1844–45 United States Senate elections

United States Senate elections, 1844 and 1845
18 of the 54 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections); 27 seats needed for a majority
Majority Party before election; Whig;	Elected Majority Party ; Democratic;

The United States Senate elections of 1844 and 1845 were elections which, coinciding with James K. Polk's election, had the Democratic Party retake control of the United States Senate, gaining a net total of eleven seats from the Whigs.

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

Results

29th Congress (1845–1847)

Majority Party: Democratic (34)
Minority Party: Whig (22)
Other Parties: (0)
Vacant: (2)
Total Seats: 58

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

W₁₇ Ran	W₁₈ Ran	W₁₉ Ran	W₂₀ Ran	W₂₁ Unknown	W₂₂ Unknown	W₂₃ Retired	W₂₄ Retired	W₂₅ Retired	W₂₆ Retired
				D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆
D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉	D₈	D₇
D₁₇	D₁₈	D₁₉	D₂₀ Ran	D₂₁ Ran	D₂₂ Ran	D₂₃ Ran	D₂₄ Retired	LO₁ Retired	W₂₇ Retired
Majority →									W₂₇ Retired
W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂	W₁₁	W₁₀	W₉	W₈	W₇
				W₁	W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆

Result of the elections

			D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇
D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉	D₈
D₁₈	D₁₉	D₂₀ Re-elected	D₂₁ Re-elected	D₂₂ Re-elected	D₂₃ Re-elected	D₂₄ Gain	D₂₅ Gain	D₂₆ Gain	D₂₇ Gain
Majority →									D₂₇ Gain
W₁₈ Re-elected	W₁₉ Re-elected	W₂₀ Hold	W₂₁ Hold	W₂₂ Hold	W₂₃ Gain	W₂₄ Gain	V₁ W Loss	V₂ New seat	V₃ New seat
W₁₇ Re-elected	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂	W₁₁	W₁₀	W₉	W₈
			W₁	W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇

Beginning of the next Congress

			D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇
D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉	D₈
D₁₈	D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	V₄ D Loss
Majority ↑									V₄ D Loss
W₁₈	W₁₉	W₂₀	W₂₁	W₂₂	W₂₃	W₂₄	V₁	V₂	V₃
W₁₇	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂	W₁₁	W₁₀	W₉	W₈
			W₁	W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇

Beginning of the first session of the next Congress (December 1, 1845)

			D₁	D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇
D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂	D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉	D₈
D₁₈	D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁	D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄ Hold	D₂₅ Hold	D₂₆ Hold	D₂₇ Gain
Majority →									D₂₈ Gain
W₁₈	W₁₉	W₂₀	W₂₁	W₂₂	W₂₃ Hold	W₂₄ Hold	D₃₀ Gain	D₂₉ Gain	D₂₈ Gain
W₁₇	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂	W₁₁	W₁₀	W₉	W₈
			W₁	W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇

Key:

D_#	Democratic
LO_#	Law and Order
W_#	Whig
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 28th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1844 or in 1845 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Rhode Island (Class 1)	William Sprague	Whig	1842 (Special)	Incumbent resigned January 17, 1844. Winner elected January 25, 1844. Law and Order gain.	√ John B. Francis (Law and Order) [data missing]
Louisiana (Class 3)	Alexander Porter	Whig	1833 (Special) 1837 (Resigned) 1843	Incumbent died January 13, 1844. Winner elected February 12, 1844. Whig hold.	√ Henry Johnson (Whig) [data missing]
Arkansas (Class 2)	William S. Fulton	Democratic	1836 (Special) 1840	Incumbent died August 15, 1844. Winner elected November 8, 1844. Democratic hold.	√ Chester Ashley (Democratic) [data missing]
New York (Class 1)	Daniel S. Dickinson	Democratic	1844 (Appointed)	Appointee elected January 18, 1845. Winner would later be elected to the next term, see below.	√ Daniel S. Dickinson (Democratic) 27 Millard Fillmore (Whig) 3 Jonathan Thompson (American Republican) 1
New York (Class 3)	Henry A. Foster	Democratic	1844 (Appointed)	Unknown if appointee retired or lost election. Winner elected January 18, 1845. Democratic hold.	√ John Adams Dix (Democratic) 27 Willis Hall (Whig) 3 Harman B. Cropsey (American Republican) 1

