1840–41 United States Senate elections

The 1840–41 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 1840 and 1841, 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.

1840–41 United States Senate elections

← 1838 & 1839 Various dates 1842 & 1843 →
18 of the 52 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 27 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Whig Democratic Last election 20 seats 28 seats Seats before 21 29 Seats won 11 6 Seats after 29 22 Seat change 8 7 Seats up 5 13
Results:      Democratic hold      Whig gain      Whig hold      Legislature failed to elect
Majority Party before election Democratic Elected Majority Party Whig

Corresponding with their party's success in the 1840 presidential election, the Whig Party took control of the Senate.

Results summary

Senate party division, 27th Congress (1841–1843)

• Majority party: Whig (29)
• Minority party: Democratic (22–20)
• Other parties: (0)
• Vacant: (1–3)
• Total seats: 52

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the November 25, 1840 special elections in North Carolina.

				D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6
D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7
D17 Ran	D18 Ran	D19 Ran	D20 Ran	D21 Ran	D22 Unknown	D23 Unknown	D24 Retired	D25 Retired	D26 Retired
Majority →									D27 Retired
W17 Ran	W18 Mass. (sp 1) Resigned	W19 Mass. (sp 2) Mass. (reg) Resigned	W20 Retired	W21 N.C. (reg) Ran	V2	V1	D29 Ran	D28 Ran
W16 Retired	W15	W14	W13	W12	W11	W10	W9	W8	W7
				W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6

After the elections

				D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6
D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7
D17 Re-elected	D18 Re-elected	D19 Re-elected	D20 Hold	D21 Hold	D22 Re-elected	V3 D Loss	V2	V1	W27 Gain
Majority →
W17 Re-elected	W18 Mass. (sp 1) Hold	W19 Mass. (reg) Mass. (sp 2) Hold	W20 Hold	W21 N.C. (reg) Re-elected	W22 Gain	W23 Gain	W24 Gain	W25 Gain	W26 Gain
W16 Hold	W15	W14	W13	W12	W11	W10	W9	W8	W7
				W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6

Beginning of the next Congress

				D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6
D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7
D17	D18	D19	D20	D21	D22	V2	W29 Gain	W28 Gain	W27
Majority →
W17	W18	W19	W20	W21	W22	W23	W24	W25	W26
W16	W15	W14	W13	W12	W11	W10	W9	W8	W7
				W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6

Key:	D# Democratic W# Whig V# Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 26th Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected during 1840 or in 1841 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Pennsylvania (Class 1)	Vacant since 1839.			Incumbent Samuel McKean's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor. New senator elected January 14, 1840. Democratic hold.	▌Y Daniel Sturgeon (Democratic) [data missing]
Michigan (Class 1)	Vacant since 1839.			Incumbent Lucius Lyon (D) retired, his term expired, and the legislature failed to elect a successor. New senator elected January 20, 1840. Whig gain.	▌Y Augustus S. Porter (Whig) [data missing]
New York (Class 1)	Vacant since 1839.			Incumbent Nathaniel P. Tallmadge's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor. Incumbent re-elected January 27, 1840 to his former position as a Whig. Whig gain.	▌Y Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (Whig) [data missing]
Tennessee (Class 2)	Hugh Lawson White	Whig	1825 (special) 1829 1835	Incumbent resigned January 13, 1840, after refusing to vote for the Subtreasury Bill as demanded by the Tennessee legislature.[2] New senator elected February 26, 1840. Democratic gain. Winner was not elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Alexander O. Anderson (Democratic) [data missing]
Connecticut (Class 1)	Thaddeus Betts	Whig	1838 or 1839	Incumbent died April 7, 1840. New senator elected May 4, 1840. Whig hold.	▌Y Jabez W. Huntington (Whig) [data missing]
North Carolina (Class 2)	Bedford Brown	Democratic	1829 (special) 1835	Incumbent resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly. New senator elected November 25, 1840. Whig gain. Winner was also be elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Willie P. Mangum (Whig) [data missing]
North Carolina (Class 3)	Robert Strange	Democratic	1836 (special) 1836	Incumbent resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly. New senator elected November 25, 1840. Whig gain.	▌Y William A. Graham (Whig) [data missing]
Maryland (Class 3)	John S. Spence	Whig	1836 (special) 1837	Incumbent died October 24, 1840. New senator elected January 5, 1841. Whig hold.	▌Y John L. Kerr (Whig) [data missing]
Delaware (Class 1)	Richard H. Bayard	Whig	1836 (special) 1838 or 1839	Incumbent resigned September 19, 1839, to become Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. New senator elected January 12, 1841 to his former position. Whig hold.	▌Y Richard H. Bayard (Whig) [data missing]
Massachusetts (Class 2)	John Davis	Whig	1835	Incumbent resigned January 5, 1841, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts. New senator elected January 13, 1841. Whig hold. Winner also elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Isaac C. Bates (Whig) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 1)	Vacant since 1839.			Incumbent William C. Rives's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor. Incumbent re-elected January 18, 1841 to his former position as a Whig. Whig gain.	▌Y William C. Rives (Whig) [data missing]
Massachusetts (Class 1)	Daniel Webster	Whig	1827 1833 1839	Incumbent resigned February 22, 1841, to become U.S. Secretary of State. New senator elected February 23, 1841. Whig hold.	▌Y Rufus Choate (Whig) [data missing]

