1814–15 United States Senate elections
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12 of the 36 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 19 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results: Federalist hold Federalist gain Dem-Republican hold Legislature Failed To Elect | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1814–15 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 1814 and 1815, 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 Democratic-Republican Party lost a seat but still retained their overwhelming Senate majority. Unlike in recent elections, the minority Federalists had gone into the elections with a chance of regaining their long-lost majority had they swept almost all the seats. However, only one seat switched parties. Two seats held by Democratic-Republicans were left unfilled until long after the next Congress began.
Change in composition
Before the elections
Composition after June 1814 special election in New Hampshire.
| DR8 | DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | ||
| DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 | DR18 |
| Majority → | DR19 Md. Unknown | ||||||||
| F9 Mass. (reg) Ran |
F10 R.I. Ran |
DR26 Va. Ran |
DR25 Vt. Retired |
DR24 Tenn. (reg) Retired |
DR23 Pa. Ran |
DR22 Ohio (reg) Retired |
DR21 N.Y. Unknown |
DR20 N.J. Ran | |
| F8 Del. Ran |
F7 Conn. Ran |
F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 | ||
Result of the regular elections
| DR8 | DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | ||
| DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 | DR18 |
| Majority → | DR19 N.J. Hold | ||||||||
| F9 Mass. (reg) Re-elected |
F10 R.I. Re-elected |
F11 Vt. Gain |
V1 Tenn. (reg) DR Loss |
V2 Md. DR Loss |
DR23 Va. Hold |
DR22 Pa. (reg) Re-elected |
DR21 Ohio (reg) Hold |
DR20 N.Y. Hold | |
| F8 Del. Re-elected |
F7 Conn. Re-elected |
F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 | ||
| Key |
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Race summaries
Except when noted, number following candidates is whole number votes.
Special elections during the preceding Congress
In these special elections, the winner was elected during 1814 or before March 4, 1815; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Pennsylvania (Class 3) |
Michael Leib | Democratic- Republican |
1809 (special) 1808 |
Incumbent resigned to become Postmaster of Philadelphia. New senator elected February 24, 1814.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was never seated due to a failure to qualify. |
|
| New Hampshire (Class 2) |
Nicholas Gilman | Democratic- Republican |
1804 1810 |
Incumbent died May 4, 1814. New senator elected June 24, 1814. Federalist gain. |
|
| Ohio (Class 1) |
Thomas Worthington | Democratic- Republican |
1803 1807 (retired) 1810 (special) |
Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Ohio. New senator elected December 10, 1814 on the fourth ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| Kentucky (Class 2) |
George Walker | Democratic- Republican |
1814 (appointed) | Interim appointee retired. New senator elected December 16, 1814. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| North Carolina (Class 3) |
David Stone | Democratic- Republican |
1800 1807 (resigned) 1812 |
Incumbent resigned December 24, 1814. New senator elected December 30, 1814 on the eleventh ballot.[6][7] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was never seated due to a failure to qualify. |
|
| Virginia (Class 1) |
Richard Brent | Democratic- Republican |
1809 | Incumbent died December 30, 1814, having lost re-election, see below. New senator elected January 2, 1815, having already won election to the next term. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| Kentucky (Class 3) |
Jesse Bledsoe | Democratic- Republican |
1813 | Incumbent resigned. New senator elected January 3, 1815 on the second ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Races leading to the next Congress
In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1815; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Connecticut | Samuel Dana | Federalist | 1810 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1814. |
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| Delaware | Outerbridge Horsey | Federalist | 1810 (special) | Incumbent re-elected January 13, 1815. |
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| Maryland | Samuel Smith | Democratic- Republican |
1802 1808 |
Legislature failed to elect. A successor would not be elected until 1816.[11] Democratic-Republican loss. |
[data missing] |
| Massachusetts | Christopher Gore | Federalist | 1813 (appointed) | Interim appointee elected in 1815. |
|
| New Jersey | John Lambert | Democratic- Republican |
1808 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 1, 1815 on the third ballot.[12] Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| New York | Obadiah German | Democratic- Republican |
1809 | Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected February 7, 1815.[14][15] Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| Ohio | Joseph Kerr | Democratic- Republican |
1814 (special) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 7, 1815 on the third ballot.[16] Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| Pennsylvania | Jonathan Roberts | Democratic- Republican |
1814 (special) | Incumbent re-elected December 10, 1814.[17] |
|
| Rhode Island | William Hunter | Federalist | 1811 (special) | Incumbent re-elected November 4, 1814. |
|
| Tennessee | Joseph Anderson | Democratic- Republican |
1797 (special) 1799 (resigned) 1799 (special) 1803 1809 (appointed) 1809 (special) |
Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic-Republican loss. A new senator would later be elected; see below. |
