1894–95 United States Senate elections explained

Election Name:	1894–95 United States Senate elections
Country:	United States
Flag Year:	1891
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1892–93 United States Senate elections
Next Election:	1896–97 United States Senate elections
Seats For Election:	30 of the 88 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections)
Majority Seats:	45
Election Date:	Dates vary by state
1Blank:	Seats up
Party1:	Republican Party (US)
Leader1:	John Sherman
Image1:	John-Sherman-2.jpg
Leader Since1:	March 4, 1891
Leaders Seat1:	Ohio
Seats Before1:	37
1Data1:	16
Seats1:	18
Seats After1:	39
Seat Change1:	2
Party2:	Democratic Party (US)
Leader2:	Arthur Pue Gorman
Leader Since2:	March 4, 1889
Leaders Seat2:	Maryland
Seats Before2:	44
1Data2:	14
Seats2:	10
Seats After2:	40
Seat Change2:	4
Party4:	Populist Party (US)
Seats Before4:	3
1Data4:	0
Seats4:	1
Seats After4:	4
Seat Change4:	1
Party5:	Silver Party
Seats Before5:	1
1Data5:	0
Seats5:	0
Seats After5:	1
Majority Party
Before Party:	Democratic Party (US)
After Party:	Republican Party (US)
Map Size:	380 px

The 1894–95 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 1894 and 1895, 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 plurality control of the Senate with the support of the Populist Party and Silver Party.

Results summary

Senate party division, 54th Congress (1895–1897)

Plurality: Republican: 42
Minority: Democrats: 39
Other parties: Populist: 4, Silver: 2
Total: 88
Vacant: 1, due to failure to elect. Later filled by a Democrat

Change in composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1894, including early elections in Mississippi and Virginia.

							D		D		D		D
width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D	D
Majority with vacancies →
	R		R		R		S		P		P		P		V		V		V
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
							R		R		R		R

Result of the general elections

							D		D		D		D
width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		P		P		V		V
No majority
	R		R		R		R		R		S		P		P		V		V
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
							R		R		R		R

Result of the special elections and party change

							D		D		D		D
width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D	width=50px	D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D
	D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D		D
	D		D		D		D		D		P		P		P		P		V
↓ Republican plurality (majority with Silver support →)	S
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		S
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
	R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R		R
							R		R		R		R

Key:

align=center width=35px	D	Democratic
align=center width=35px	P	Populist
align=center width=35px	R	Republican
align=center width=35px	S	Silver
align=center width=35px	V	Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 53rd Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1894 or in 1895 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Mississippi (Class 2)	Edward C. Walthall		Democratic	1885 1886 1889 1892		Incumbent resigned due to ill health. New senator elected February 7, 1894. Democratic hold. Walthall, however, had already been re-elected to next term.^[2]	nowrap
Louisiana (Class 2)	Donelson Caffery		Democratic	1892	Interim appointee elected May 23, 1894. Winner had already been elected to the next term, see below.	nowrap
Louisiana (Class 3)	Newton C. Blanchard		Democratic	1894	Interim appointee elected May 23, 1894.	nowrap
Georgia (Class 2)	Patrick Walsh		Democratic	1894	Interim appointee elected November 7, 1894. Winner was not elected to the next term, see below.	nowrap
North Carolina (Class 3)	Thomas Jarvis		Democratic	1894		Unknown if interim appointee retired or lost election to finish the term. New senator elected November 7, 1894. Republican gain. New senator qualified January 23, 1895.	nowrap
Montana (Class 1)	Vacant				Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected January 16, 1895.	nowrap
Wyoming (Class 1)	Vacant				Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected January 23, 1895.	nowrap
California (Class 3)	George C. Perkins		Republican	1893	Interim appointee elected January 23, 1895.	nowrap
Michigan (Class 1)	John Patton Jr.		Republican	1894		Interim appointee lost election to finish the term. New senator elected January 24, 1895. Republican hold.	nowrap
Washington (Class 1)	Vacant				Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected February 1, 1895.	nowrap

