1860–61 United States Senate elections

1860–61 United States Senate elections
22 of the 66 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections); 34 seats needed for a majority
	Results of the elections:; Democratic gain Democratic hold; Republican gain Republican hold; Senator left for the Confederacy
Majority party before election; ; Democratic	Elected Majority party ; ; Democratic

The 1860–61 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 1860 and 1861, 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 3.

These elections corresponded with Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The nascent Republican Party increased their Senate seats in the regular elections, and after southern Democrats withdrew to join the Confederacy, Republicans gained control of the Senate. To establish a quorum with fewer members, a lower total seat number was taken into account.

Results summary

Senate party division, 37th Congress (1861–1863)

Majority party: Republican (29), later rose to 30
Minority party: Democratic (30), later dropped to 14
Other parties: Unionist (1), later rose to 4
Vacant: (8), later rose to 20
Total seats: 68

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the October 2, 1860 special election in Oregon.

D₃	D₂	D₁
D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃
D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄
D₂₄	D₂₅ Ran	D₂₆ Ran	D₂₇ Ran	D₂₈ Unknown	D₂₉ Unknown	D₃₀ Retired	D₃₁ Retired	D₃₂ Retired	D₃₃ Retired
Majority →									D₃₄ Resigned
R₂₄ Ran	R₂₅ Unknown	R₂₆ Retired	KN₁	KN₂ Ran	D₃₈ Withdrew	D₃₇ Withdrew	D₃₆ Withdrew	D₃₅ Withdrew	D₃₄ Resigned
R₂₃ Ran	R₂₂ Ran	R₂₁ Ran	R₂₀ Ran	R₁₉	R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄
R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈	R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃
R₃	R₂	R₁

As a result of the elections

R₂₁ Re-elected	R₂₂ Re-elected	R₂₃ Re-elected	R₂₄ Re-elected	R₂₅ Hold	R₂₆ Hold	R₂₇ Gain	R₂₈ Gain	R₂₉ Gain	KN₁
V₃ D Loss	V₂ D Loss	V₁ D Loss
D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀
D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₄	D₂₅ Re-elected	D₂₆ Re-elected	D₂₇ Hold	D₂₈ Hold	D₂₉ Hold	D₃₀ Gain
Plurality ↑									KN₁
R₂₀ Re-elected	R₁₉	R₁₈	R₁₇	R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁
R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆	R₇	R₈	R₉	R₁₀
V₄ D Loss	V₅ D Loss	V₆ D Loss

Beginning of the next Congress

V₄ D Loss	V₃ D Loss	V₂ D Loss	V₁ D Loss
V₅ D Loss	V₆ D Loss	V₇ D Loss	V₈ D Loss	D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆
D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉	D₈	D₇
D₁₇	D₁₈	D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁	D₂₂	U₁ Changed	R₂₉ Hold	R₂₈	R₂₇
Majority →									R₂₆
R₁₇	R₁₈	R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄	R₂₅	R₂₆
R₁₆	R₁₅	R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉	R₈	R₇
V₁₂	V₁₁	V₁₀	V₉	R₁	R₂	R₃	R₄	R₅	R₆
V₁₃	V₁₄	V₁₅ New state	V₁₆ New state

End of 1861

V₄	V₃	V₂	V₁
V₅	V₆	V₇	V₈	V₉ D Loss	V₁₀ D Loss	D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄
D₁₄ Gain	D₁₃ Gain	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉	D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅
U₄ Gain	U₃ Gain	U₂ Gain	U₁	R₃₀ Gain	R₂₉ Hold	R₂₈ Hold	R₂₇ Hold	R₂₆	R₂₅
Majority →									R₂₄
R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈	R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁	R₂₂	R₂₃	R₂₄
R₁₄	R₁₃	R₁₂	R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉	R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅
V₁₆	V₁₅	V₁₄	V₁₃	V₁₂ R Loss	V₁₁ R Loss	R₁ Gain	R₂ Gain	R₃	R₄
V₁₇	V₁₈ D Loss	V₁₉ D Loss	V₂₀ D Loss

Key:

D_#	Democratic
KN_#	Know Nothing
R_#	Republican
U_#	Unionist
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 36th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1860 or in 1861 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
California (Class 1)	Henry P. Haun	Democratic	1859 (appointed)	Interim appointee lost election to finish the term. Winner elected March 5, 1860. Democratic hold.	▌Y Milton Latham (Democratic) ▌Henry P. Haun (Democratic) [data missing]
Oregon (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect in 1858/1859. Winner elected October 2, 1860. Republican gain.	▌Y Edward D. Baker (Republican) [data missing]
Maine (Class 1)	Hannibal Hamlin	Republican	1848 (special) 1851 1857 (resigned) 1857	Incumbent resigned to become U.S. Vice President. Winner elected January 17, 1861. Republican hold.	▌Y Lot M. Morrill (Republican) [data missing]