Races leading to the 27th Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was elected for the term beginning March 4, 1841; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	William R. King	Democratic	1819 1822 1828 1834	Incumbent re-elected December 14, 1840.	▌Y William R. King (Democratic) 56.69% ▌John Gayle (Whig) 43.31%[3]
Arkansas	William S. Fulton	Democratic	1836	Incumbent re-elected in 1840.	▌Y William S. Fulton (Democratic) [data missing]
Delaware	Thomas Clayton	Whig	1837 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1841.	▌Y Thomas Clayton (Whig) [data missing]
Georgia	Wilson Lumpkin	Democratic	1837 (special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain.	▌Y John M. Berrien (Whig) [data missing]
Illinois	John M. Robinson	Democratic	1830 (special) 1835	Incumbent retired. Successor elected in 1840 or 1841. Democratic hold.	▌Y Samuel McRoberts (Democratic) [data missing]
Kentucky	John J. Crittenden	Whig	1835	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1841. Whig hold.	▌Y James T. Morehead (Whig) [data missing]
Louisiana	Robert C. Nicholas	Democratic	1836 (special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain.	▌Y Alexander Barrow (Whig) [data missing]
Maine	John Ruggles	Democratic	1835 (special) 1835	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain.	▌Y George Evans (Whig) [data missing]
Massachusetts	John Davis	Whig	1835	Incumbent resigned January 5, 1841, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts. New senator elected January 13, 1841. Whig hold. Successor also elected to finish the current term, see above.	▌Y Isaac C. Bates (Whig) [data missing]
Michigan	John Norvell	Democratic	1835	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1841. Whig gain.	▌Y William Woodbridge (Whig) [data missing]
Mississippi	Robert J. Walker	Democratic	1835	Incumbent re-elected in 1841.	▌Y Robert J. Walker (Democratic) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Henry Hubbard	Democratic	1835	Incumbent retired to run for New Hampshire Governor. New senator elected in 1841. Democratic hold.	▌Y Levi Woodbury (Democratic) [data missing]
New Jersey	Garret D. Wall	Democratic	1835	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 19, 1841. Whig gain.	▌Y Jacob W. Miller (Whig) 46 ▌Garret D. Wall (Democratic) 16[4]
North Carolina	Willie Mangum	Whig	1840 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1841.	▌Y Willie Mangum (Whig) [data missing]
Rhode Island	Nehemiah R. Knight	Whig	1821 (special) 1823 1829 1835	Incumbent retired. New senator elected October 29, 1840. Whig hold.	▌Y James F. Simmons (Whig) 55 votes ▌ Samuel Y. Atwell (Democratic) 24 votes ▌ Tristram Burges (Whig) 2 votes[5][6]
South Carolina	John C. Calhoun	Democratic	1832 (special) 1834	Incumbent re-elected in 1840.	▌Y John C. Calhoun (Democratic) [data missing]
Tennessee	Alexander O. Anderson	Democratic	1840 (special)	Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would not be filled until 1843.	None.
Virginia	William H. Roane	Democratic	1837	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1840. Whig gain.	▌Y William S. Archer (Whig) [data missing]

Special elections during the 27th Congress

In this special election, the winner was elected in 1841 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama (Class 3)	Clement Comer Clay	Democratic	1837 (Appointed)	Incumbent resigned November 15, 1841. New senator elected November 24, 1841. Democratic hold.	▌Y Arthur P. Bagby (Democratic) [data missing]

Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama and 1841 United States House of Representatives election in Alabama

Alabama (regular)

Alabama (special)

Arkansas

See also: List of United States senators from Arkansas and 1840 United States House of Representatives election in Arkansas

Connecticut (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut and 1840 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut

Delaware

See also: List of United States senators from Delaware and 1840 United States House of Representatives election in Delaware

Delaware (special)

Delaware (regular)

Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia and 1840 United States House of Representatives election in Georgia

Illinois

See also: List of United States senators from Illinois and 1840 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

Louisiana

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana and 1840 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana

Maine

See also: List of United States senators from Maine and 1840 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

Maryland (special)

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1841 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1837 December 1841 1843 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate John Leeds Kerr Party Whig Legislative vote - Percentage -% %

John Leeds Kerr won election to a full term an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[7]

Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts and 1840–1841 United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts

There were three elections due to the February 22, 1841, resignation of Whig Daniel Webster to become U.S. Secretary of State and the January 5, 1841, resignation of Whig John Davis to become Governor of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts (special, class 2)

Senator Isaac C. Bates

Whig Isaac C. Bates was elected January 13, 1841, to finish Davis's term.

