United States Senate elections, 1872 and 1873

Dates vary by state
(And other dates for special elections)

24 of the 74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 38 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Party	Republican	Democratic
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

Majority Party before election

Republican Party

Elected Majority Party

Republican Party

The United States Senate elections of 1872 and 1873 were elections which had the Republican Party, while still retaining a commanding majority, lose two seats in the United States Senate. By the beginning of the Congress, however, they'd lost three more: two as defections to the Liberal Republican Party, and one a resignation of Henry Wilson to become U.S. Vice President. These elections also coincided with President Ulysses S. Grant's easy re-election.

As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by State legislatures.

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 Senate composition

Before the elections

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

R₄₈ Unknown	R₄₉ Unknown	R₅₀ Unknown	R₅₁ Retired	R₅₂ Retired	R₅₃ Retired	R₅₄ Retired	R₅₅ Retired	R₅₆ Resigned	LR₁ Retired
D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅ Ran	D₁₆ Unknown	D₁₇ Unknown
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

R₄₈ Hold	R₄₉ Hold	R₅₀ Hold	R₅₁ Hold	R₅₂ Hold	R₅₃ Gain	LR₁ Re-elected, new party	V₁ R Loss	D₁₉ Gain	D₁₈ Gain
D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅ Hold	D₁₆ Hold	D₁₇ Hold
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
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
North Carolina (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. Winner elected January 30, 1872. Democratic gain.	√ Matt W. Ransom (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Kentucky (Class 3)	Willis B. Machen	Democratic	1872 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 21, 1873 to finish the term.	√ Willis B. Machen (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Louisiana	William P. Kellogg	Republican	1868	Incumbent resigned November 1, 1872 to become Governor of Louisiana. The seat remained vacant for the remainder of the term. The seat also remained vacant until January 12, 1876, due to a Senate dispute, see below.^[1] Republican loss.	Pinckney B. S. Pinchback (Republican) William L. McMillen (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]

Races leading to the 43rd Congress

In these general 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
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	George E. Spencer	Republican	1868 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1872.	√ George E. Spencer (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Arkansas	Benjamin F. Rice	Republican	1868 (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	√ Stephen W. Dorsey (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
California	Cornelius Cole	Republican	1866 or 1867	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	√ Aaron A. Sargent (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Connecticut	Orris S. Ferry	Republican	1866	Incumbent re-elected in 1872 in a new party. Liberal Republican gain.	√ Orris S. Ferry (Liberal Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Florida	Thomas W. Osborn	Republican	1868 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	√ Simon B. Conover (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Georgia	Joshua Hill	Republican	1867 (Won, but not seated) 1871 (Admitted)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1873. Democratic gain.	√ John Brown Gordon (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Illinois	Lyman Trumbull	Liberal Republican	1854 or 1855 1861 1867	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican gain.	√ Richard J. Oglesby (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Iowa	James Harlan	Republican	1855 1857 (Election invalidated) 1857 (Special) 1860 1865 (Resigned) 1866	Incumbent lost renomination. Winner elected January 17, 1872.^[2] Republican hold.	√ William B. Allison (Republican) Joseph C. Knapp (Democratic)
Indiana	Oliver P. Morton	Republican	1867	Incumbent re-elected in 1873.	√ Oliver P. Morton (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Kansas	Samuel C. Pomeroy	Republican	1861 1867	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1873. Republican hold.	√ John Ingalls (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Kentucky	Willis B. Machen	Democratic	1872 (Appointed) 1873 (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1872. Democratic hold.	√ Thomas C. McCreery (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Louisiana	Vacant			Predecessor had resigned November 1, 1872 to become Governor of Louisiana. The seat remained vacant for the remainder of the term, see above. The seat also remained vacant until January 12, 1876, due to a Senate dispute.^[1]	Pinckney B. S. Pinchback (Republican) William L. McMillen (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Maryland	George Vickers	Democratic	1868 (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1872 or in 1873. Democratic hold.	√ George R. Dennis (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Missouri	Francis Blair	Democratic	1871 (Special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1872 or 1873. Democratic hold.	√ Lewis V. Bogy (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Nevada	James W. Nye	Republican	1865 1867	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1873. Republican hold.	√ John P. Jones (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
New Hampshire	James W. Patterson	Republican	1866 or 1867	Incumbent lost renomination. Winner elected in 1872. Republican hold.	√ Bainbridge Wadleigh (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
New York	Roscoe Conkling	Republican	1867	Incumbent re-elected January 21, 1873.	√ Roscoe Conkling (Republican) Charles A. Wheaton (Democratic) William M. Evarts (Republican) Henry R. Selden (Liberal Republican)
North Carolina	John Pool	Republican	1868 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1872. Democratic gain.	√ Augustus Merrimon (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Ohio	John Sherman	Republican	1861 (Special) 1866	Incumbent re-elected in 1872.	√ John Sherman (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Oregon	Henry W. Corbett	Republican	1866 or 1867	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1872. Republican hold.	√ John H. Mitchell (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Pennsylvania	Simon Cameron	Republican	1867	Incumbent re-elected January 21, 1873.	√ Simon Cameron (Republican) 57.14% William A. Wallace (Democratic) 37.59% Thomas Marshall (Liberal Republican) 0.75% Hendrick Wright (Democratic) 0.75%
South Carolina	Frederick A. Sawyer	Republican	1868	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1872 or 1873. Republican hold.	√ John J. Patterson (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Vermont	Justin S. Morrill	Republican	1866	Incumbent re-elected in 1872.	√ Justin S. Morrill (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Wisconsin	Timothy O. Howe	Republican	1861 1866	Incumbent re-elected in 1872.	√ Timothy O. Howe (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]

Elections during the 43rd Congress

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

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Massachusetts (Class 2)	Henry Wilson	Republican	1855 (Special) 1859 1865 1871	Incumbent resigned. Winner elected March 17, 1873. Republican hold.	√ George S. Boutwell (Republican) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
California (Class 1)	Eugene Casserly	Democratic	1868	Incumbent resigned. Winner elected December 23, 1873. Democratic hold.	√ John S. Hager (Democratic) [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]

Complete list of races

New York

The New York election was held January 21, 1873.^[3] 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 2 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^[4]	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 D.), the vote for Ex-Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Henry R. Selden by Gabriel T. Harrower (27th D.). Allen, Harrower and Abiah W. Palmer (11th D.) were the three Liberal Republicans in the State Senate.

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.^[5]

State Legislature Results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Simon Cameron (Inc.)	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%

References

1 2 Taft, et al., pages 483–512
↑ Clark, page 167
↑ 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.
↑ Charles A. Wheaton (1834-1886), lawyer, of Poughkeepsie, First Judge of the Dutchess County Court 1863-67
1 2 "U.S. Senate Election - 21 January 1873" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy, ed. "The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992". United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). "History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa". Iowa City, Iowa.
Taft, George S.; Furber, George P.; Buck, George M.; Webb, Charles A.; Pierce, Herbert R. (1913). "Compilation of Senate Election Cases from 1789 to 1913". U.S. Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Members of the 43rd United States Congress
ALBANY.; Unanimous Nomination of Roscoe Conkling for U.S. Senator in NYT on January 9, 1873
ALBANY.; Nomination of Roscoe Conkling as United States Senator in NYT on January 22, 1873
The Life and Letters of Roscoe Conkling: Orator, Statesman and Advocate by Alfred R. Conkling (page 449) [gives wrong date for governor's inauguration "January 6", the inauguration happens invariably on January 1; and adds non-existent middle initial "G."]
Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project

United States Senate elections

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