Races leading to the 37th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1861; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	Benjamin Fitzpatrick	Democratic	1848 (appointed) 1849 (retired) 1853 (appointed) 1853 (special) 1855	Incumbent withdrew January 21, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Arkansas	Robert W. Johnson	Democratic	1853 (appointed) 1854 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1860 or 1861. Democratic hold.	▌Y Charles B. Mitchel (Democratic) [data missing]
California	William M. Gwin	Democratic	1850 1855 (failure to elect) 1857 (special)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1860. Democratic hold.	▌Y James A. McDougall (Democratic)
Connecticut	Lafayette S. Foster	Republican	1854	Incumbent re-elected in 1860.	▌Y Lafayette S. Foster (Republican) [data missing]
Florida	David Levy Yulee	Democratic	1855	Incumbent withdrew January 21, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Georgia	Alfred Iverson, Sr.	Democratic	1854–55	Incumbent withdrew January 28, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat remained vacant until 1871.	None.
Illinois	Lyman Trumbull	Republican	1855	Incumbent re-elected, January 9, 1861.	▌Y Lyman Trumbull (Republican) 54 ▌Samuel S. Marshall (Democratic) 46^[2]
Iowa	James Harlan	Republican	1855 1857 (election voided) 1857 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1860.	▌Y James Harlan (Republican) [data missing]
Indiana	Graham N. Fitch	Democratic	1857 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1860. Republican gain.	▌Y Henry S. Lane (Republican) [data missing]
Kansas	None (new state)			Kansas became a state January 29, 1861, but did not elect its senators until the next Congress; see below.	None.
Kentucky	John J. Crittenden	Know Nothing	1816 1819 (resigned) 1835 1841 (retired) 1842 (appointed) 1842–43 (special) 1843 1848 (resigned) 1854	Incumbent retired. New senator elected December 12, 1859, far in advance of the term. Democratic gain. Winner was subsequently expelled; see below.	▌Y John C. Breckinridge (Democratic) [data missing]
Louisiana	John Slidell	Democratic	1853 (special) 1854–55	Incumbent resigned February 4, 1861. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Maryland	James Pearce	Democratic	1843 1849 1855	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	▌Y James Pearce (Democratic) [data missing]
Missouri	James S. Green	Democratic	1857	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat remained vacant until March 17, 1861; see below.	[data missing]
New Hampshire	Daniel Clark	Republican	1857	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	▌Y Daniel Clark (Republican) [data missing]
New York	William H. Seward	Republican	1849 1855	Incumbent retired, expecting appointment to the Lincoln Administration. New senator elected February 5, 1861. Republican hold.	▌Y Ira Harris (Republican) ▌Horatio Seymour (Democratic)
North Carolina	Thomas Clingman	Democratic	1858 (appointed) 1858 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	▌Y Thomas Clingman (Democratic) [data missing]
Ohio	George E. Pugh	Democratic	1854	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1860. Republican gain.	▌Y Salmon P. Chase (Republican) ▌George E. Pugh (Democratic) [data missing]
Oregon	Joseph Lane	Democratic	1859	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1860 or 1861. Democratic hold.	▌Y James Nesmith (Democratic) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	William Bigler	Democratic	1856	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 8, 1861. Republican gain.	▌Y Edgar Cowan (Republican) 73.68% ▌Henry Foster (Democratic) 26.32%
South Carolina	James H. Hammond	Democratic	1857	Incumbent withdrew November 11, 1860. No replacement was elected. Democratic loss. Seat remained vacant until 1868.	None.
Vermont	Jacob Collamer	Republican	1855	Incumbent re-elected in 1861.	▌Y Jacob Collamer (Republican) [data missing]
Wisconsin	Charles Durkee	Republican	1854	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1861. Republican hold.	▌Y Timothy O. Howe (Republican) [data missing]

Elections during the 37th Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1861 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Pennsylvania (Class 1)	Vacant			Incumbent had resigned in the previous Congress. New senator elected March 14, 1861. Republican gain.	▌Y David Wilmot (Republican) 72.18% ▌William H. Welsh (Democratic) 25.56% ▌Winthrop W. Ketcham (Republican) 0.75% ▌William Wilkins (Democratic) 0.75%
Missouri (Class 3)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected March 17, 1861. Democratic gain.	▌Y Waldo P. Johnson (Democratic) [data missing]
Ohio (Class 3)	Salmon P. Chase	Republican	1849 1855 (retired) 1860	Incumbent resigned December 4, 1860, to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. New senator elected March 21, 1861. Republican hold.	▌Y John Sherman (Republican) [data missing]
Kansas (Class 2)	None (new state)			Kansas became a state January 29, 1861. Senator was elected late April 4, 1861. Republican gain.	▌Y Jim Lane (Republican) [data missing]
Kansas (Class 3)	None (new state)			Kansas became a state January 29, 1861. Senator was elected late April 4, 1861. Republican gain.	▌Y Samuel C. Pomeroy (Republican) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 1)	James M. Mason	Democratic	1847 (special) 1850 1856	Incumbent expelled July 11, 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. New senator elected July 13, 1861. Unionist gain.	▌Y Waitman T. Willey (Unionist) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 2)	Robert M. T. Hunter	Democratic	1846 1852 1858	Incumbent expelled July 11, 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. New senator elected July 13, 1861. Unionist gain.	▌Y John S. Carlile (Unionist) [data missing]
Kentucky (Class 3)	John C. Breckinridge	Democratic	1859	Incumbent expelled December 4, 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. New senator elected December 10, 1861. Unionist gain.	▌Y Garrett Davis (Unionist) [data missing]

Maryland

James Pearce won re-election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[3]

New York

The New York election was held February 5, 1861.

