1872–73 United States Senate elections

The 1872–73 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with President Ulysses S. Grant's re-election. 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 1872 and 1873, 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.

1872–73 United States Senate elections

← 1870 & 1871 Dates vary by state (And other dates for special elections) 1874 & 1875 →
24 of the 74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 38 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Henry B. Anthony[a] Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1863 Leader's seat Rhode Island Last election 58 seats 9 seats Seats before 56 17 Seats won 18 5 Seats after 54 19 Seat change 2 2 Seats up 20 3   Third party   Party Liberal Republican Last election 0 seats Seats before 1 Seats won 0 Seats after 0 Seat change 1 Seats up 1
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      Liberal Republican gain      Legislature failed to elect
Majority Party before election Republican Elected Majority Party Republican

The Republican Party, while still retaining a commanding majority, lost two seats. By the beginning of the Congress, however, they would lose three more: two as defections to the Liberal Republican Party, and one a resignation of Henry Wilson to become U.S. Vice President. This remains the last election in which Republicans held a 2/3 majority in the Senate.

Results summary

Senate party division, 43rd Congress (1873–1875)

• Majority party: Republican (50–51)
• Minority party: Democratic (19–20)
• Other parties: Liberal Republican (3–2)
• Vacant: (2–1)
• Total seats: 74

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the January 30, 1872 special election in North Carolina.

D7	D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1
D8	D9	D10	D11	D12	D13	D14	D15 Ran	D16 Unknown	D17 Unknown
R48 Unknown	R49 Unknown	R50 Unknown	R51 Retired	R52 Retired	R53 Retired	R54 Retired	R55 Retired	R56 Resigned	LR1 Retired
R47 Ran	R46 Ran	R45 Ran	R44 Ran	R43 Ran	R42 Ran	R41 Ran	R40 Ran	R39 Ran	R38 Ran
Majority →
R28	R29	R30	R31	R32	R33	R34	R35	R36	R37 Ran
R27	R26	R25	R24	R23	R22	R21	R20	R19	R18
R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17
R7	R6	R5	R4	R3	R2	R1

Result of the elections

D7	D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1
D8	D9	D10	D11	D12	D13	D14	D15 Hold	D16 Hold	D17 Hold
R48 Hold	R49 Hold	R50 Hold	R51 Hold	R52 Hold	R53 Gain	LR1 Re-elected, new party	V1 R Loss	D19 Gain	D18 Gain
R47 Hold	R46 Hold	R45 Hold	R44 Hold	R43 Re-elected	R42 Re-elected	R41 Re-elected	R40 Re-elected	R39 Re-elected	R38 Re-elected
Majority →									R37 Re-elected
R28	R29	R30	R31	R32	R33	R34	R35	R36
R27	R26	R25	R24	R23	R22	R21	R20	R19	R18
R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17
R7	R6	R5	R4	R3	R2	R1

Beginning of the next Congress

D7	D6	D5	D4	D3	D2	D1
D8	D9	D10	D11	D12	D13	D14	D15	D16	D17
R48	R49	R50	LR1	LR2 Changed	LR3 Changed	V1	V2 Resigned	D19	D18
R47	R46	R45	R44	R43	R42	R41	R40	R39	R38
Majority →									R37
R28	R29	R30	R31	R32	R33	R34	R35	R36
R27	R26	R25	R24	R23	R22	R21	R20	R19	R18
R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17
R7	R6	R5	R4	R3	R2	R1

Key:	D# Democratic LR# Liberal Republican R# Republican V# Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 42nd Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1872 or in 1873 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
North Carolina (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected January 30, 1872. Democratic gain.	▌Y Matt W. Ransom (Democratic) [data missing]
Kentucky (Class 3)	Willis B. Machen	Democratic	1872 (appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 21, 1873. Winner was not elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Willis B. Machen (Democratic) 104 ▌Richard Tarvin Baker (Republican) 18[2]
Louisiana (Class 3)	William P. Kellogg	Republican	1868	Incumbent resigned November 1, 1872 to become Governor of Louisiana. Legislature failed to elect. The seat remained vacant until January 12, 1876, due to a Senate dispute; see below.[3] Republican loss.	▌P. B. S. Pinchback (Republican) ▌John Ray (Unknown)[4] [data missing]

