₄		R₂₅
	R₁₆		R₁₅		R₁₄		R₁₃		R₁₂		R₁₁		R₁₀		R₉		R₈		R₇
	V₁₂		V₁₁		V₁₀		V₉		R₁		R₂		R₃		R₄		R₅		R₆
	V₁₃		V₁₄		V₁₅ New state		V₁₆ New state

End of 1861

	V₄		V₃		V₂		V₁
width=50px	V₅	width=50px	V₆	width=50px	V₇	width=50px	V₈	width=50px	V₉ D Loss	width=50px	V₁₀ D Loss	width=50px	D₁	width=50px	D₂	width=50px	D₃	width=50px	D₄
	D₁₄ Gain		D₁₃ Gain		D₁₂		D₁₁		D₁₀		D₉		D₈		D₇		D₆		D₅
	U₄ Gain		U₃ Gain		U₂ Gain		U₁		R₃₀ Gain		R₂₉ Hold		R₂₈ Hold		R₂₇ Hold		R₂₆		R₂₅
Majority →	R₂₄
	R₁₅		R₁₆		R₁₇		R₁₈		R₁₉		R₂₀		R₂₁		R₂₂		R₂₃
	R₁₄		R₁₃		R₁₂		R₁₁		R₁₀		R₉		R₈		R₇		R₆		R₅
	V₁₆		V₁₅		V₁₄		V₁₃		V₁₂ R Loss		V₁₁ R Loss		R₁ Gain		R₂ Gain		R₃		R₄
	V₁₇		V₁₈ D Loss		V₁₉ D Loss		V₂₀ D Loss

Key:

align=center width=35px	D_#	Democratic
align=center width=35px	KN_#	Know Nothing
align=center width=35px	R_#	Republican
align=center width=35px	U_#	Unionist
align=center width=35px	V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 36th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1860 or in 1861 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
California (Class 1)	Henry P. Haun		Democratic	nowrap	1859		Interim appointee lost election to finish the term. Winner elected March 5, 1860. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Oregon (Class 2)	Vacant				Legislature had failed to elect in 1858/1859. Winner elected October 2, 1860. Republican gain.	nowrap	Edward D. Baker (Republican)
Maine (Class 1)	Hannibal Hamlin		Republican	nowrap	1848 1851 1857 1857		Incumbent resigned to become U.S. Vice President. Winner elected January 17, 1861. Republican hold.	nowrap	Lot M. Morrill (Republican)

Races leading to the 37th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1861; 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	nowrap	1848 1849 1853 1853 1855		Incumbent withdrew January 21, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1868.	nowrap	None.
Arkansas	Robert W. Johnson		Democratic	nowrap	1853 1854		Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1860 or 1861. Democratic hold.	nowrap	Charles B. Mitchel (Democratic)
California	William M. Gwin		Democratic	nowrap	1850 1855 1857		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1860. Democratic hold.	nowrap	James A. McDougall (Democratic)
Connecticut	Lafayette S. Foster		Republican	nowrap	1854	Incumbent re-elected in 1860.	nowrap	Lafayette S. Foster (Republican)
Florida	David Levy Yulee		Democratic	nowrap	1855		Incumbent withdrew January 21, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1868.	nowrap	None.
Georgia	Alfred Iverson, Sr.		Democratic	nowrap	1854 or 1855		Incumbent withdrew January 28, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1871.	nowrap	None.
Illinois	Lyman Trumbull		Republican	nowrap	1855	Incumbent re-elected, January 9, 1861.	nowrap
Iowa	James Harlan		Republican	nowrap	1855 1857 1857	Incumbent re-elected in 1860.	nowrap	James Harlan (Republican)
Indiana	Graham N. Fitch		Democratic	nowrap	1857		Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1860. Republican gain.	nowrap	Henry S. Lane (Republican)
Kansas	Vacant			Kansas had become a state January 29, 1861, but did not elect its senators until the next Congress, see below.	nowrap	None.
Kentucky	John J. Crittenden		Know Nothing	nowrap	1816 1819 1835 1841 1842 1842 or 1843 1843 1848 1854		Incumbent retired. Winner elected December 12, 1859, far in advance of the term. Democratic gain. Winner was subsequently expelled, see below.	nowrap	John C. Breckinridge (Democratic)
Louisiana	John Slidell		Democratic	nowrap	1853 1854 or 1855		Incumbent resigned February 4, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1868.	nowrap	None.
Maryland	James Pearce		Democratic	nowrap	1843 1849 1855	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	nowrap	James Pearce (Democratic)
Missouri	James S. Green		Democratic	nowrap	1857		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until March 17, 1861, see below.	nowrap
New Hampshire	Daniel Clark		Republican	nowrap	1857	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	nowrap	Daniel Clark (Republican)
New York	William H. Seward		Republican	nowrap	1849 1855		Incumbent retired, expecting appointment to the Lincoln Administration. Winner elected February 5, 1861. Republican hold.	nowrap
North Carolina	Thomas Clingman		Democratic	nowrap	1858 1858	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	nowrap	Thomas Clingman (Democratic)
Ohio	George E. Pugh		Democratic	nowrap	1854		Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1860. Republican gain.	nowrap
Oregon	Joseph Lane		Democratic	nowrap	1859		Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1860 or 1861. Democratic hold.	nowrap	James Nesmith (Democratic)
Pennsylvania	William Bigler		Democratic	nowrap	1856		Incumbent retired. Winner elected January 8, 1861. Republican gain.	nowrap
South Carolina	James Henry Hammond		Democratic	nowrap	1857		Incumbent withdrew November 11, 1860. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat would remain vacant until 1868.	nowrap	None.
Vermont	Jacob Collamer		Republican	nowrap	1855	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	nowrap	Jacob Collamer (Republican)
Wisconsin	Charles Durkee		Republican	nowrap	1854		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1861. Republican hold.	nowrap	Timothy O. Howe (Republican)

