1874–75 United States Senate elections explained

Election Name:	1874–75 United States Senate elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1867
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1872–73 United States Senate elections
Next Election:	1876–77 United States Senate elections
Seats For Election:	25 of the 74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections)
Majority Seats:	38
Election Date:	Dates vary by state (And other dates for special elections)
1Blank:	Seats up
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Leader1:	Henry B. Anthony
Image1:	Henry B. Anthony - Brady-Handy.jpg
Leader Since1:	March 4, 1863
Leaders Seat1:	Rhode Island
Seats Before1:	52
Seats1:	10
Seats After1:	42
Seat Change1:	10
1Data1:	20
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Leader2:	John W. Stevenson
Leader Since2:	March 4, 1873
Leaders Seat2:	Kentucky
Seats Before2:	19
Seats2:	14
Seats After2:	28
Seat Change2:	9
1Data2:	5
Party4:	Liberal Republican Party (United States)
Seats Before4:	2
Seats4:	0
Seats After4:	2
1Data4:	0
Party5:	Anti-Monopoly Party (United States)
Seats Before5:	0
Seats5:	1
Seats After5:	1
Seat Change5:	1
1Data5:	0
Majority Party
Before Party:	Republican Party (US)
After Party:	Republican Party (US)

The 1874–75 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 1874 and 1875, 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.

Although the Republican Party (the party of incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant) maintained their Senate majority, the Democratic Party gained nine seats.

Results summary

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.

Democratic	Republican	Liberal Republican	Anti- Monopoly		Total
Parties					Total
Before these elections		19		52	2	0	73
Not up	14		32	2	—	48
<	-- Gap for "Not up" -->	Class 2 (1870/71)	9		15	1	—	25
<	Class 3 (1872/73)	5		17	1	—	31
Up	5		22	1	—	36
<	-- Gap for "Up" -->	Regular: Class 1	5		20	—	—	25
	Special: Class 1	0		1		1	—	2
	Special: Class 2	0	1	—	—	1

Incumbent retired	2		11	—	—	13
	Held by same party	1		4	—	—	5
	Replaced by other party	7 Republicans replaced by 7 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Anti-Monopolist				8
	Result		8	4	—	1	13
Incumbent's intent unknown	1		4	—	—	5
	Held by same party	1		2	—	—	3
	Replaced by other party	2 Republicans replaced by 2 Democrats				2
	Result		3	2	—	—	5
Incumbent ran	2		5	—	—	7
	Won re-election	2	2	—	—	4
	Lost re-election	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat				1
	Lost renomination but held by same party	—		2	—	—	2
	Result	3		4	—	—	7

Total elected			14	10	—	1	25
Net change		9	10	—	1	9

Result		28		42	2	1	73

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the April 17, 1874, special election in Massachusetts.

	D₇		D₆		D₅		D₄		D₃		D₂		D₁
width=50px	D₈	width=50px	D₉	width=50px	D₁₀	width=50px	D₁₁	width=50px	D₁₂	width=50px	D₁₃	width=50px	D₁₄	width=50px	D₁₅ Ran	width=50px	D₁₆ Ran	width=50px	D₁₇ Unknown
	R₄₈ Retired		R₄₉ Retired		R₅₀ Retired		R₅₁ Retired		R₅₂ Retired		LR₁		LR₂		V₁		D₁₉ Retired		D₁₈ Retired
	R₄₇ Retired		R₄₆ Retired		R₄₅ Retired		R₄₄ Retired		R₄₃ Retired		R₄₂ Retired		R₄₁ Retired		R₄₀ Unknown		R₃₉ Unknown		R₃₈ Unknown
Majority →	R₃₇ Ran
	R₂₈		R₂₉		R₃₀		R₃₁		R₃₂		R₃₃ Ran		R₃₄ Ran		R₃₅ Ran		R₃₆ Ran
	R₂₇		R₂₆		R₂₅		R₂₄		R₂₃		R₂₂		R₂₁		R₂₀		R₁₉		R₁₈
	R₈		R₉		R₁₀		R₁₁		R₁₂		R₁₃		R₁₄		R₁₅		R₁₆		R₁₇
	R₇		R₆		R₅		R₄		R₃		R₂		R₁

