1864–65 United States Senate elections explained

Election Name:	1864–65 United States Senate elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1863
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1862–63 United States Senate elections
Next Election:	1866–67 United States Senate elections
Seats For Election:	24 of the 72 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections)
Majority Seats:	25
Election Date:	Various dates
1Blank:	Seats up
2Blank:	Races won
Party1:	Republican Party (US)
Leader1:	Henry B. Anthony
Image1:	Henry B. Anthony - Brady-Handy.jpg
Leader Since1:	March 4, 1863
Leaders Seat1:	Rhode Island
Last Election1:	32 seats
Seats Before1:	31
Seats After1:	33
Seat Change1:	2
1Data1:	9
2Data1:	11
Party2:	Democratic Party (US)
Last Election2:	10 seats
Seats Before2:	10
Seats After2:	9
Seat Change2:	1
1Data2:	4
2Data2:	3
Party4:	Unconditional Unionist Party (US)
Last Election4:	1 seat
Seats Before4:	5
Seats After4:	4
Seat Change4:	1
1Data4:	1
2Data4:	0
Party5:	Unionist Party (US)
Last Election5:	5 seats
Seats Before5:	3
Seats After5:	2
Seat Change5:	1
1Data5:	1
2Data5:	0
Majority Party
Before Party:	Republican Party (US)
After Party:	Republican Party (US)
Map Size:	390px

The 1864–65 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. They occurred during the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's re-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 1864 and 1865, 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 2.

The Republican Party gained two seats. Most of the Southern states were absent because of the Civil War.

Results summary

Senate party division, 39th Congress (1865–1867)

Majority party: Republican (37)
Minority party: Democratic (9)
Other parties: Unconditional Unionist (1); Unionist (1)
Vacant: (24)
Total seats: 72

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

	V₅ Seceded		V₄ Seceded		V₃ Seceded		V₂		V₁
width=50px	V₆ Seceded	width=50px	V₇ Seceded	width=50px	V₈ Seceded	width=50px	V₉ Seceded	width=50px	V₁₀ Seceded	width=50px	V₁₁ Seceded	width=50px	D₁	width=50px	D₂	width=50px	D₃	width=50px	D₄
	UU₅ Ran		U₁		U₂		U₃ Retired		D₁₀ Ran		D₉ Retired		D₈ Unknown		D₇ Retired		D₆		D₅
	UU₄		UU₃		UU₂		UU₁		R₃₁ Ran		R₃₀ Ran		R₂₉ Retired		R₂₈ Ran		R₂₇ Ran		R₂₆ Retired
Majority →	R₂₅ Unknown
	R₁₆		R₁₇		R₁₈		R₁₉		R₂₀		R₂₁		R₂₂		R₂₃ Ran		R₂₄ Ran
	R₁₅		R₁₄		R₁₃		R₁₂		R₁₁		R₁₀		R₉		R₈		R₇		R₆
	V₁₆		V₁₅		V₁₄		V₁₃		V₁₂		R₁		R₂		R₃		R₄		R₅
	V₁₇		V₁₈		V₁₉		V₂₀		V₂₁

As a result of the elections

	V₅ Seceded		V₄ Seceded		V₃ Seceded		V₂		V₁
width=50px	V₆ Seceded	width=50px	V₇ Seceded	width=50px	V₈ Seceded	width=50px	V₉ Seceded	width=50px	V₁₀ Seceded	width=50px	V₁₁ Seceded	width=50px	D₁	width=50px	D₂	width=50px	D₃	width=50px	D₄
	UU₂		UU₃		UU₄		U₁		U₂		D₉ Gain		D₈ Hold		D₇ Re-elected		D₆		D₅
	UU₁		R₃₃ Gain		R₃₂ Gain		R₃₁ Re-elected new party		R₃₀ Hold		R₂₉ Hold		R₂₈ Hold		R₂₇ Re-elected		R₂₆ Re-elected	R₂₅ Re-elected
Majority →
	R₁₅		R₁₆		R₁₇		R₁₈		R₁₉		R₂₀		R₂₁		R₂₂		R₂₃ Re-elected		R₂₄ Re-elected
	R₁₄		R₁₃		R₁₂		R₁₁		R₁₀		R₉		R₈		R₇		R₆		R₅
	V₁₇		V₁₆		V₁₅		V₁₄		V₁₃		V₁₂ U Loss		R₁		R₂		R₃		R₄
	V₁₈		V₁₉		V₂₀		V₂₁		V₂₂