Races leading to the 29th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1845; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Connecticut	Jabez W. Huntington	Whig	1840 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1844 or 1845.	√ Jabez W. Huntington (Whig) [data missing]
Delaware	Richard H. Bayard	Whig	1836 (Special) 1838 or 1839 1839 (Resigned) 1841 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1845. Whig hold.	√ John M. Clayton (Whig) [data missing]
Florida	New state			Florida was admitted March 3, 1845, but its first Class 1 Senator was elected late, during the next Congress. Vacant.	None.
Indiana	Albert White	Whig	1838	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1844. Democratic gain.	√ Jesse D. Bright (Democratic) [data missing]
Maine	John Fairfield	Democratic	1843 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1844 or 1845.	√ John Fairfield (Democratic) [data missing]
Maryland	William Merrick	Whig	1838 (Special) 1839	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1844 or 1845. Whig hold.	√ Reverdy Johnson (Whig) [data missing]
Massachusetts	Rufus Choate	Whig	1841 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1845. Whig hold.	√ Daniel Webster (Whig) [data missing]
Michigan	Augustus S. Porter	Whig	1840 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1844 or 1845. Democratic gain.	√ Lewis Cass (Democratic) [data missing]
Mississippi	John Henderson	Whig	1838	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost. Winner elected in 1844. Democratic gain.	√ Jesse Speight (Democratic) [data missing]
Missouri	Thomas H. Benton	Democratic	1821 1827 1833 1839	Incumbent re-elected in 1845.	√ Thomas H. Benton (Democratic) [data missing]
New Jersey	William L. Dayton	Whig	1842 (Appointed) ? (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1845.	√ William L. Dayton (Whig)
New York	Daniel S. Dickinson	Democratic	1844 (Appointed) 1845 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected February 4, 1845.	√ Daniel S. Dickinson (Democratic) 25 John C. Clark (Whig) 4
Ohio	Benjamin Tappan	Democratic	1838	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1844 or 1845 Whig gain.	√ Thomas Corwin (Whig) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	Daniel Sturgeon	Democratic	1840	Incumbent re-elected January 14, 1845.	√ Daniel Sturgeon (Democratic) 54.14% James Cooper (Whig) 36.84% John Ashmead (Know Nothing) 3.76% E. W. Keyser (Know Nothing) 1.50% Jacob Broom (Know Nothing) 0.75% E. C. Reigert (Know Nothing) 0.75% John Sergeant (Whig) 0.75% Not voting 1.50%
Rhode Island	John B. Francis	Law and Order	1844 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1844 or 1845. Whig gain.	√ Albert C. Greene (Whig) [data missing]
Tennessee	Ephraim H. Foster	Whig	1838 (Special) 1839 (Re-elected, but resigned) 1843 (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1844. Democratic gain.	√ Hopkins L. Turney (Democratic) [data missing]
Vermont	Samuel S. Phelps	Whig	1839	Incumbent re-elected in 1845.	√ Samuel S. Phelps (Whig) [data missing]
Virginia	William C. Rives	Whig	1832 (Special) 1834 (Resigned) 1836 (Special) 1839 (Legislature failed to elect) 1841 (Special)	Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss.	[data missing]

