1886–87 United States Senate elections explained

Election Name:	1886–1887 United States Senate elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1877
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1884–85 United States Senate elections
Next Election:	1888–89 United States Senate elections
Seats For Election:	25 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections)
Majority Seats:	39
Election Date:	Dates vary by state
1Blank:	Seats up
Party1:	Republican Party (US)
Leader1:	George F. Edmunds
Image1:	George F. Edmunds - Brady-Handy.jpg
Leader Since1:	March 4, 1885
Leaders Seat1:	Vermont
Seats Before1:	40
Seats1:	13
Seats After1:	38
Seat Change1:	2
1Data1:	15
Party2:	Democratic Party (US)
Leader2:	James B. Beck
Leader Since2:	March 4, 1885
Leaders Seat2:	Kentucky
Seats Before2:	34
Seats2:	11
Seats After2:	36
Seat Change2:	2
1Data2:	9
Party4:	Readjuster Party
Seats Before4:	2
Seats4:	0
Seats After4:	1
Seat Change4:	1
1Data4:	1
Majority Party
Before Party:	Republican
After Party:	Republican

The 1886–87 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 1886 and 1887, 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 Republican Party lost two seats. At the beginning of the 50th Congress, therefore, Republicans had the slimmest possible majority due to a vacant Democratic seat: 38 out of 75 seats. Once that vacancy was filled, Republicans maintained control as the single Readjuster senator caucused with them.

Results summary

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.

Parties				Total
Democratic	Readjuster	Republican
Before these elections		34	2		40	78
Not up	25	1	25	51
<	-- Gap for "Not up" -->	Class 2 (1886/87 → 1892/93)		13	1	12	26
	Class 3 (1884/85 → 1890/91)	11	—		13	24
Up	11	1		16	28
<	-- Gap for "Up" -->	Regular: Class 1	9	1		15	25
	Special: Class 1		1	—	—	1
	Special: Class 2		1	—	—	1
	Special: Class 3	—	—		1	1
Regular election only
Incumbent retired	1	—		2	3
	Held by same party	—	—		1	1
	Gained by other party		1	—	1	1
	No elected successor		1	—	—	1
	Result	1	—	1	2
Incumbent ran	6	1		12	19
	Won re-election	4	—		7	11
	Held by same party	1	—		3	4
	Gained by other party	1	—		1	4
			2	—	2
			1	1	—
	No elected successor	—	—	—	—
	Result	8	—		11	19
Incumbent's action unknown		2	—	1	3
	Held by same party		2	—	1	3
	No elected successor	—	—	—	—
	Gained by other party	—	—	—	—
	Result		2	—	1	3
Total elected		11	—		13	24
Net change			2	1	2	1
Result		36	1		38	75

Change in composition

Before the elections

After August 4, 1886 special election in California.

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Majority →

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After the elections

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Majority due to vacancy→

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At the beginning of the first session, December 7, 1887

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Majority with Readjuster in caucus →

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Key

align=center D Democratic align=center RA Readjuster align=center R Republican align=center V Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 49th Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1886 or in 1887 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Mississippi (Class 2)	Edward C. Walthall		Democratic	1885	Interim appointee elected January 20, 1886.^[2]	nowrap
California (Class 1)	George Hearst		Democratic	1886		Unknown if interim appointee retired or lost election to finish the term. New senator elected August 4, 1886. Republican gain. Winner did not run for election to the next term, see below.	nowrap
Illinois (Class 3)	John A. Logan		Republican	1870 or 1871 1877 1879 1885		Incumbent died December 26, 1886. New senator elected January 19, 1887. Republican hold.	nowrap