Elections during the 37th Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1861 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Pennsylvania (Class 1)	Vacant				Incumbent had resigned in the previous Congress. Winner was elected March 14, 1861. Republican gain.	nowrap
Missouri (Class 3)	Vacant				Legislature had failed to elect. Winner was elected March 17, 1861. Democratic gain.	nowrap	Waldo P. Johnson (Democratic)
Ohio (Class 3)	Salmon P. Chase		Republican	nowrap	1849 1855 1860		Incumbent resigned December 4, 1860, to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Winner was elected March 21, 1861. Republican hold.	nowrap	John Sherman (Republican)
Kansas (Class 2)	New state		Kansas became a state January 29, 1861. Winner was elected late April 4, 1861. Republican gain.	nowrap	Jim Lane (Republican)
Kansas (Class 3)		Kansas became a state January 29, 1861. Winner was elected late April 4, 1861. Republican gain.	nowrap	Samuel C. Pomeroy (Republican)
Virginia (Class 1)			Democratic	nowrap	1847 1850 1856		Incumbent expelled July 11, 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. Winner was elected July 13, 1861. Unionist gain.	nowrap	Waitman T. Willey (Unionist)
Virginia (Class 2)			Democratic	nowrap	1846 1852 1858		Incumbent expelled July 11, 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. Winner was elected July 13, 1861. Unionist gain.	nowrap	John S. Carlile (Unionist)
Kentucky (Class 3)	John C. Breckinridge		Democratic	nowrap	1859		Incumbent expelled December 4, 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. Winner was elected December 10, 1861. Unionist gain.	nowrap	Garrett Davis (Unionist)

Maryland

Election Name:	1861 United States Senate election in Maryland
Popular Vote1:	-
Colour1:	B0CEFF
Percentage1:	-%
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Candidate1:	James Pearce
Image1:	James Alfred Pearce, standing.jpg
Next Year:	1864
Next Election:	1864 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Previous Year:	1855
Previous Election:	1855 United States Senate election in Maryland
Votes For Election:	80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Vote Type:	Legislative
Election Date:	January 1861
Type:	presidential

James Pearce won re-election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[2]

New York

See main article: 1861 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, 1861.

Whig William H. Seward had been re-elected in February 1855 to this seat, had become a Republican upon the foundation of that party in September 1855, and his term would expire on March 3, 1861. Seward did not seek re-election, instead being certain to be appointed to an office in the incoming Lincoln administration (Lincoln subsequently appointed Seward Secretary of State).

At the state election in November 1859, 23 Republicans and 9 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1860–1861) in the State Senate. At the state election in November 1860, 93 Republicans and 35 Democrats were elected to the Assembly for the session of 1861. The 84th New York State Legislature met from January 1 to April 16, 1861, at Albany, New York.

Ira Harris was the candidate of the Republican Party. Harris had been a Whig assemblyman in 1845 and 1846, and a justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1847 to 1859.

Ex-Governor Horatio Seymour (in office 1853–1854) was the candidate of the Democratic Party.

Both in the Assembly and the Senate a strict party vote confirmed the caucus selections.

In the Assembly 119 votes were given: Republicans Smith Anthony (Cayuga Co.), Martin Finch (Essex Co.), Henry A. Prendergast (Chautauqua Co.), Victor M. Rice (Erie Co.) and Perez H. Field (Ontario Co.), along with Democrats Luke F. Cozans (NYC), Benjamin H. Long (Erie Co.), N. Holmes Odell (Westchester Co.) and Christian B. Woodruff (NYC) did not vote.

In the State Senate, 31 votes were given as William H. Ferry (Rep., 19th D.) was absent.

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

House	Republican		Democratic
State Senate (31 members voting)	Ira Harris	align=right	22	Horatio Seymour	align=right	9
State Assembly (119 members voting)	Ira Harris	align=right	88	Horatio Seymour	align=right	31

Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from New York. There were two elections in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania (regular)

See main article: 1861 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania. The regular election in Pennsylvania was held January 8, 1861. Edgar Cowan was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[3]

Incumbent Democrat William Bigler, who was elected in 1856, was not a candidate for re-election to another term. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 8, 1861, to elect a new Senator to fill the term beginning on March 4, 1861. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

Pennsylvania (special)

See main article: 1861 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania. A special election was held in Pennsylvania on March 14, 1861. David Wilmot was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[4]

Republican Simon Cameron had been elected to the United States Senate by the General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in January 1857. After Senator Cameron resigned his seat on March 4, 1861, to become United States Secretary of War in Abraham Lincoln's administration,^[5] the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 14, 1861, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy.

The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

References

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner, 1867 (see pg. 568 for U. S. Senators; pg. 442 for State Senators 1861; pg. 492ff for Members of Assembly 1861)
Result NY state election 1859 in The Tribune Almanac for 1860 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune
Result NY state election 1860 in The Tribune Almanac for 1861 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune
FROM THE STATE CAPITAL.; Election of United States Senator in NYT on February 6, 1861
Result, NY State Senate: Journal of the Senate (84th Session) (1861; pg. 137)
Result, NY Assembly: Journal of the Assembly (84th Session) (1861; pg. 247f)
Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project.

Notes and References

Web site: 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913). National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
Web site: Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1861. 2022-11-05. www.ourcampaigns.com.
Web site: U.S. Senate Election - 8 January 1861 . December 22, 2013 . Wilkes University.
Web site: U.S. Senate Election - 14 March 1861 . December 23, 2012 . Wilkes University.
Web site: CAMERON, Simon, (1799 - 1889) . December 23, 2012 . Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.