Races leading to the 43rd Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1873; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	George E. Spencer	Republican	1868 (readmission)	Incumbent re-elected in 1872.	▌Y George E. Spencer (Republican) [data missing]
Arkansas	Benjamin F. Rice	Republican	1868 (readmission)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	▌Y Stephen W. Dorsey (Republican) [data missing]
California	Cornelius Cole	Republican	1866–67	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	▌Y Aaron A. Sargent (Republican) [data missing]
Connecticut	Orris S. Ferry	Republican	1866	Incumbent re-elected May 15, 1872 as a Liberal Republican. Liberal Republican gain.	▌Y Orris S. Ferry (Liberal Republican) 51.55% ▌Joseph R. Hawley (Republican) 48.45%[5]
Florida	Thomas W. Osborn	Republican	1868 (readmission)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	▌Y Simon B. Conover (Republican) [data missing]
Georgia	Joshua Hill	Republican	1867 (not seated) 1871 (admitted)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1873. Democratic gain.	▌Y John Brown Gordon (Democratic) [data missing]
Illinois	Lyman Trumbull	Liberal Republican	1855 1861 1867	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 20, 1873. Republican gain.	▌Y Richard J. Oglesby (Republican) 54.53% ▌Lyman Trumbull (Liberal Republican) 42.47%[6]
Indiana	Oliver P. Morton	Republican	1867	Incumbent re-elected in 1873.	▌Y Oliver P. Morton (Republican) [data missing]
Iowa	James Harlan	Republican	1855 1857 (election voided) 1857 (special) 1860 1865 (resigned) 1866	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected January 17, 1872.[7] Republican hold.	▌Y William B. Allison (Republican) ▌Joseph C. Knapp (Democratic)
Kansas	Samuel C. Pomeroy	Republican	1861 1867	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1873. Republican hold.	▌Y John Ingalls (Republican) [data missing]
Kentucky	Willis B. Machen	Democratic	1872 (appointed)	Interim appointee retired or lost re-election. New senator elected December 19, 1871. Democratic hold. Winner was not elected to finish the current term, see above.	▌Y Thomas C. McCreery (Democratic) 112 ▌John Marshall Harlan (Republican) 20[8]
Louisiana	William P. Kellogg	Republican	1868	Incumbent resigned November 1, 1872 to become Governor of Louisiana. Legislature failed to elect and the seat remained vacant until January 12, 1876 due to a Senate dispute.[3]	▌P. B. S. Pinchback (Republican) ▌William L. McMillen (Republican) [data missing]
Maryland	George Vickers	Democratic	1868 (special)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1872 or 1873. Democratic hold.	▌Y George R. Dennis (Democratic) [data missing]
Missouri	Francis Blair	Democratic	1871 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1872 or 1873. Democratic hold.	▌Y Lewis V. Bogy (Democratic) [data missing]
Nevada	James W. Nye	Republican	1865 1867	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1873. Republican hold.	▌Y John P. Jones (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire	James W. Patterson	Republican	1866–67	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1872. Republican hold.	▌Y Bainbridge Wadleigh (Republican) [data missing]
New York	Roscoe Conkling	Republican	1867	Incumbent re-elected January 21, 1873.	▌Y Roscoe Conkling (Republican) ▌Charles A. Wheaton (Democratic) ▌William M. Evarts (Republican) ▌Henry R. Selden (Liberal Republican)
North Carolina	John Pool	Republican	1868 (readmission)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1872. Democratic gain.	▌Y Augustus Merrimon (Democratic) [data missing]
Ohio	John Sherman	Republican	1861 (special) 1866	Incumbent re-elected in 1872.	▌Y John Sherman (Republican) [data missing]
Oregon	Henry W. Corbett	Republican	1866–67	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1872. Republican hold.	▌Y John H. Mitchell (Republican) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	Simon Cameron	Republican	1867	Incumbent re-elected January 21, 1873.	▌Y Simon Cameron (Republican) 57.14% ▌William A. Wallace (Democratic) 37.59% ▌Thomas Marshall (Liberal Republican) 0.75% ▌Hendrick B. Wright (Democratic) 0.75%
South Carolina	Frederick A. Sawyer	Republican	1868	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	▌Y John J. Patterson (Republican) [data missing]
Vermont	Justin S. Morrill	Republican	1866	Incumbent re-elected in 1872.	▌Y Justin S. Morrill (Republican) [data missing]
Wisconsin	Timothy O. Howe	Republican	1861 1867	Incumbent re-elected January 22, 1873.[9]	▌Y Timothy O. Howe (Republican) 64.84% ▌ Henry L. Palmer (Democratic) 34.38% ▌ Charles A. Eldredge (Democratic) 0.78%

