1876–77 United States Senate elections explained

Election Name:	1876–77 United States Senate elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1867
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1874–75 United States Senate elections
Next Election:	1878–79 United States Senate elections
Seats For Election:	26 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections)
Majority Seats:	39
Election Date:	Dates vary by state (And other dates for special elections)
1Blank:	Seats up
Party1:	Republican Party (US)
Leader1:	Henry B. Anthony
Image1:	Henry B. Anthony - Brady-Handy.jpg
Leader Since1:	March 4, 1863
Leaders Seat1:	Rhode Island
Seats Before1:	45
Seats1:	11
Seats After1:	39
Seat Change1:	6
1Data1:	17
Party2:	Democratic Party (US)
Leader2:	John W. Stevenson (retired)
Leader Since2:	March 4, 1873
Leaders Seat2:	Kentucky
Seats Before2:	30
Seats2:	14
Seats After2:	35
Seat Change2:	5
1Data2:	9
Party4:	Anti-Monopoly Party (US)
Seats Before4:	1
Seats4:	0
Seats After4:	1
1Data4:	0
Party5:	Independent (US)
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 1876–77 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with Rutherford B. Hayes's narrow election as president. 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 1876 and 1877, 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.

Although the Republican Party maintained their Senate majority, the Democratic Party gained five seats.

Results summary

Senate party division, 45th Congress (1877–1879)

Majority party: Republican (39)
Minority party: Democratic (35)
Other parties: Anti-Monopoly (1), Independent (1)
Total seats: 76

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the November 15, 1876 elections in the new state of Colorado.

	D₈		D₇		D₆		D₅		D₄		D₃		D₂		D₁
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	width=50px	D₁₈
	D₂₈ Retired		D₂₇ Retired		D₂₆ Ran		D₂₅ Ran		D₂₄ Ran		D₂₃ Ran		D₂₂ Ran		D₂₁		D₂₀		D₁₉
	D₂₉ Retired		D₃₀ Retired		AM₁		R₄₅ Retired		R₄₄ Retired		R₄₃ Retired		R₄₂ Retired		R₄₁ Unknown		R₄₀ Unknown	R₃₉ Unknown
Majority →
	R₂₉ Ran		R₃₀ Ran		R₃₁ Ran		R₃₂ Ran		R₃₃ Ran		R₃₄ Ran		R₃₅ Ran		R₃₆ Ran		R₃₇ Ran		R₃₈ Ran
	R₂₈		R₂₇		R₂₆		R₂₅		R₂₄		R₂₃		R₂₂		R₂₁		R₂₀		R₁₉
	R₉		R₁₀		R₁₁		R₁₂		R₁₃		R₁₄		R₁₅		R₁₆		R₁₇		R₁₈
	R₈		R₇		R₆		R₅		R₄		R₃		R₂		R₁

After the elections

	D₈		D₇		D₆		D₅		D₄		D₃		D₂		D₁
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	width=50px	D₁₈
	D₂₈ Hold		D₂₇ Hold		D₂₆ Hold		D₂₅ Re-elected		D₂₄ Re-elected		D₂₃ Re-elected		D₂₂ Re-elected		D₂₁		D₂₀		D₁₉
	D₂₉ Hold		D₃₀ Hold		D₃₁ Gain		D₃₂ Gain		D₃₃ Gain		D₃₄ Gain		D₃₅ Gain		I₁ Gain		AM₁	R₃₉ Hold
Majority →
	R₂₉ Re-elected		R₃₀ Re-elected		R₃₁ Re-elected		R₃₂ Re-elected		R₃₃ Re-elected		R₃₄ Hold		R₃₅ Hold		R₃₆ Hold		R₃₇ Hold		R₃₈ Hold
	R₂₈		R₂₇		R₂₆		R₂₅		R₂₄		R₂₃		R₂₂		R₂₁		R₂₀		R₁₉
	R₉		R₁₀		R₁₁		R₁₂		R₁₃		R₁₄		R₁₅		R₁₆		R₁₇		R₁₈
	R₈		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	I_#	Independent
align=center width=35px	R_#	Republican