Result of the elections

	D₇		D₆		D₅		D₄		D₃		D₂		D₁
width=50px	D₈	width=50px	D₉	width=50px	D₁₀	width=50px	D₁₁	width=50px	D₁₂	width=50px	D₁₃	width=50px	D₁₄	width=50px	D₁₅ Re-elected	width=50px	D₁₆ Re-elected	width=50px	D₁₇ Hold
	D₂₇ Gain		D₂₆ Gain		D₂₅ Gain		D₂₄ Gain		D₂₃ Gain		D₂₂ Gain		D₂₁ Gain		D₂₀ Gain		D₁₉ Gain		D₁₈ Hold
	D₂₈ Gain		AM₁ Gain		V₁		LR₂		LR₁		R₄₂ Hold		R₄₁ Hold		R₄₀ Hold		R₃₉ Hold		R₃₈ Hold
Majority →	R₃₇ Hold
	R₂₈		R₂₉		R₃₀		R₃₁		R₃₂		R₃₃ Re-elected		R₃₄ Re-elected		R₃₅ Hold		R₃₆ Hold
	R₂₇		R₂₆		R₂₅		R₂₄		R₂₃		R₂₂		R₂₁		R₂₀		R₁₉		R₁₈
	R₈		R₉		R₁₀		R₁₁		R₁₂		R₁₃		R₁₄		R₁₅		R₁₆		R₁₇
	R₇		R₆		R₅		R₄		R₃		R₂		R₁

Beginning of the next Congress

	D₇		D₆		D₅		D₄		D₃		D₂		D₁
width=50px	D₈	width=50px	D₉	width=50px	D₁₀	width=50px	D₁₁	width=50px	D₁₂	width=50px	D₁₃	width=50px	D₁₄	width=50px	D₁₅	width=50px	D₁₆	width=50px	D₁₇
	D₂₇		D₂₆		D₂₅		D₂₄		D₂₃		D₂₂		D₂₁		D₂₀		D₁₉		D₁₈
	D₂₈		AM₁		V₁		R₄₄ Change		R₄₃ Change		R₄₂		R₄₁		R₄₀		R₃₉		R₃₈
Majority →	R₃₇
	R₂₈		R₂₉		R₃₀		R₃₁		R₃₂		R₃₃		R₃₄		R₃₅		R₃₆
	R₂₇		R₂₆		R₂₅		R₂₄		R₂₃		R₂₂		R₂₁		R₂₀		R₁₉		R₁₈
	R₈		R₉		R₁₀		R₁₁		R₁₂		R₁₃		R₁₄		R₁₅		R₁₆		R₁₇
	R₇		R₆		R₅		R₄		R₃		R₂		R₁

Key:

align=center width=35px	AM_#	Anti-Monopoly Party
align=center width=35px	D_#	Democratic
align=center width=35px	LR_#	Liberal Republican
align=center width=35px	R_#	Republican
align=center width=35px	V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 43rd Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1874 or in 1875 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Kansas (Class 2)	Robert Crozier		Republican	1873		Interim appointee retired February 2, 1874. New senator elected February 2, 1874. Republican hold.	nowrap
Mississippi (Class 1)	Adelbert Ames		Republican	1870		Incumbent resigned March 17, 1873, to become Governor of Mississippi. New senator elected February 3, 1874. Republican hold. Winner did not run for the next term, see below.	nowrap
Massachusetts (Class 1)	Charles Sumner		Liberal Republican	1851 1857 1863 1869		Incumbent died March 12, 1874. New senator elected April 17, 1874. Republican gain. Winner did not run for the next term, see below.	nowrap

Races leading to the 44th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1875; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
California	Eugene Casserly		Democratic	1868		Incumbent resigned November 29, 1873. New senator elected early December 20, 1873.^[2] Anti-Monopoly gain.	nowrap
Connecticut	William Alfred Buckingham		Republican	1868 or 1869		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected May 19, 1874. Democratic gain. Incumbent died February 5, 1875, and winner was then appointed to finish the term.	nowrap
Delaware	Thomas F. Bayard		Democratic	1869	Incumbent re-elected in 1875.	nowrap
Florida	Abijah Gilbert		Republican	1868 or 1869		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Indiana	Daniel D. Pratt		Republican	1868		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1874 or 1875. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Maine	Hannibal Hamlin		Republican	1857 1861 1869	Incumbent re-elected in 1875.	nowrap
Maryland	William P. Whyte		Democratic	1874		Incumbent retired to run for Maryland Governor. New senator elected in 1874. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Massachusetts	William B. Washburn		Republican	1874		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	nowrap
Michigan	Zachariah Chandler		Republican	1857 1863 1869		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1874. Republican hold.	nowrap
Minnesota	Alexander Ramsey		Republican	1863 1869		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	nowrap
Mississippi	Henry R. Pease		Republican	1874		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in February 1874. Republican hold.	nowrap
Missouri	Carl Schurz		Republican	1868		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1874. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Nebraska	Thomas Tipton		Republican	1867 1869		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	nowrap
Nevada	William M. Stewart		Republican	1865 1869		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 12, 1875. Republican hold.	nowrap
New Jersey	John P. Stockton		Democratic	1864 1866 1869		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic hold.	nowrap
New York	Reuben E. Fenton		Republican	1869		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 20, 1875. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Ohio	Allen G. Thurman		Democratic	1868	Incumbent re-elected in 1874.	nowrap
Pennsylvania	John Scott		Republican	1869		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 19, 1875. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Rhode Island	William Sprague IV		Republican	1862 1868		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Republican hold.	nowrap
Tennessee	William G. Brownlow		Republican	1867		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 26, 1875, on the 54th ballot. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Texas	James W. Flanagan		Republican	1870		Incumbent retired. New senator elected on January 28, 1875. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Vermont	George F. Edmunds		Republican	1866 1866 1868	Incumbent re-elected on October 20, 1874.	nowrap
Virginia	John F. Lewis		Republican	1870		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1875. Democratic gain.	nowrap
West Virginia	Arthur I. Boreman		Republican	1868 or 1869		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1874 or 1875. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Wisconsin	Matthew H. Carpenter		Republican	1868 or 1869		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 1875. Republican hold.	nowrap

