1810–11 United States Senate elections

The 1810–11 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 1810 and 1811, 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.

Quick facts 11 of the 34 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 18 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

The Democratic-Republican Party maintained their Senate majority. The minority Federalists had gone into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats (8 out of 34, or 23.5%) that, had they won all of the elections, they would still not have reached a majority.

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Change in composition

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Senate Composition in 1809

Democratic-Republicans: 28 seats Federalists: 6 seats

Senate Composition in 1811

Democratic-Republicans: 30 seats Federalists: 6 seats

Key Changes

Democratic-Republicans: The Democratic-Republicans gained 2 seats, increasing their majority from 28 to 30 seats. Federalists: The number of Fedethe ralist seats remained unchanged at 6.

Context

The Democratic-Republican Party continued to dominate the Senate, reflecting the broader political landscape of the era. The period was marked by the lead-up to the War of 1812, with growing tensions between the United States and Great Britain influencing political discourse and legislative priorities.^[2]

DR₇	DR₆	DR₅	DR₄	DR₃	DR₂	DR₁
DR₈	DR₉	DR₁₀	DR₁₁	DR₁₂	DR₁₃	DR₁₄	DR₁₅	DR₁₆	DR₁₇
Majority →									DR₁₈ Ga. Ran
F₈ Mass. Ran	DR₂₆ Va. Ran	DR₂₅ Tenn. Ran	DR₂₄ S.C. Retired	DR₂₃ R.I. Unknown	DR₂₂ N.C. Ran	DR₂₁ N.J. Ran	DR₂₀ N.H. Ran	DR₁₉ Ky. Retired	DR₁₈ Ga. Ran
F₇ Del. Ran	F₆	F₅	F₄	F₃	F₂	F₁

Result of the regular elections

DR₇	DR₆	DR₅	DR₄	DR₃	DR₂	DR₁
DR₈	DR₉	DR₁₀	DR₁₁	DR₁₂	DR₁₃	DR₁₄	DR₁₅	DR₁₆	DR₁₇
Majority →									DR₁₈ Ga. Re-elected
V₁ Mass. F Loss	DR₂₆ Va. Re-elected	DR₂₅ Tenn. Re-elected	DR₂₄ S.C. Hold	DR₂₃ R.I. Hold	DR₂₂ N.C. Re-elected	DR₂₁ N.J. Re-elected	DR₂₀ N.H. Re-elected	DR₁₉ Ky. Hold	DR₁₈ Ga. Re-elected
F₇ Del. Re-elected	F₆	F₅	F₄	F₃	F₂	F₁

More information Key ...

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Race summaries

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Except if/when noted, number following candidates is whole number votes.

Special elections during the 11th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1810 or before March 4, 1811; ordered by election date.

More information State, Incumbent ...

State	Incumbent	Results	Candidates
Senator	Party	Electoral history
Delaware (Class 1)	Samuel White	Federalist	1796 (special) 1801 (appointed) 1803 1809	Incumbent died November 4, 1809. New senator elected January 12, 1810. Federalist hold.	▌Y Outerbridge Horsey (Federalist) 27 Blank 1^[3]
New Hampshire (Class 3)	Nahum Parker	Democratic- Republican	1807	Incumbent resigned June 1, 1810. New senator elected June 21, 1810. Federalist gain.	▌Y Charles Cutts (Federalist)^[a] 99 ▌Thomas W. Thompson (Federalist) 73 ▌Jedediah K. Smith (Democratic-Republican) 4 ▌Oliver Peabody (Federalist) 2 ▌Isaac Hill (Democratic-Republican) 1 Nay 5^[4]
Connecticut (Class 1)	James Hillhouse	Federalist	1796 (special) 1797 1803 1809	Incumbent resigned June 10, 1810. New senator elected in June 1810. Federalist hold.	▌Y Samuel W. Dana (Federalist) 137 ▌Asa Spalding (Democratic-Republican) 19^[5]^[6]
Ohio (Class 1)	Return J. Meigs Jr.	Democratic- Republican	1808 (special) 1808	Incumbent resigned December 8, 1810, to become Governor of Ohio. New senator elected December 15, 1810 on the sixth ballot. Democratic-Republican hold.	▌Y Thomas Worthington (Democratic-Republican) 35 ▌Samuel Huntington (Democratic-Republican) 31 ▌James Pritchard (Democratic-Republican) 2 ▌George Tod (Unknown) Eliminated ▌John Bigger (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated ▌Thomas Kirker (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated ▌Thomas Morris (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated ▌James Caldwell (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated^[7]^[8]
South Carolina (Class 2)	Thomas Sumter	Democratic- Republican	1801 (special) 1809	Incumbent resigned December 16, 1810. New senator elected December 18, 1810 on the third ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y John Taylor (Democratic-Republican) 83 ▌Joseph Alston (Democratic-Republican) 74^[9]

Races leading to the 12th Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1811 (except where noted due to late election); ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

More information State, Incumbent ...