Race summaries

Special elections during the 44th Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1876 or in 1877 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Louisiana (Class 3)	Vacant				Senate had declined to seat rival claimants William L. McMillen and P. B. S. Pinchback.^[2] Senator elected January 12, 1876. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Connecticut (Class 3)	James E. English		Democratic	1875		Interim appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected May 17, 1876. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Colorado (Class 2)	New state		Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. First senator elected November 15, 1876. Republican gain. New senator was also elected to the next term, see below.	nowrap
Colorado (Class 3)		Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. First senator elected November 15, 1876. Republican gain.	nowrap
Tennessee (Class 1)	David M. Key		Democratic	1875		Interim appointee lost special election. New senator elected January 19, 1877 on the 74th ballot. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Maine (Class 2)	James G. Blaine		Republican	1876		Interim appointee elected January 17, 1877. New senator also elected to the next term, see below.	nowrap
West Virginia (Class 1)	Samuel Price		Democratic	1876		Interim appointee lost special election. New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the 5th ballot. Democratic hold.	nowrap

Races leading to the 45th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1877; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	George Goldthwaite		Democratic	1870		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Arkansas	Powell Clayton		Republican	1870		Unknown if incumbent retired or ran for re-election. New senator elected January 16, 1877. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Colorado	Henry M. Teller		Republican	1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1876 or 1877.	nowrap
Delaware	Eli Saulsbury		Democratic	1870	Incumbent re-elected in 1876.	nowrap
Georgia	Thomas M. Norwood		Democratic	1871		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Illinois	John A. Logan		Republican	1870 or 1871		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 25, 1877 on the fortieth ballot. Independent gain.	nowrap
Iowa	George G. Wright		Republican	1870		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 19, 1876. Republican hold.	nowrap
Kansas	James M. Harvey		Republican	1874		Incumbent lost re-election. New elected January 31, 1877 on the seventeenth ballot. Republican hold.	nowrap
Kentucky	John W. Stevenson		Democratic	1871		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Louisiana	Joseph R. West		Republican	1870 or 1871		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 10, 1877.^[3] Republican hold.	nowrap
Maine	James G. Blaine		Republican	nowrap	1876	Interim appointee elected January 16, 1877. New senator also elected to finish the term, see above.	nowrap
Massachusetts	George S. Boutwell		Republican	1873		Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1877. Republican hold.	nowrap
Michigan	Thomas W. Ferry		Republican	1871	Incumbent re-elected in 1877.	nowrap
Minnesota	William Windom		Republican	1870 1871	Incumbent re-elected in 1877.	nowrap
Mississippi	James L. Alcorn		Republican	1870		Unknown if incumbent retired or ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Nebraska	Phineas Hitchcock		Republican	1870		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1877. Republican hold.	nowrap
New Hampshire	Aaron H. Cragin		Republican	1864 1870		Unknown if incumbent retired or ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1876. Republican hold.	nowrap
New Jersey	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen		Republican	1870 or 1871		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 24, 1877. Democratic gain.	nowrap
North Carolina	Matt W. Ransom		Democratic	1872	Incumbent re-elected in 1876.	nowrap
Oregon	James K. Kelly		Democratic	1870		Incumbent retired. New senator's election year unknown. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Rhode Island	Henry B. Anthony		Republican	1858 1864 1870	Incumbent re-elected in 1876.	nowrap
South Carolina	Thomas J. Robertson		Republican	1868 1870		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Tennessee	Henry Cooper		Democratic	1870 or 1871		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 10, 1877. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Texas	Morgan C. Hamilton		Republican	1870 1871		Incumbent retired. New senator elected May 5, 1876 on third ballot. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Virginia	John W. Johnston		Democratic	1870 1871	Incumbent re-elected in 1877.	nowrap
West Virginia	Henry G. Davis		Democratic	1871	Incumbent re-elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot.	nowrap

Elections during the 45th Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1877 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Pennsylvania (Class 3)	Simon Cameron		Republican	1857 1861 1867 1873		Incumbent resigned March 12, 1877. Successor elected March 20, 1877. Republican hold.	nowrap
Ohio (Class 3)	John Sherman		Republican	1861 1866 1872		Incumbent resigned March 8, 1877 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. New senator elected March 21, 1877. Republican hold.	nowrap

Alabama

Arkansas

Colorado

Colorado (regular)

Connecticut (special)

Delaware

Georgia

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Louisiana (regular)

Maine

Maine (special)

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

North Carolina

Ohio (special)

Oregon

Pennsylvania (special)

The special election in Pennsylvania was held March 20, 1877.