Races leading to the 50th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1887; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
California	Abram Williams		Republican	1886		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1887. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Connecticut	Joseph R. Hawley		Republican	1881	Incumbent re-elected in 1887.	nowrap
Delaware	George Gray		Democratic	1885	Incumbent re-elected in 1887.	nowrap
Florida	Charles W. Jones		Democratic	1881		Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss.
Indiana	Benjamin Harrison		Republican	1881		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1887. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Maine	Eugene Hale		Republican	1881	Incumbent re-elected in 1887.	nowrap
Maryland	Arthur P. Gorman		Democratic	1880	Incumbent re-elected in 1886.	nowrap
Massachusetts	Henry L. Dawes		Republican	1857 1881	Incumbent re-elected in 1887.	nowrap
Michigan	Omar D. Conger		Republican	1881		Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1887. Republican hold.	nowrap
Minnesota	Samuel J. R. McMillan		Republican	1881		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1886. Republican hold.	nowrap
Mississippi	James Z. George		Democratic	1880	Incumbent re-elected in 1886.	nowrap
Missouri	Francis Cockrell		Democratic	1874 1881	Incumbent re-elected in 1887.	nowrap
Nebraska	Charles Van Wyck		Republican	1880		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1886. Republican hold.	nowrap
Nevada	James G. Fair		Democratic	1881		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1887. Republican gain.	nowrap
New Jersey	William J. Sewell		Republican	1881		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1886. Democratic gain.	nowrap
New York	Warner Miller		Republican	1881		Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected January 20, 1887. Republican hold.	nowrap
Ohio	John Sherman		Republican	1861 1866 1872 1877 1881	Incumbent re-elected in 1886.	nowrap
Pennsylvania	John I. Mitchell		Republican	1881		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected January 18, 1887. Republican hold.	nowrap
Rhode Island	Nelson W. Aldrich		Republican	1881	Incumbent re-elected in 1886.	nowrap
Tennessee	Washington C. Whitthorne		Democratic	1886		Unknown if interim appointee retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1887. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Texas	Samuel B. Maxey		Democratic	1875 1881		Incumbent lost re-election New senator elected in 1887. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Vermont	George F. Edmunds		Republican	1866 1866 1868 1874 1880	Incumbent re-elected in 1886.	nowrap
Virginia	William Mahone		Readjuster	1881		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1887. Democratic gain.	nowrap
West Virginia	Johnson N. Camden		Democratic	1880 or 1881		Incumbent lost renomination.^[3] Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. A new senator was elected late, see below.	Johnson N. Camden (Democratic)
Wisconsin	Philetus Sawyer		Republican	1881	Incumbent re-elected January 26, 1887.	nowrap

Elections during the 50th Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1887 after March 4; ordered by date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
West Virginia (Class 1)	Vacant				Legislature had failed to elect, see above. New senator elected late May 5, 1887. Democratic gain.	nowrap
Florida (Class 1)	Vacant				Legislature had failed to elect, see above. New senator elected late May 19, 1887. Democratic gain.	nowrap
New Hampshire (Class 2)	Person C. Cheney		Republican	1886		Interim appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected June 14, 1887. Republican hold.	nowrap
Virginia (Class 2)	Harrison H. Riddleberger		Readjuster	1881		Incumbent retired. New senator elected early December 20, 1887 for the term beginning in 1889.^[4] Democratic gain.	nowrap

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland.

Election Name:	1886 United States Senate election in Maryland
Popular Vote1:	-
Colour1:	B0CEFF
Percentage1:	-%
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Candidate1:	Arthur Pue Gorman
Image1:	Arthur Pue Gorman.jpg
Next Year:	1886
Next Election:	1886 United States Senate election in Maryland
Previous Year:	1892
Previous Election:	1892 United States Senate election in Maryland
Votes For Election:	80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Vote Type:	Legislative
Election Date:	1886
Type:	presidential

Arthur Pue Gorman won re-election for an unknown margin of votes for the Class 1 seat.^[5]

New York

See main article: United States Senate election in New York, 1887.

See also: List of United States senators from New York. The election in New York was held from January 18 to 20, 1887. Republican Warner Miller had been elected to this seat in a special election in 1881 to succeed Thomas C. Platt who had resigned. Miller's term would expire on March 3, 1887. At the State election in November 1885, 20 Republicans and 12 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1886-1887) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1886, 74 Republicans and 54 Democrats were elected for the session of 1887 to the Assembly. The 110th New York State Legislature met from January 4 to May 26, 1887, at Albany, New York.