Elections during the 44th Congress

There were no special elections in 1875 to the 44th Congress.

Maryland

Election Name:	1874 United States Senate election in Maryland
Popular Vote1:	-
Colour1:	B0CEFF
Percentage1:	-%
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Candidate1:	William Pinkney Whyte
Image1:	William Pinkney Whyte 1865-1880 Maryland politician.jpg
Next Year:	1880
Next Election:	1880 United States Senate election in Maryland
Previous Year:	1868
Previous Election:	1868 United States Senate election in Maryland
Votes For Election:	80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Vote Type:	Legislative
Election Date:	1874
Type:	presidential

William Pinkney Whyte won election for an unknown margin of votes for the Class 1 seat.^[3]

New York

The New York election was held on January 19 and 20, 1875, by the New York State Legislature.

Republican Reuben E. Fenton had been elected in January 1869 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1875.

At the state election in November 1873, a Republican majority was elected for a two-year term (1874–1875) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1874, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden was elected Governor, 75 Democrats and 53 Republicans were elected for the session of 1875 to the Assembly, and Democrat Albert P. Laning was elected in the 31st District to fill a vacancy in the State Senate. The 98th New York State Legislature met from January 5 to May 19, 1875, at Albany, New York.

The caucus of Democratic State legislators met on January 15, State Senator Albert P. Laning, of Buffalo, presided. All but one of the legislators were present, only Assemblyman John M. Roscoe, of Schoharie County, was sick. The caucus nominated Francis Kernan for the U.S. Senate. Kernan had been the Democratic/Liberal Republican candidate for Governor in November 1872 but had been defeated by John Adams Dix. Now Kernan was the choice of Tammany boss John Kelly who had succeeded the corrupt William M. Tweed. Kelly was opposed by John C. Jacobs, who proposed Ex-State Senator Henry C. Murphy, Jacobs's predecessor from the 3rd District, and the Democratic candidate who had lost the U.S. Senate elections in 1867 and 1869 when the Democrats were the minority. Kelly stood firm in his intention to dominate the Democratic Party, and had the caucus nomination made by viva voce vote instead of the more traditional secret ballot. Jacobs and Murphy had expected to get votes from many legislators who would not dare to cross Kelly openly, but had to abandon their hopes when the secret ballot was voted down 74 to 13.

**Democratic caucus**
Candidate	First ballot
Francis Kernan	align=right	77
Henry C. Murphy	align=right	9
John T. Hoffman	align=right	1

The caucus of the Republican State legislators nominated Ex-U.S. Senator from New York Edwin D. Morgan.

On January 19, the Democratic majority of the Assembly nominated Francis Kernan, and the Republican majority of the State Senate nominated Ex-U.S. Senator Edwin D. Morgan. On January 20, both Houses met in joint session to compare nominations, and finding that they disagreed, proceeded to a joint ballot. Francis Kernan was elected, the first Democratic U.S. Senator from New York since 1851 when Daniel S. Dickinson left office.

House	Democratic		Republican		Democratic
State Senate (32 members)	Francis Kernan	align=right	13	Edwin D. Morgan	align=right	16
State Assembly (128 members)	Francis Kernan	align=right	74	Edwin D. Morgan	align=right	52	John T. Hoffman	align=right	1
Joint Ballot (160 members)	Francis Kernan	align=right	87	Edwin D. Morgan	align=right	68	John T. Hoffman	align=right	1

Note: The vote for Ex-Governor of New York Hoffman was cast by Reuben E. Fenton's brother-in-law Samuel Scudder, a Democratic Assemblyman from Cattaraugus County.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania election was held on January 19, 1875. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, elected William A. Wallace.^[4]

|-|-bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| colspan="3" align="right" | Totals| align="right" | 251| align="right" | 100.00%|}