Special elections during the 29th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were elected in 1845 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Pennsylvania (Class 3)	James Buchanan	Democratic	1834 (Special) 1836 1843	Incumbent resigned March 5, 1845 to become U.S. Secretary of State. Successor elected March 13, 1845. Democratic hold.	√ Simon Cameron (Democratic) 50.38% George W. Woodward (Democratic) 41.35% J. R. Ingersoll (Whig) 1.50% John Banks (Whig) 0.75% Peter A. Brown (Know Nothing) 0.75% Thomas S. Bell (Unknown) 0.75% T. D. Cochran (Whig) 0.75% Not voting 3.76%
Massachusetts (Class 2)	Isaac C. Bates	Whig	1841 (Special) 1841	Incumbent died March 16, 1845. Successor elected March 24, 1845. Whig hold.	√ John Davis (Whig) [data missing]
Florida (Class 1)	New state			Florida was admitted March 3, 1845. Its first Senators were elected July 1, 1845. Democratic gain.	√ David Levy Yulee (Democratic) [data missing]
Florida (Class 3)	New state			Florida was admitted March 3, 1845. Its first Senators were elected July 1, 1845. Democratic gain.	√ James Westcott (Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia (Class 2)	John M. Berrien	Whig	1825 1829 (Resigned) 1840	Incumbent resigned in May 1845 to become judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia. He did not remain on the court, however, and was re-elected November 13, 1845. Whig hold.	√ John M. Berrien (Whig) [data missing]
South Carolina (Class 2)	Vacant			Incumbent Democrat Daniel E. Huger had resigned in the previous Congress. Winner was elected November 26, 1845. Democratic gain.	√ John C. Calhoun (Democratic) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. Winner elected late December 3, 1845. Democratic gain.	√ Isaac S. Pennybacker (Democratic) [data missing]

Complete list of races

New York

Two special elections were held on January 18, 1845 and one regular election was held on February 4, 1845.

Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been re-elected in 1840 to the Class 1 seat (term 1839-1845), but resigned on June 17, 1844, to be appointed Governor of Wisconsin Territory by President John Tyler. On November 30, Governor William C. Bouck appointed Lieutenant Governor Daniel S. Dickinson to fill the vacancy temporarily, and Dickinson took his seat on December 9, 1844.

Silas Wright, Jr. had been re-elected in 1843 to the Class 3 seat (term 1843-1849), but resigned on November 26, 1844, after his election as Governor of New York. On November 30, Governor William C. Bouck appointed State Senator Henry A. Foster to fill the vacancy temporarily, and Foster took his seat on December 9, 1844.

The 68th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 14, 1845, and the majority Democrats were split between two factions: the "Hunkers" and the "Barnburners". At the Democratic caucus for Speaker Hunker Horatio Seymour received 35 votes against 30 for Barnburner William C. Crain. Both of the temporarily appointed U.S. Senators, Dickinson and Foster, were also Hunkers, but the Barnburners claimed one of the seats.

A Democratic caucus to nominate candidates for the U.S. Senate met in January^[1] with 93 state legislators present. To fill the Class 3 vacancy caused by the resignation of Silas Wright, Barnburner John Adams Dix was nominated with 51 votes against Hunker Chief Justice Samuel Nelson with 41 votes. To fill the Class 1 vacancy caused by the resignation of Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, for the remainder of the term which would expire on March 3 next, the incumbent Hunker appointee, Daniel S. Dickinson, was re-nominated.

After these nominations were made, it was moved to adjourn, and to postpone the nomination of a candidate for the full term beginning on March 4, which was rejected by a vote of 55 to 37. Dickinson was then nominated to succeed himself for a full term (1845-1851). The vote was 54 for Dickinson, 13 votes for the Barnburner ex-Congressman Michael Hoffman, 3 votes for the Barnburner ex-Congressman Freeborn G. Jewett , 1 for Hunker Samuel Nelson, and 4 blanks. Many Barnburners refused to vote on this nomination, and then opposed the motion to make the nomination unanimous.

**January 18, 1845 United States Senator special election, Class 3**
House	Democratic		Whig		American Republican
State Senate (32 members)	√ John Adams Dix	27	Willis Hall	3	Harman B. Cropsey	1
State Assembly (128 members)	√ John Adams Dix

**January 18, 1845 United States Senator special election, Class 1**
House	Democratic		Whig		American Republican
State Senate (32 members)	√ Daniel S. Dickinson	27	Millard Fillmore	3	Jonathan Thompson	1
State Assembly (128 members)	√ Daniel S. Dickinson

**February 4, 1845 United States Senator election, Class 1**
House	Democratic		Whig
State Senate (32 members)	√ Daniel S. Dickinson	25	John C. Clark	4
State Assembly (128 members)	√ Daniel S. Dickinson

Dickinson re-took his seat under the new credentials on January 27, 1845, and re-elected, remained in office until March 3, 1851, when his term expired. Dix took his seat on January 27, 1845, and remained in office until March 3, 1849, when his term expired.