Elections leading to the 54th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1895; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	John Tyler Morgan		Democratic	1876 1882 1888	Incumbent re-elected in 1894.	nowrap
Arkansas	James Berry		Democratic	1885 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
Colorado	Edward O. Wolcott		Republican	1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
Delaware	Anthony C. Higgins		Republican	1888 or 1889		Incumbent lost re-election. Failure to elect. Republican loss.	nowrap	Anthony C. Higgins (Republican)
Georgia	Patrick Walsh		Democratic	1894		Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1894. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Idaho	George Shoup		Republican	1890	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
Illinois	Shelby M. Cullom		Republican	1882 1888	Incumbent re-elected in 1894.	nowrap
Iowa	James F. Wilson		Republican	1888		Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 17, 1894. Republican hold.	nowrap
Kansas	John Martin		Democratic	1893		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in January 1895. Republican gain.	nowrap
Kentucky	William Lindsay		Democratic	1893	Incumbent re-elected January 17, 1894.^[3]	nowrap
Louisiana	Donelson Caffery		Democratic	1891	Interim appointee elected May 14, 1894.^[4] Winner would later be elected to finish the current term, see below.	nowrap
Maine	William P. Frye		Republican	nowrap	1881 1883 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
Massachusetts	George Frisbie Hoar		Republican	1877 1883 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
Michigan	James McMillan		Republican	1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
Minnesota	William D. Washburn		Republican	1888		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1895. Republican hold.	nowrap
Mississippi	Anselm J. McLaurin		Democratic	1894		Incumbent retired as predecessor had already been elected to the next term. Predecessor was already elected early January 20, 1892. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Montana	Thomas C. Power		Republican	1890		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in January 1895. Republican hold.	nowrap
Nebraska	Charles F. Manderson		Republican	1883 1888		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected January 15, 1895. Republican hold.	nowrap
New Hampshire	William E. Chandler		Republican	1887 1889 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
New Jersey	John R. McPherson		Democratic	1877 1883 1889		Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1895. Republican gain.	nowrap
North Carolina	Matt W. Ransom		Democratic	1872 1876 1883 1889		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1894. Populist gain.	nowrap
Oregon	Joseph N. Dolph		Republican	1882 1888		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 23, 1895.^[5] Republican hold.	nowrap
Rhode Island	Nathan F. Dixon III		Republican	1889		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1894. Republican hold.	nowrap
South Carolina	Matthew Butler		Democratic	1876 1882 1888		Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1894. Democratic hold.	nowrap
South Dakota	Richard F. Pettigrew		Republican	1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1894.	nowrap
Tennessee	Isham G. Harris		Democratic	1877 1883 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	nowrap
Texas	Richard Coke		Democratic	1876 1882 1888		Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1894. Democratic hold.	nowrap
Virginia	Eppa Hunton		Democratic	1892 1893		Incumbent retired. New senator was already elected early December 19, 1893.^[6] Democratic hold.	nowrap
West Virginia	Johnson N. Camden		Democratic	1893		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 23, 1895.^[7] Republican gain.	nowrap
Wyoming	Joseph M. Carey		Republican	1890		Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1895. Republican hold.	nowrap

Elections during the 54th Congress

There were no elections in 1895 after March 4.

Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama. Former brigadier general in the Confederate States Army John T. Morgan^[8] was re-elected as one of the two senators in the state of Alabama. His tenure as senator ended in 1907 when he died in office.^[9]

Arkansas

California (special)

Colorado

Delaware

Georgia

Georgia (special)

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana. Interim appointee Donelson Caffery (D) was elected May 14, 1894 to the next term. He was later (May 23, 1894) elected to finish the current term.

Louisiana (special, class 2)

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana. Randall L. Gibson (D) had been re-elected in 1889, but died December 15, 1892. Donelson Caffery (D) was appointed by the Governor of Louisiana December 31, 1892 to continue the term, pending a special election. On May 14, 1894, Caffery was elected to the next term, and on May 23, 1894, Caffery was elected to finish the current term.

Louisiana (special, class 3)

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana. Edward Douglass White (D) had been elected in 1891, but resigned March 12, 1894 when appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Newton C. Blanchard (D) was appointed by the Governor of Louisiana March 12, 1894 to continue the term, pending a special election. On May 23, 1894, Blanchard was elected to finish the current term, which would end March 3, 1897.

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Michigan (special)

Minnesota

Mississippi

See main article: 1892 United States Senate elections in Mississippi.

Mississippi (special)

Montana

Montana (special)

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

North Carolina

North Carolina (special)

Oregon

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

See main article: 1893 United States Senate election in Virginia.

Washington (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Washington. John B. Allen (R) had been elected in 1889 as one of the first senators from Washington. In 1893, however, the Washington State Legislature failed to elect a senator for the term beginning March 4, 1893. The governor appointed Allen to serve until March 20, 1893, but the Senate rejected his credentials.

John L. Wilson (R) was elected February 1, 1895 to finish the term, that would end March 3, 1899, taking his seat February 19, 1895.

West Virginia

Wyoming

Wyoming (special)

References

Book: Byrd, Robert C. . Robert Byrd. Wendy . Wolff. The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789–1992. volume 4 Bicentennial. United States Senate Historical Office. Washington, D.C.. U.S. Government Printing Office. October 1, 1993. 978-0-16-063256-3 . .
Web site: Clark . Dan Elbert. History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa. 1913. .
Web site: The Province and the States: A History of the Province of Louisiana Under France and Spain, And of the Territories and States of the United States Formed Therefrom . . Weston Arthur . Goodspeed . Vol. VI . 1904 . . Western Historical Association.

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: GEORGE AND WALTHALL ELECTED . . January 20, 1892 . 1.
Book: Kleber, John E. . The Kentucky Encyclopedia . 1992 . 558. University Press of Kentucky . 0-8131-2883-8 .
News: MR. CAFFERY HIS OWN SUCCESSOR . . May 15, 1894 . 1.
Web site: George Wycliffe McBride. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. October 27, 2016.
News: . December 20, 1893 . "TWO VIRGINIA SENATORS ELECTED" .
News: . January 24, 1895 . 5 . Elkins Elected in West Virginia .
Web site: The Selma Times-Journal 15 Mar 1924, page 8 .
Book: John Tyler Morgan and the search for southern autonomy . 978-0-87049-753-7 . 1992 . Fry . Joseph A. . University of Tennessee Press .