Elections during the 43rd Congress

In this election, the winner was elected in 1873 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Massachusetts (Class 2)	Henry Wilson	Republican	1855 (special) 1859 1865 1871	Incumbent resigned to become U.S. Vice President. New senator elected March 12, 1873.[10] Republican hold.	▌Y George S. Boutwell (Republican) 152 ▌Henry L. Dawes (Republican) 115 ▌George B. Loring (Republican) 2 ▌John K. Tarbox (Democratic) 2 ▌William Whiting (Democratic) 2 ▌C. G. Greene (Unknown) 2 votes[10]
California (Class 1)	Eugene Casserly	Democratic	1868	Incumbent resigned. New senator elected December 23, 1873.[11] Democratic hold.	▌Y John S. Hager (Democratic) ▌[FNU] Cole[b] (Republican) ▌[FNU] Goodwin (Unknown) ▌[FNU] Swift (Unknown) ▌[FNU] Lewis (Unknown) ▌[FNU] Edgerton (Unknown)[12]

Early election

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
California (Class 1)	Eugene Casserly	Democratic	1868	Incumbent resigned November 29, 1873. New senator elected early December 20, 1873.[13] Anti-Monopoly gain.	▌Y Newton Booth (Anti-Monopoly) 60 [data missing][13]

Alabama

See also: List of United States senators from Alabama and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama

Arkansas

See also: List of United States senators from Arkansas and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas

California

See also: List of United States senators from California and 1872 United States Senate election in California

California (regular, class 3)

California (special)

California (early)

Connecticut

See also: List of United States senators from Connecticut and 1873 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut

Florida

See also: List of United States senators from Florida and 1872 United States House of Representatives election in Florida

Georgia

See also: List of United States senators from Georgia and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia

Illinois

See also: List of United States senators from Illinois and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

Indiana

See also: List of United States senators from Indiana and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana

Iowa

See also: List of United States senators from Iowa and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa

Kansas

See also: List of United States senators from Kansas and 1872 United States House of Representatives election in Kansas

Kentucky

See also: List of United States senators from Kentucky and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

Kentucky (regular)

Kentucky (special)

Louisiana

See also: List of United States senators from Louisiana and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana

Louisiana (special)

Louisiana (regular)

Maryland

See also: List of United States senators from Maryland

1872 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1868 January 18, 1872 1878 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate George R. Dennis Lewis Henry Steiner Party Democratic Republican Legislative vote 81 11 Percentage 87.10% 11.83%

George R. Dennis was elected by a margin of 75.27%, or 70 votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[14]

Massachusetts (special)

Main article: 1873 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts

See also: List of United States senators from Massachusetts

Missouri

See also: List of United States senators from Missouri and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri

Nevada

See also: List of United States senators from Nevada and 1872 United States House of Representatives election in Nevada

New Hampshire

See also: List of United States senators from New Hampshire and 1873 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire

New York

Main article: 1873 United States Senate election in New York

See also: List of United States senators from New York and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in New York

The New York election was held on January 21, 1873.^[c] Republican Roscoe Conkling had been elected in January 1867 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1873.