Pennsylvania

The general election was held on January 14, 1845. Incumbent Daniel Sturgeon was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[2] The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 14, 1845, to elect a Senator to serve the term beginning on March 4, 1845. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[2]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Sturgeon (Inc.)	72	54.14
	Whig	James Cooper	49	36.84
	Know Nothing	John Ashmead	5	3.76
	Know Nothing	E. W. Keyser	2	1.50
	Know Nothing	Jacob Broom	1	0.75
	Know Nothing	E. C. Reigert	1	0.75
	Whig	John Sergeant	1	0.75
	N/A	Not voting	2	1.50
Totals			133	100.00%

A special election was held on March 13, 1845. Simon Cameron was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[4] Democrat and future President of the United States James Buchanan was elected to the United States Senate by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, in an 1834 special election and was re-elected in 1836 and 1843. Sen. Buchanan resigned on March 5, 1845, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of State by President James K. Polk.^[5] Following the resignation of Sen. Buchanan, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 13, 1845, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy and serve the remainder of the term set to expire on March 4, 1849. Five ballots were recorded. The results of the fifth and final ballot of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Simon Cameron	67	50.38
	Democratic	George W. Woodward	55	41.35
	Whig	J. R. Ingersoll	2	1.50
	Whig	John Banks	1	0.75
	Know Nothing	Peter A. Brown	1	0.75
	Unknown	Thomas S. Bell	1	0.75
	Whig	T. D. Cochran	1	0.75
	N/A	Not voting	5	3.76
Totals			133	100.00%

References

^ The exact date is unclear. Hammond writes on February 24, which is an obvious mistake.^{[citation needed]} Hammond also confuses the date of the special election and the regular election. Although the nominations for the special and the regular elections were made at the same caucus, the elections were held on different dates. The special election took place in January, the U.S. Senators were recorded in the congressional journals as taking their seats on January 27. The regular election took place on the regular election day, the first Tuesday in February, together with the election of the other State officers.
^ ^a ^b "U.S. Senate Election - 14 January 1845" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
^ "PA US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "U.S. Senate Election - 13 March 1845" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
^ "BUCHANAN, James, (1791 - 1868)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

Sources and external links

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
Members of the 28th United States Congress, via GPOaccess.gov
Members of the 29th United States Congress, via GPOaccess.gov
Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project
The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators; pg. 134f for State Senators 1845; pg. 230f for Members of Assembly 1845)
Political History of the State of New York, from Jan. 1, 1841, to Jan. 1, 1847; Vol. III by Jabez Delano Hammond (State election, 1844: pg. 505f; appointments, 1844: pg. 508f; Speaker election, 1845: pg. 518; U.S. Senate nominations, 1845: pg. 526ff) [gives wrong date for caucus, and election]
Abridgment of the Debates in Congress, from 1789 to 1856: Dec. 4, 1843 to June 18, 1846 (page 197)
Journal of the Senate (68th Session) (1845; pg. 77f and 142f)

[1] The exact date is unclear. Hammond writes on February 24, which is an obvious mistake.^{[citation needed]} Hammond also confuses the date of the special election and the regular election. Although the nominations for the special and the regular elections were made at the same caucus, the elections were held on different dates. The special election took place in January, the U.S. Senators were recorded in the congressional journals as taking their seats on January 27. The regular election took place on the regular election day, the first Tuesday in February, together with the election of the other State officers.

[results2-2] "U.S. Senate Election - 14 January 1845" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

[3] "PA US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

[results1-4] "U.S. Senate Election - 13 March 1845" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

[5] "BUCHANAN, James, (1791 - 1868)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

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