Beginning of the next Congress

	V₆		V₅		V₄		V₃		V₂		V₁
width=50px	V₇	width=50px	V₈	width=50px	V₉	width=50px	V₁₀	width=50px	V₁₁	width=50px	D₁	width=50px	D₂	width=50px	D₃	width=50px	D₄	width=50px	D₅
	R₃₆ Changed		R₃₇ Changed		UU₁		V₁₃ UU Loss		U₁		V₁₂ D Loss		D₉ Gain		D₈		D₇		D₆
	R₃₅ New state		R₃₄ New state		R₃₃		R₃₂		R₃₁		R₃₀		R₂₉		R₂₈		R₂₇		R₂₆
Majority →	R₂₅
	R₁₆		R₁₇		R₁₈		R₁₉		R₂₀		R₂₁		R₂₂		R₂₃		R₂₄
	R₁₅		R₁₄		R₁₃		R₁₂		R₁₁		R₁₀		R₉		R₈		R₇		R₆
	V₁₈		V₁₇		V₁₆		V₁₅		V₁₄		R₁		R₂		R₃		R₄		R₅
	V₁₉		V₂₀		V₂₁		V₂₂		V₂₃		V₂₄

Key:

align=center width=35px	D_#	Democratic
align=center width=35px	R_#	Republican
align=center width=35px	UU_#	Unconditional Unionist
align=center width=35px	U_#	Unionist
align=center width=35px	V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 38th Congress

In these elections — some special and some initial — the winners were seated during 1864 or in 1865 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Maryland (Class 3)	Thomas Holliday Hicks		Unconditional Unionist	nowrap	1862	Interim appointee elected January 11, 1864^[2] to finish the term.	nowrap
Delaware (Class 1)	James A. Bayard Jr.		Democratic	nowrap	1851 1857 1863		Incumbent resigned January 29, 1864 for unknown reason. Winner elected January 29, 1864. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Nevada (Class 1)	New state		Nevada's first Senators were elected February 1, 1865. Republican gain.	nowrap
Nevada (Class 3)		Nevada's first Senators were elected February 1, 1865. Republican gain.	nowrap
Virginia (Class 1)	Lemuel J. Bowden		Unionist	1863		Incumbent died January 2, 1864. Winner elected sometime in 1865. The Senate refused to seat him as it did not want to set a precedent for allowing premature re-entry of Confederate states. Unionist loss. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	nowrap

Elections leading to the 39th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1865; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	Vacant since January 21, 1861 when Clement Claiborne Clay (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Arkansas	Vacant since July 11, 1861 when William K. Sebastian (D) was expelled.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Delaware	Willard Saulsbury Sr.		Democratic	1858	Incumbent re-elected in 1864.	nowrap
Georgia	Vacant since February 4, 1861 when Robert Toombs (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1871.	None.
Illinois	William A. Richardson		Democratic	1863		Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1864 or 1865. Republican gain.	nowrap
Iowa	James W. Grimes		Republican	1858	Incumbent re-elected January 11, 1864.	nowrap
Kansas	James H. Lane		Republican	1861	Incumbent re-elected in 1865.	nowrap
Kentucky	Lazarus W. Powell		Democratic	1858		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1865. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Louisiana	Vacant since February 4, 1861 when Judah P. Benjamin (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Maine	Nathan A. Farwell		Republican	1864		Interim appointee retired. Winner elected in 1864 or 1865. Republican hold.	nowrap
Massachusetts	Henry Wilson		Republican	1855 1859	Incumbent re-elected in 1865.	nowrap
Michigan	Jacob M. Howard		Republican	1862	Incumbent re-elected in 1865.	nowrap
Minnesota	Morton S. Wilkinson		Republican	1858 or 1859		Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1865. Republican hold.	nowrap
Mississippi	Vacant since January 12, 1861 when Albert G. Brown (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	None.
New Hampshire	John P. Hale		Republican	1846 1853 1855		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1864. Republican hold.	nowrap
New Jersey	John C. Ten Eyck		Republican	1858		Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1864. Democratic gain. Election would later be disputed and seat declared vacant.	nowrap
North Carolina	Vacant since March 6, 1861 when Thomas Bragg (D) resigned.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Oregon	Benjamin F. Harding		Democratic	1862		Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1864. Republican gain.	nowrap
Rhode Island	Henry B. Anthony		Republican	1858	Incumbent re-elected in 1864.	nowrap
South Carolina	Vacant since November 10, 1860 when James Chesnut Jr. (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Tennessee	Vacant since March 3, 1861 when Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) withdrew.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1866.	None.
Texas	Vacant since July 11, 1861 when John Hemphill (D) was expelled.			Legislature failed to elect during Civil War and Reconstruction. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	None.
Virginia	John S. Carlile		Unionist	1861		Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1865. The Senate refused to seat him as it did not want to set a precedent for allowing premature re-entry of Confederate states.^[3] Unionist loss. Seat remained vacant until 1870.	nowrap
West Virginia	Waitman T. Willey		Unconditional Unionist	1863		Incumbent re-elected in 1865 as a Republican. Republican gain.	nowrap

