1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

The 1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held in February 1803.

1803 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

← 1800 (special) February 5, 1803 1808 →
40 members of the Massachusetts Senate 396 members of the Massachusetts House Majority vote of each house needed to win
Nominee John Quincy Adams Thompson Skinner Party Federalist Democratic-Republican Senate 86 70 Percentage 60.53% 36.84%
Senator before election Jonathan Mason Federalist Elected Senator John Quincy Adams Federalist

Incumbent Senator Jonathan Mason, who had been elected to fill the unexpired term of Benjamin Goodhue, did not run for a full term in office. The Massachusetts General Court deliberated and elected State Senator and former diplomat John Quincy Adams, son of former President John Adams, on the fourth ballot. This is the first election in the history of the United States where the winner of the Senate in Massachusetts would eventually become president of the United States. This is also the first election to feature a candidate who would eventually become president of the United States.

Background

Benjamin Goodhue was elected Senator from Massachusetts in 1796. However, he resigned and retired from politics in 1800. In his place, the legislature elected State Senator Jonathan Mason. When Mason's term expired in 1803, he declined to stand for re-election.

Election

First ballot

First ballot^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	71	42.01%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	67	39.64%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	12	7.10%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	12	7.10%
	Federalist	Henry Knox	7	4.14%
	Federalist	Samuel Dexter	1	0.59%
	Federalist	William Ely	1	0.59%
Total votes			169	100.00%

Second

First ballot^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	79	46.47%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	71	41.76%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	9	5.29%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	6	3.53%
	Federalist	Henry Knox	5	2.94%
Total votes			170	100.00%

Third

First ballot^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	71	41.52%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	56	32.75%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	33	19.30%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	10	5.85%
	Federalist	Henry Knox	1	0.58%
Total votes			171	100.00%

Fourth

First ballot^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	86	50.29%
	Democratic-Republican	Thompson J. Skinner	70	40.94%
	Federalist	Nicholas Tillinghast	9	5.26%
	Federalist	Timothy Pickering	6	3.51%
Total votes			171	100.00%

Senate ballot

The Senate ratified the choice of Adams on a single unanimous ballot.

Senate ballot^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Federalist	John Quincy Adams	19	100.00%
Total votes			19	100.00%

Aftermath

Adams served one term in the Senate, though he would resign months early after the Federalist legislature prematurely voted not to award him a second term. Adams quickly drifted away from the Federalist Party, partly over his differences with Pickering.

After joining the Democratic-Republicans, he would go on to serve as Secretary of State and later as President of the United States from 1825 to 1829.