At the State election in November 1871, 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1872–1873) in the State Senate. In 1872, a faction of the Republican Party opposed the re-election of President Ulysses S. Grant and the Radical Republicans who supported him, and under the name Liberal Republican Party nominated a joint ticket with the Democratic Party. At the State election in November 1872, 91 Republicans, 35 Democrats and two Independents were elected for the session of 1873 to the Assembly. The 96th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 30, 1873, at Albany, New York.

The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 8, State Senator William B. Woodin, of Auburn (25th D.), presided. 18 state senators and 88 assemblymen were present. They re-nominated Conkling unanimously. The caucus of the Democratic State legislators nominated Ex-First Judge of Dutchess County Charles Wheaton.

Roscoe Conkling was the choice of both the Assembly and the State Senate, and was declared elected.

House	Republican		Democratic		Republican		Liberal Republican
State Senate (32 members)	Roscoe Conkling	20	Charles A. Wheaton[d]	5	William M. Evarts	1	Henry R. Selden	1
State Assembly (128 members)	Roscoe Conkling	92	Charles A. Wheaton	26

Note: The vote for Ex-U.S. Attorney General William M. Evarts was cast by Norman M. Allen (32nd district), the vote for Ex-Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Henry R. Selden by Gabriel T. Harrower (27th district). Allen, Harrower and Abiah W. Palmer (11th district) were the three Liberal Republicans in the State Senate.

North Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from North Carolina and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina

North Carolina (regular)

North Carolina (late)

Ohio

See also: List of United States senators from Ohio and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio

Oregon

See also: List of United States senators from Oregon and 1872 United States House of Representatives election in Oregon

Pennsylvania

Main article: 1873 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

See also: List of United States senators from Pennsylvania and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania State Senate, voted on January 21, 1873. Incumbent Republican Simon Cameron, who was elected in 1867, won re-election.^[15]

State Legislature Results^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Simon Cameron (Incumbent)	76	57.14
	Democratic	William A. Wallace	50	37.59
	Liberal Republican	Thomas Marshall	1	0.75
	Democratic	Hendrick Wright	1	0.75
	N/A	Not voting	5	3.76
Totals			133	100.00%

South Carolina

See also: List of United States senators from South Carolina and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina

Vermont

See also: List of United States senators from Vermont and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Vermont

Wisconsin

Main article: 1873 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

See also: List of United States senators from Wisconsin and 1872 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin

The 26th Wisconsin Legislature met in joint session on January 22, 1873, to elect a U.S. senator. The voting was almost entirely along party lines, with five Democrats absent. Of the 128 in attendance, Timothy O. Howe received the votes of all but one of the Republican legislators, winning his third term as U.S. senator.^[9]

1st Vote of the 26th Wisconsin Legislature, January 22, 1873^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Timothy O. Howe (incumbent)	83	64.84%
	Democratic	Henry L. Palmer	44	34.38%
	Democratic	Charles A. Eldredge	1	0.78%
		Absent	5
Majority			65	50.78%
Total votes			128	96.24%
	Republican hold

See also

• 1872 United States elections
  • 1872–73 United States House of Representatives elections
  • 1872 United States presidential election
• 42nd United States Congress
• 43rd United States Congress

Notes

1. as Republican Conference Chair
2. Possibly Cornelius Cole
3. Although the votes were cast on January 21, both Houses met in a joint session on January 22 to compare nominations, and declare the result.^{[citation needed]}
4. Charles A. Wheaton (1834-1886), lawyer, of Poughkeepsie, First Judge of the Dutchess County Court 1863-67^{[citation needed]}