Elections during the 39th Congress

In this election, the winner was elected in 1865 after March 4.

Election Name:	1864 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Popular Vote1:	-
Colour1:	FFAABB
Percentage1:	-%
Party1:	Unconditional Unionist
Candidate1:	Thomas Holliday Hicks
Image1:	Thomas Holliday Hicks - photo portrait standing (cropped).jpg
Next Year:	1865
Next Election:	1865 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Previous Year:	1861
Previous Election:	1861 United States Senate election in Maryland
Votes For Election:	80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Vote Type:	Legislative
Election Date:	December 1864
Type:	presidential

Maryland

Maryland (1864 special)

James Pearce died, and Thomas Holliday Hicks was appointed to his seat. He then won election to finish the rest of the term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[4]

Election Name:	1865 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Popular Vote1:	-
Colour1:	FFAABB
Percentage1:	-%
Party1:	Unconditional Unionist
Candidate1:	John Creswell
Image1:	John A J Creswell Brady-Handy Photograph Collection.tif
Next Year:	1868
Next Election:	1868 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Previous Year:	1864
Previous Election:	1864 United States Senate special election in Maryland
Votes For Election:	80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Vote Type:	Legislative
Election Date:	February 1865
Type:	presidential

Maryland (1865 special)

Thomas Holliday Hicks died, and John Creswell was appointed to his seat. He then won election to finish the rest of the term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[5]

West Virginia

Incumbent Waitman T. Willey was re-elected by the legislature to his first full term as United States Senator, with Willey being elected as a Republican. Willey would serve his term until 1871.

Election Date:	January 31, 1865
Election Name:	1865 United States Senate election in West Virginia
Country:	West Virginia
Type:	presidential
Next Year:	1871
Candidate1:	Waitman Willey
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Image1:	File:Waitman T. Willey - Brady-Handy.jpg
1Blank:	First ballot
Votes For Election:	Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature 69 votes cast; 35 votes needed
After Election:	Waitman Willey
U.S. senator
Next Election:	1870–71 United States Senate elections
Previous Election:	1862–63 United States Senate elections#West Virginia
Previous Year:	1863
Vote Type:	Members'
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Before Party:	Unconditional Union
Before Election:	Waitman Willey
1Data1:	53 votes 76.8%

Willey was the only candidate to be formally nominated, though attempted nominations were made of Archibald Campbell and House Speaker Lee Roy Kramer. Campbell's nomination was promptly withdrawn, and Kramer declined his.^[6]

Party! rowspan="2" class="unsortable"
Votes	%
Candidate	1st Ballot
	Republican	Waitman Willey		53	76.8
	Republican	Lee Roy Kramer	7	10.1
	Republican	Daniel Polsley	6	8.7
	Republican	Archibald Campbell	2	2.9
	Republican	David Hunter Strother	1	1.4
Total			69	100
Needed to win			35	>50

References

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
Book: The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992 . volume 4 Bicentennial . Robert C. . Byrd . Robert Byrd . Wendy . Wolff . . October 1, 1993 . 9780160632563 .

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.
Byrd & Wolff, page 120
Web site: Musical Chairs (1861–1869) . United States Senate . March 20, 2009.
Web site: Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 00, 1862. 2022-11-05. www.ourcampaigns.com.
Web site: Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 00, 1865. 2022-11-05. www.ourcampaigns.com.
Book: Journal of the House of Delegates of West Virginia for the Session Commencing January 17, 1865 . . 1865 . Wheeling . 57.