None. |
| Vermont | Jonathan Robinson | Democratic- Republican |
1807 (special) 1808 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected October 25, 1814. Federalist gain. |
|
| Virginia | Richard Brent | Democratic- Republican |
1808 | Incumbent lost re-election, and then died after the election. New senator elected November 14, 1814. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Special elections during the next Congress
In this special election, the winner was elected in 1815 after March 4; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
| Tennessee (Class 1) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect, see above. New senator elected October 10, 1815. Democratic-Republican gain. |
| ||
| Tennessee (Class 2) |
Jesse Wharton | Democratic- Republican |
1814 (appointed) | Interim appointee retired. New senator elected October 10, 1815. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| North Carolina (Class 3) |
Francis Locke Jr. | Democratic- Republican |
1800 1812 |
Incumbent resigned, having failed to qualify. New senator elected December 5, 1815 on the fifth ballot.[22][23] Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| Virginia (Class 2) |
William B. Giles | Democratic- Republican |
1804 (appointed) 1804 (special) 1804 1811 |
Incumbent resigned March 3, 1815. New senator elected December 7, 1815. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner subsequently declined to serve. A new senator was later elected in 1816. |
|
Connecticut
Delaware
Kentucky (special)
There were two special elections in Kentucky: one in 1814 and the other in 1815.
Maryland
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (regular)
Massachusetts (special)
New Hampshire (special)
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina (special)
Ohio
Ohio (regular)
Ohio (special)
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (special)
Pennsylvania (regular)
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Tennessee (regular)
Tennessee (special, class 1)
Tennessee (special, class 2)
Vermont
Virginia
Virginia (regular)
Virginia (special)
Virginia
See also
Notes
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
References
- ^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
- ^ a b "U.S. Senate Election - February 24, 1814" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
- ^ "New Hampshire 1814 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing Concord Gazette (Concord, NH). June 28, 1814. Turner, Lynn Warren. The Ninth State: New Hampshire's Formative Years. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1983. 292.
- ^ Taylor, William A. (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901 with Notes and Sketches of Senators and Representatives and Other Historical Data and Incidents. Columbus, Ohio: The XX. Century Publishing Co. pp. 98–99 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Kentucky 1814 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing The Western Monitor (Lexington, KY). December 23, 1814. Argus of Western America (Frankfort, KY). December 17, 1814.
- ^ a b "North Carolina 1814 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 11". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk, VA). January 4, 1815.
- ^ "NC US Senate - Special Election". Our Campaigns. January 6, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
- ^ a b "Virginia 1814 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk, VA). November 19, 1814.
- ^ "Kentucky 1815 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing The Union (Washington, KY). January 14, 1815. Argus of Western America (Frankfort, KY). January 7, 1815.
- ^ "Delaware 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing Journal of the Delaware House of Representatives, 1815. 37.
- ^ "MD US Senate". Our Campaigns. August 29, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ "NJ US Senate". Our Campaigns. April 1, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c "New Jersey 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing New Jersey Privy Council Records, 1814. 306–307.
- ^ a b "New York 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing Ontario Messenger (Canandaigua, NY). February 21, 1815.
- ^ a b "NY US Senate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ a b Taylor, William A. (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901 with Notes and Sketches of Senators and Representatives and Other Historical Data and Incidents. Columbus, Ohio: The XX. Century Publishing Co. p. 99 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b "U.S. Senate Election - December 10, 1814" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
- ^ "Rhode Island 1814 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing The Rhode-Island American, and General Advertiser (Providence, RI). November 8, 1814.
- ^ "Tuesday, October 25th: Senator". Vermont Watchman. Montpelier, VT. October 27, 1814. p. 3. In addition to winning a majority in the legislature, Tichenor also unanimously received the 12 votes of the Governor and Council.
- ^ "Tennessee 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing Original Tally Sheet. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1815. 112. Journal of the Tennessee State Senate, 1815. 96–97.
- ^ "Tennessee 1815 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing Original Tally Sheet. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1815. 112. Journal of the Tennessee State Senate, 1815. 96–97.
- ^ a b "North Carolina 1815 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 5". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing The Star (Raleigh, NC). December 8, 1815.
- ^ a b "NC US Senate - Special Election". Our Campaigns. January 6, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2015.