West Virginia

Election Date:	January 26–February 17, 1875
Election Name:	1875 United States Senate election in West Virginia
Country:	West Virginia
Type:	presidential
Next Year:	1877 (special)
Candidate1:	Allen Caperton
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Image1:	File:Allen T. Caperton - Brady-Handy.jpg
1Blank:	First ballot
Votes For Election:	Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature
After Election:	Allen Caperton
U.S. senator
Next Election:	1876–77 United States Senate elections#West Virginia
Previous Election:	1868–69 United States Senate elections#West Virginia
Previous Year:	1869
Vote Type:	Members'
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Before Election:	Arthur Boreman
2Blank:	23rd ballot
1Data1:	6 votes 6.9%
2Data1:	68 votes 80.9%
Posttitle:	Elected U.S. Senator

On January 26, 1875, each house of the West Virginia Legislature held votes to elect a Senator, with no person receiving the majority of votes in either chamber. Pursuant to the 1866 Act regulating the election of senators (S.414), the legislature convened into a joint assembly the following day and held further voting. After 23 ballots held jointly, Allen T. Caperton received the majority of votes on February 17, 1875, and was declared duly elected as senator. Votes for senator across the 23 rounds were mostly scattered, with Caperton, the eventual winner, only starting out with 6 votes in the first joint ballot, and receiving only 30 (13 votes short) on the round before his victory.^[5]

Prior to the election, Johnson Camden and Henry S. Walker were seen as the foremost contenders for the Democratic nomination, which, because of Democrats' large majorities in both houses, was tantamount to election under normal circumstances.^[6] However, after repeated failures of any candidate to win a majority either in internal caucus votes or on the floor, legislative Democrats turned to finding a compromise candidate, settling on former Confederate senator Allen T. Caperton. Republican votes were similarly split on most ballots, though on the final one, they supported former Appeals Court chief justice and state senator Ralph Berkshire nearly unanimously.

Party! rowspan="2"
Votes	%	%
Candidate	House	Senate
	Democratic	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Democratic	10	15.6	3	12.5
	Democratic	0	0.0	3	12.5
	Democratic	17	26.6	2	8.3
	Republican	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	6	9.4	1	4.2
	Democratic	5	7.8	0	0.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Republican	2	3.1	1	4.2
	Democratic	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Democratic	1	1.6	1	4.2
	Democratic	10	15.6	3	12.5
	Republican	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Republican	0	0.0	1	4.2
	Democratic	11	17.2	6	25.0
Total		64	100	24	100
Needed to win		33	>50	13	>50

Party! rowspan="2"
1	2	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Candidate	Ballots
	Democratic	6	3	1	1	1	2	0	1	1	1	3	7	13	0	1	2	1	1	0	0	3	30		68
	Democratic	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	2	16	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Republican	1	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	14
	Democratic	11	14	12	10	16	12	13	10	14	5	1	0	0	6	5	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	2	1	0	0	0	0	6	4	1	1	1	35	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	19	27	15	24	20	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	28	31	27	2	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	17	0	0
	Democratic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	29	36	0	0
	Democratic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	32	26	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	2	2	0	1	0	0	8	20	27	20	13	7	3	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Democratic	12	10	15	11	12	13	15	12	15	9	16	0	0	13	19	18	18	20	17	12	14	17	0
	Democratic	19	20	23	22	21	20	22	23	22	22	21	25	25	22	21	23	24	23	23	0	0	0	0
	Other candidates	15	10	17	14	14	17	22	16	4	11	4	11	18	13	13	10	10	6	17	17	14	35	2
Total		87	87	86	85	85	87	86	87	86	85	84	85	84	87	87	85	85	85	83	84	84	84	84
Needed to win		44	44	44	43	43	44	44	44	44	43	43	43	43	44	44	43	43	43	42	43	43	43	43

References

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
Members of the 44th United States Congress, via GPO.gov
NEW-YORK ELECTIONS.; Results of the Official Canvass for the Various Officers in NYT on November 19, 1874
THE SENATORSHIP.; FRANCIS KERNAN'S SWEEPING VICTORY in NYT on January 16, 1875
ALBANY.; ELECTION OF KERNAN TO THE SENATE in NYT on January 21, 1875
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.
News: THE CALIFORNIAN SENATORSHIP ELECTION OF BOOTH. . December 21, 1873 . . February 17, 2020 . 1.
Web site: Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 17, 1868. 2022-11-05. www.ourcampaigns.com.
Web site: U.S. Senate Election - 19 January 1875. Wilkes University. December 23, 2012.
Book: Journal of the Senate . . 1875 . 217.
News: January 26, 1875 . The Senatorial Fight- Two Ballots Taken- Camden Supposed to be Dead- The Fight Between Walker, Price, and Brannon. . The Intelligencer . NewspaperArchive.