Massachusetts (regular)

Bates was also elected January 13, 1841, to the next term.

Bates would only serve, however, until his March 16, 1845, death, and Davis was again elected to the seat.

Massachusetts (special, class 1)

Senator Rufus Choate

Whig Rufus Choate was elected February 23, 1841, to finish Webster's term which would continue until 1845.

Michigan

See also: List of United States senators from Michigan and 1840 United States House of Representatives election in Michigan

Mississippi

See also: List of United States senators from Mississippi and 1841 United States House of Representatives election in Mississippi

New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire and 1841 United States House of Representatives election in New Hampshire

New Jersey

See also: List of United States senators from New Jersey and 1840 United States House of Representatives election in New Jersey

New York (special)

Main article: 1839/1840 United States Senate election in New York

See also: 1838–39 United States Senate elections § New York, List of United States senators from New York, and 1840 United States House of Representatives elections in New York

Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been elected as a Jacksonian Democrat in 1833 to this seat, and his term expired March 3, 1839. An election was held February 5, 1839. Although Tallmadge received the most votes, no candidate received a majority and the seat was declared vacant due to the legislature's failure to elect.

At the State election in November 1839, 7 Whigs and 3 Democrats were elected to the State Senate, which gave the Whigs a majority, the first anti-Bucktails/Jacksonian/Democratic majority in 20 years. The 63rd New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 14, 1840, at Albany, New York. The strength of the parties in the Assembly, as shown by the vote for Speaker, was: 68 for Whig George Washington Patterson and 56 for Democrat Levi S. Chatfield.

On January 14, 1840, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge received a majority in both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

Candidate	Party	Senate (32 members)	Assembly (128 members)
Nathaniel P. Tallmadge	Whig	19
Samuel Beardsley	Democratic	2
Levi Beardsley	Democratic	1
William C. Bouck	Democratic	1
Benjamin F. Butler	Democratic	1
Churchill C. Cambreleng	Democratic	1
Hiram Denio	Democratic	1
John A. Dix	Democratic	1
Azariah C. Flagg	Democratic	1
John Savage	Democratic	1
John Tracy	Democratic	1

Tallmadge re-took his seat on January 27, 1840,^[8] and remained in office until June 17, 1844, when he resigned to be appointed Governor of Wisconsin Territory. Daniel S. Dickinson was appointed to fill the vacancy temporarily, and subsequently elected by the State Legislature to succeed Tallmadge.

North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina

There were three elections due to the November 16, 1840, resignations of Democrats Bedford Brown and Robert Strange.

North Carolina (special, class 2)

Whig Willie Mangum was elected November 25, 1840, to finish Brown's term that would end in March 1841.

North Carolina (regular)

Mangum was later re-elected in 1841 to the next term.

North Carolina (special, class 3)

Whig William Alexander Graham was elected November 25, 1840, to finish Strange's term that would end in 1843.

Pennsylvania

Main article: 1840 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania and 1840 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

The election was held on January 14, 1840, after the regularly scheduled election in December 1838 was postponed due to the Buckshot War. Daniel Sturgeon was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[9][10]

Democrat Samuel McKean was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the 1832–1833 Senate election. Sen. McKean's term was to expire on March 4, 1839, and an election would have occurred during the winter of 1838–1839 elect a senator for the successive term. The election did not occur, however, due to significant political unrest in Harrisburg, the state capital, over disputed election returns during the Buckshot War. McKean's seat was vacated when his term expired in March 1839 and remained vacant until the General Assembly elected a new senator in 1840.^[9]

The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 14, 1840, to elect a senator to serve out the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1839. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Sturgeon	87	65.41%
	Whig	Charles Ogle	26	19.55%
	Anti-Masonic	Richard Biddle	17	12.78%
	N/A	Not voting	3	2.26%
Total votes			133	100.00%

Rhode Island

See also: List of United States senators from Rhode Island and 1841 United States House of Representatives election in Rhode Island

South Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina and 1840 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

Tennessee

See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

Tennessee (special)

Tennessee (regular)

Virginia

See also: List of United States senators from Virginia and 1841 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia

Virginia (regular)

Virginia (special)

See also

• 1840 United States elections
  • 1840 United States presidential election
  • 1840–41 United States House of Representatives elections
• 26th United States Congress
• 27th United States Congress