Republican Senator Simon Cameron had been elected to the United States Senate by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in 1867 and was re-elected in 1873. Sen. Cameron resigned on March 12, 1877.^[4]

Following the resignation of Simon Cameron, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 20, 1877, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy. Former United States Secretary of War J. Donald Cameron, Simon Cameron's son, was elected to complete his father's term, set to expire on March 4, 1879.^[5] The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

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

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Tennessee (special)

Texas

Election Date:	May 3–5, 1876
Election Name:	1876 United States Senate election in Texas
Country:	Texas
Type:	presidential
Next Year:	1882
Candidate1:	Richard Coke
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Image1:	File:Richard_Coke_-_Brady-Handy_(cropped).jpg
Candidate2:	John Ireland
1Blank:	First ballot
Votes For Election:	Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature
After Election:	Richard Coke
U.S. senator
Next Election:	1882–83 United States Senate elections#Texas
Previous Election:	1870–71 United States Senate elections#Texas
Previous Year:	1870
Vote Type:	Members'
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
Before Election:	Morgan C. Hamilton
2Blank:	Third ballot
1Data1:	49 votes 40.2%
2Data1:	68 votes 58.1%
1Data2:	39 votes 32.0%
2Data2:	49 votes 41.9%
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Posttitle:	Elected U.S. Senator

Incumbent Republican Morgan C. Hamilton did not run for re-election. Since his initial election in 1870, the Democratic Party had taken control of the Texas Legislature, ensuring that a Democrat would replace him. Incumbent governor Richard Coke defeated former Texas Supreme Court justice John Ireland on the third ballot. U.S. Representative John Hancock and former governor Fletcher Stockdale also ran, but they dropped out after the second round of balloting.^[6]

Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia (special)

Election Date:	January 23–26, 1877
Election Name:	1877 United States Senate special election in West Virginia
Country:	West Virginia
Type:	presidential
Next Year:	1881
Candidate1:	Frank Hereford
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Image1:	File:Frank Hereford - Brady-Handy.jpg
Candidate2:	Samuel Price
1Blank:	First ballot
Votes For Election:	Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature
After Election:	Frank Hereford
U.S. senator
Next Election:	1880–81 United States Senate elections
Previous Election:	1874–75 United States Senate elections#West Virginia
Previous Year:	1875
Vote Type:	Members'
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Before Election:	Samuel Price
2Blank:	Fourth ballot
1Data1:	21 votes 24.1%
2Data1:	70 votes 81.4%
1Data2:	24 votes 27.6%
2Data2:	10 votes 11.6%
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Posttitle:	Elected U.S. Senator
Candidate3:	Henry S. Walker
Party3:	Democratic Party (United States)
1Data3:	16 votes 18.4%
Image3:	File:Blank 1x1.png
Image3 Size:	115px
2Data3:	4 votes 4.7%

First-term Democrat Allen T. Caperton died July 26, 1876, in his second year in office. Fellow-Democrat Samuel Price was appointed August 26, 1876 to continue the term, pending a special election in which he was a candidate. Price lost the election to Democratic congressman Frank Hereford January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot.^[3]

Appointed incumbent Samuel Price and challengers Frank Hereford and Henry S. Walker, three prominent state Democrats, fought for the party's nomination over seven ballots and three sessions, without much movement in any direction. On January 26, with the Democrats unable to make a nomination, legislative Republicans broke the deadlock by throwing their support to Hereford on the floor.^[7]