Whig William H. Seward had been re-elected in February 1855 to this seat, had become a Republican upon the foundation of that party in September 1855, and his term would expire on March 3, 1861. Seward did not seek re-election, instead being certain to be appointed to an office in the incoming Lincoln administration (Lincoln subsequently appointed Seward Secretary of State).

At the state election in November 1859, 23 Republicans and 9 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1860–1861) in the State Senate. At the state election in November 1860, 93 Republicans and 35 Democrats were elected to the Assembly for the session of 1861. The 84th New York State Legislature met from January 1 to April 16, 1861, at Albany, New York.

Ira Harris was the candidate of the Republican Party. Harris had been a Whig assemblyman in 1845 and 1846, and a justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1847 to 1859.

Ex-Governor Horatio Seymour (in office 1853–1854) was the candidate of the Democratic Party.

Both in the Assembly and the Senate a strict party vote confirmed the caucus selections.

In the Assembly 119 votes were given: Republicans Smith Anthony (Cayuga Co.), Martin Finch (Essex Co.), Henry A. Prendergast (Chautauqua Co.), Victor M. Rice (Erie Co.) and Perez H. Field (Ontario Co.), along with Democrats Luke F. Cozans (NYC), Benjamin H. Long (Erie Co.), N. Holmes Odell (Westchester Co.) and Christian B. Woodruff (NYC) did not vote.

In the State Senate, 31 votes were given as William H. Ferry (Rep., 19th D.) was absent.

Ira Harris was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

House	Republican		Democratic
State Senate (31 members voting)	Ira Harris	22	Horatio Seymour	9
State Assembly (119 members voting)	Ira Harris	88	Horatio Seymour	31

Pennsylvania

There were two elections in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania (regular)

The regular election in Pennsylvania was held January 8, 1861. Edgar Cowan was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[4]

Incumbent Democrat William Bigler, who was elected in 1856, was not a candidate for re-election to another term. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 8, 1861, to elect a new Senator to fill the term beginning on March 4, 1861. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

General election results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edgar Cowan	98	73.68
	Democratic	Henry Foster	35	26.32%
Total votes			133	100%

Pennsylvania (special)

A special election was held in Pennsylvania on March 14, 1861. David Wilmot was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[5]

Republican Simon Cameron had been elected to the United States Senate by the General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in January 1857. After Senator Cameron resigned his seat on March 4, 1861, to become United States Secretary of War in Abraham Lincoln's administration,^[6] the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 14, 1861, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy.

The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

Special election results^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Wilmot	96	72.18
	Democratic	William H. Welsh	34	25.56%
	Republican	Winthrop W. Ketcham	1	0.75%
	Democratic	William Wilkins	1	0.75%
	N/A	Not voting	1	0.75%
Total votes			133	100%

Notes

^ as Republican Conference Chair

References

^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
^ Journal of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, 1861. Springfield, IL: Bailache & Baker, Printers. 1861.
^ "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1861". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
^ ^a ^b "U.S. Senate Election - 8 January 1861" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "U.S. Senate Election - 14 March 1861" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
^ "CAMERON, Simon, (1799 - 1889)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
^ "PA US Senate - Special Election". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner, 1867 (see pg. 568 for U. S. Senators; pg. 442 for State Senators 1861; pg. 492ff for Members of Assembly 1861)
Result NY state election 1859 in The Tribune Almanac for 1860 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune
Result NY state election 1860 in The Tribune Almanac for 1861 compiled by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune
FROM THE STATE CAPITAL.; Election of United States Senator in NYT on February 6, 1861
Result, NY State Senate: Journal of the Senate (84th Session) (1861; pg. 137)
Result, NY Assembly: Journal of the Assembly (84th Session) (1861; pg. 247f)
Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project.

[1] s Republican Conference Chair

[2] "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.

[3] Journal of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, 1861. Springfield, IL: Bailache & Baker, Printers. 1861.

[4] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1861". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.

[resultsPA3-5] "U.S. Senate Election - 8 January 1861" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

[resultsPA1-6] "U.S. Senate Election - 14 March 1861" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 23, 2012.

[7] "CAMERON, Simon, (1799 - 1889)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 23, 2012.

[8] "PA US Senate - Special Election". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

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