State	Incumbent	Results	Candidates
Senator	Party	Electoral history
Delaware	James A. Bayard	Federalist	1804 (special) 1805	Incumbent re-elected January 8, 1811.	▌Y James A. Bayard (Federalist) 17 ▌James Tilton (Democratic-Republican) 9^[10]
Georgia	William H. Crawford	Democratic- Republican	1807 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1810 or 1811.	▌Y William H. Crawford (Democratic-Republican) [data missing]
Kentucky	Henry Clay	Democratic- Republican	1810 (appointed)	Appointee retired to run for U.S. House of Representatives. New senator elected January 8, 1811. Democratic-Republican hold.	▌Y George M. Bibb (Democratic-Republican) 77 ▌Christopher Greenup (Democratic-Republican) 20 ▌Matthew Lyon (Democratic-Republican) 0^[11]
Massachusetts	Timothy Pickering	Federalist	1803 (special) 1805	Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect due to partisan deadlock in the Massachusetts Senate. Federalist loss.	▌Timothy Pickering (Federalist) ▌Joseph B. Varnum (Democratic-Republican) ▌William King (Democratic-Republican) ▌Richard Cutts (Democratic-Republican) ▌Perez Morton (Unknown) ▌Josiah Quincy III (Federalist) ▌Joseph Sprague (Unknown)^[12]^[13]
New Hampshire	Nicholas Gilman	Democratic- Republican	1804	Incumbent re-elected June 21, 1810, on the fourth ballot.	▌Y Nicholas Gilman (Democratic-Republican) ▌Jedediah K. Smith (Democratic-Republican) 78 ▌Charles Cutts (Democratic-Republican)^[a] 1 ▌Oliver Peabody (Federalist) 1 Nay 1^[14]
New Jersey	John Condit	Democratic- Republican	1803 (appointed) 1803 (special) 1809 (lost) 1809 (appointed) 1809 (special)	Incumbent re-elected November 5, 1810.	▌Y John Condit (Democratic-Republican) Unopposed^[15]
North Carolina	James Turner	Democratic- Republican	1804	Incumbent re-elected November 28, 1810 on the third vote.	▌Y James Turner (Democratic-Republican) 106 ▌David Stone (Democratic-Republican) 83 Blank 1 ▌Benjamin Smith (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated ▌Thomas Davis (Unknown) Eliminated^[16]
Rhode Island	Elisha Mathewson	Democratic- Republican	1807 (special)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected November 2, 1810. Democratic-Republican hold.	▌Y Jeremiah B. Howell (Democratic-Republican) 42 ▌James Burrill Jr. (Federalist) 41^[17]
South Carolina	Thomas Sumter	Democratic- Republican	1801 (special) 1809	Incumbent resigned December 16, 1810. New senator elected December 18, 1810 on the third ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to finish the current term; see above.	▌Y John Taylor (Democratic-Republican) 83 ▌Joseph Alston (Democratic-Republican) 74^[9]
Tennessee	Jenkin Whiteside	Democratic- Republican	1809 (special)	Incumbent re-elected early October 28, 1809.	▌Y Jenkin Whiteside (Democratic-Republican) 39 Unopposed^[18]
Virginia	William B. Giles	Democratic- Republican	1804 (appointed) 1804 (special) 1804	Incumbent re-elected January 2, 1811.	▌Y William B. Giles (Democratic-Republican) 123 Scattering 15^[19]

Special elections during the 12th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated in 1811 after March 4; ordered by election date.

More information State, Incumbent ...

State	Incumbent	Results	Candidates
Senator	Party	Electoral history
Massachusetts (Class 2)	Vacant	Legislature had failed to elect; see above. New senator elected late June 6, 1811 on the second ballot. Democratic-Republican gain.	▌Y Joseph Varnum (Democratic-Republican) 341 ▌Timothy Pickering (Federalist) 267^[20]
Tennessee (Class 2)	Jenkin Whiteside	Democratic- Republican	1809 (special)	Incumbent resigned October 8, 1811. New senator elected October 1, 1811. Democratic-Republican hold.	▌Y George W. Campbell (Democratic-Republican) 38 Unopposed^[21]
Rhode Island (Class 1)	Christopher G. Champlin	Federalist	1809 (special)	Incumbent resigned October 12, 1811. New senator elected October 28, 1811. Federalist hold.	▌Y William Hunter (Federalist) Unanimous^[22]

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