Candidate! colspan="7"
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
Ballots
	21	19	18	18	21	18	18
	20	20	21	19	20	13	16
	17	19	16	19	18	23	17
Scattered	7	8	9	6	4	6	13
Total	65	66	64	62	63	60	64
Needed to win	35

Party! rowspan="2"
Votes	%	%
Candidate	House	Senate
	Democratic	18	28.6	3	13.0
	Democratic	15	23.8	7	30.4
	Democratic	9	14.3	6	26.1
	Republican	15	23.8	4	17.4
	Democratic	2	3.2	3	13.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
Total		63	100	23	100
Needed to win		32	>50	12	>50

Party! rowspan="2"
1st	2nd	4th
Candidate	Ballots
	Democratic	21	28	25		70
	Democratic	24	23	26	10
	Democratic	16	12	19	4
	Democratic	3	15	3	0
	Democratic	6	6	7	1
	Other candidates	17	3	7	1
Total		87	87	87	86
Needed to win		44	44	44	44

Hereford resigned from the House January 31, 1877, thereby qualifying for the Senate. He only finished the term and left office in 1881.

West Virginia (regular)

Election Date:	January 23–26, 1877
Election Name:	1877 United States Senate election in West Virginia
Country:	West Virginia
Type:	presidential
Next Year:	1883
Candidate1:	Henry G. Davis
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Image1:	File:HenryGDavis.png
Candidate2:	Charles J. Faulkner
1Blank:	First ballot
Votes For Election:	Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature
After Election:	Henry G. Davis
U.S. senator
Next Election:	1882–83 United States Senate elections#West Virginia
Previous Election:	1870–71 United States Senate elections#West Virginia
Previous Year:	1871
Vote Type:	Members'
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Before Election:	Henry G. Davis
2Blank:	Third ballot
1Data1:	24 votes 27.6%
2Data1:	60 votes 69.0%
1Data2:	24 votes 27.6%
2Data2:	19 votes 21.8%
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Posttitle:	Elected U.S. Senator

First-term Democrat Henry G. Davis was re-elected January 26, 1877 on the third ballot.

Candidate! colspan="7"
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
Ballots
	22	24	26	23	25	22	22
	22	21	19	18	21	20	22
	2	4	5	4	4	7	4
	7	3	4	3	1	4	2
	4	5	4	10	8	6	6
Scattered	8	6	5	3	2	5	8
Total	65	63	63	61	61	64	64
Needed to win	35

Party! rowspan="2"
Votes	%	%
Candidate	House	Senate
	Democratic	21	33.3	6	26.1
	Democratic	18	28.6	7	30.4
	Democratic	3	4.8	4	17.4
	Democratic	5	7.9	2	8.7
	Democratic	10	15.9	2	8.7
	Democratic	1	1.6	2	8.7
	Republican	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Democratic	1	1.6	0	0.0
	Republican	1	1.6	0	0.0
Total		63	100	23	100
Needed to win		32	>50	12	>50

Party! rowspan="2"
1st	2nd
Candidate	Ballots
	Democratic	24	26		60
	Democratic	24	23	19
	Democratic	11	15	2
	Democratic	5	6	3
	Democratic	15	12	1
	Other candidates	8	5	2
Total		87	87	87
Needed to win		44	44	44

Davis would retire after this second term, in 1883.

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.
Book: Taft, George S. . Compilation of Senate Election Cases from 1789 to 1885 - Pages 483 - 512. 1885 . .
Book: The Tribune almanac and political register. 1874-78 . J. F. Cleveland, etc. . 31–33 . The Tribune Association .
Web site: CAMERON, Simon, (1799 - 1889). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. December 22, 2013.
Web site: CAMERON, James Donald, (1833 - 1918). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. December 22, 2013.
Book: Barr, Chester Alwyn Jr. . Reconstruction to Reform . University of Texas Press . 1971 . 0-292-70135-7 . Austin, Texas . 27–31 . en . 73-165911.
News: January 27, 1877 . No more caucus. Elected two senators. . . NewspaperArchive.