The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 17, President pro tempore of the State Senate Edmund L. Pitts presided. 20 State senators and 71 assemblymen attended. Ex-Speaker of the Assembly George Z. Erwin (a Morton man) moved that a majority of all Republican legislators should be necessary to nominate, not only a majority of those present, meaning that 48 votes were required instead of 46, which was carried by a vote of 52 to 39. The incumbent U.S. senator Warner Miller (Half-Breed faction) failed to be nominated by only four votes. Levi P. Morton (Stalwart faction) was rejected by the caucus, like in 1885. A small faction voted for Congressman Frank Hiscock. After the second ballot, Erwin moved to adjourn, which was carried by 48 to 43. The caucus met again on the next day, no choice was made in another two ballots. The caucus met again on January 19 after the joint ballot of the State Legislature, and after twelve more ballots, Erwin withdrew Morton's name and urged the Morton men to vote for Hiscock. On the next ballot Hiscock received one vote more than Miller (47 to 46), but was one short of the previously established majority of 48. On the 18th and last ballot, Hiscock received 50 votes and was nominated. On the next day, Hiscock was elected on the second joint ballot of the State Legislature. Thus, by blocking Miller's re-election, the Republican boss Thomas C. Platt took his revenge for his defeat at the special election in 1881.

1887 Republican caucus for United States senator

Ballot	Date	Warner Miller	Levi P. Morton	√ Frank Hiscock
1st	January 17	align=center	44	align=center	35	align=center	12
2nd	January 17	align=center	44	align=center	36	align=center	11
3rd	January 18
4th	January 18
5th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
6th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
7th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
8th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
9th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
10th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
11th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
12th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
13th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
14th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
15th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
16th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	36	align=center	11
17th	January 19	align=center	46	align=center	Withdrew	align=center	47
18th	January 19	align=center	43		align=center	50

The Democratic caucus nominated Smith Mead Weed (1834-1920), a lawyer and businessman of Plattsburgh, New York. Weed had been a member of the New York State Assembly from Clinton County, New York in 1865, 1866, 1867, 1871, 1873 and 1874; and a delegate to the 1876 and 1884 Democratic National Conventions.

1887 regular election for United States senator

House	Democratic		Republican		Republican		Republican
State Senate (32 members) January 18	Smith M. Weed	align=center	11	Warner Miller	align=center	10	Levi P. Morton	align=center	9	Frank Hiscock	align=center	1
State Assembly (128 members) January 18	Smith M. Weed	align=center	41	Warner Miller	align=center	32	Levi P. Morton	align=center	26	Frank Hiscock	align=center	10
Joint ballot (160 members) January 19	Smith M. Weed	align=center	61	Warner Miller	align=center	43	Levi P. Morton	align=center	33	Frank Hiscock	align=center	11
Second joint ballot (160 members) January 20	Smith M. Weed	align=center	62					√ Frank Hiscock	align=center	91

Pennsylvania

See main article: United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 1887.

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania. The election in Pennsylvania was held January 18, 1887. Matthew Quay was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[6] The General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and Senate voted as follows:

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

See also

• 1886 United States elections
  • 1886 United States House of Representatives elections
• 49th United States Congress
• 50th United States Congress

Further reading

• Book: Byrd, Robert C. . The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992 . volume 4 Bicentennial . Robert Byrd . Wendy . Wolff . . Washington, DC . . October 1, 1993 . 9780160632563 .
• Web site: Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 . The Wilkes University Election Statistics Project . Wilkes University . January 31, 2007 . Harold . Cox.
• News: . HISCOCK WINS THE PRIZE; MORTON WITHDRAWN FROM THE SENATORIAL FIGHT . January 20, 1887.
• Web site: Members of the 50th United States Congress . . September 7, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100106015413/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd108-222/50th.pdf . January 6, 2010 . dead .
• News: . MILLER LEADS IN CAUCUS; BUT WANTS FOUR VOTES OF A NOMINATING MAJORITY . January 18, 1887.
• News: . MR. HISCOCK'S ELECTION . January 21, 1887.
• Web site: Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present . . Senate.gov.
• News: . SMITH M. WEED DIES IN PLATTSBURG . June 8, 1920.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913). National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
2. Byrd, p. 130.
3. Web site: STILL FIGHTING OVER CAMDEN..
4. Web site: Barbour, John S. (1820–1892). www.encyclopediavirginia.org.
5. Web site: Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1880. 2022-11-05. www.ourcampaigns.com.
6. Web site: U.S. Senate Election - 18 January 1887. Wilkes University. December 23, 2012.