1844 and 1845 United States Senate elections

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 summary

Senate Party Division, 29th Congress (1845–1847)

• Majority Party: Democratic (26–31)
• Minority Party: Whig (24)
• Other Parties: (0–1)
• Vacant: (4–2)
• Total Seats: 54–58

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

				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 →
W17 Ran	W18 Ran	W19 Ran	W20 Ran	W21 Unknown	W22 Unknown	W23 Retired	W24 Retired	W25 Retired	W26 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 →
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 ↑
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
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
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Rhode Island (Class 1)	William Sprague	Whig	1842 (Special)	Incumbent resigned January 17, 1844. New senator elected January 25, 1844. Law and Order gain.	Y John B. Francis (Law and Order) [data unknown/missing]
Louisiana (Class 3)	Alexander Porter	Whig	1833 (Special) 1837 (Resigned) 1843	Incumbent died January 13, 1844. New senator elected February 12, 1844. Whig hold.	Y Henry Johnson (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
Arkansas (Class 2)	William S. Fulton	Democratic	1836 (Special) 1840	Incumbent died August 15, 1844. New senator elected November 8, 1844. Democratic hold.	Y Chester Ashley (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
New York (Class 1)	Daniel S. Dickinson	Democratic	1844 (Appointed)	Appointee elected January 18, 1845. New senator would later be elected to the next term, see below.	Y 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. New senator elected January 18, 1845. Democratic hold.	Y John Adams Dix (Democratic) 27 Willis Hall (Whig) 3 Harman B. Cropsey (American Republican) 1

Races leading to the 29th Congress

In these regular 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
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Connecticut	Jabez W. Huntington	Whig	1840 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1844 or 1845.	Y Jabez W. Huntington (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
Delaware	Richard H. Bayard	Whig	1836 (Special) 1838 or 1839 1839 (Resigned) 1841 (Special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1845. Whig hold.	Y John M. Clayton (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
Florida	New state			Florida was admitted March 3, 1845, but its first Class 1 senator elected late, during the next Congress. Vacant.	None.
Indiana	Albert White	Whig	1838	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1844. Democratic gain.	Y Jesse D. Bright (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Maine	John Fairfield	Democratic	1843 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1844 or 1845.	Y John Fairfield (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Maryland	William Merrick	Whig	1838 (Special) 1839	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1844 or 1845. Whig hold.	Y Reverdy Johnson (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
Massachusetts	Rufus Choate	Whig	1841 (Special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1845. Whig hold.	Y Daniel Webster (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
Michigan	Augustus S. Porter	Whig	1840 (Special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1844 or 1845. Democratic gain.	Y Lewis Cass (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Mississippi	John Henderson	Whig	1838	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost. New senator elected in 1844. Democratic gain.	Y Jesse Speight (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Missouri	Thomas H. Benton	Democratic	1821 1827 1833 1839	Incumbent re-elected in 1845.	Y Thomas H. Benton (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
New Jersey	William L. Dayton	Whig	1842 (Appointed) ? (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1845.	Y William L. Dayton (Whig)
New York	Daniel S. Dickinson	Democratic	1844 (Appointed) 1845 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected February 4, 1845.	Y Daniel S. Dickinson (Democratic) 25 John C. Clark (Whig) 4
Ohio	Benjamin Tappan	Democratic	1838	Incumbent retired. New senator elected December 5, 1844.[1] Whig gain.	Y Thomas Corwin (Whig) David T. Disney (Democratic) 46 votes Ebenezer Lane 1 vote.[1]
Pennsylvania	Daniel Sturgeon	Democratic	1840	Incumbent re-elected January 14, 1845.	Y 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. New senator elected in 1844 or 1845. Whig gain.	Y Albert C. Greene (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
Tennessee	Ephraim H. Foster	Whig	1838 (Special) 1839 (Re-elected, but resigned) 1843 (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1844. Democratic gain.	Y Hopkins L. Turney (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Vermont	Samuel S. Phelps	Whig	1839	Incumbent re-elected in 1845.	Y Samuel S. Phelps (Whig) [data unknown/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 unknown/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
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Pennsylvania (Class 3)	James Buchanan	Democratic	1834 (Special) 1836 1843	Incumbent resigned March 5, 1845 to become U.S. Secretary of State. New senator elected March 13, 1845. Democratic hold.	Y 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. New senator elected March 24, 1845. Whig hold.	Y John Davis (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
Florida (Class 1)	New state			Florida was admitted March 3, 1845. Its first senators were elected July 1, 1845. Democratic gain.	Y David Levy Yulee (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Florida (Class 3)	New state			Florida was admitted March 3, 1845. Its first senators were elected July 1, 1845. Democratic gain.	Y James Westcott (Democratic) [data unknown/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.	Y John M. Berrien (Whig) [data unknown/missing]
South Carolina (Class 2)	Vacant			Incumbent Democrat Daniel E. Huger had resigned in the previous Congress. New senator was elected November 26, 1845. Democratic gain.	Y John C. Calhoun (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Virginia (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected late December 3, 1845. Democratic gain.	Y Isaac S. Pennybacker (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]

Arkansas (Special)

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Florida (Regular)

Florida (Special)

Georgia (Special)

Indiana

Louisiana (Special)

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Massachusetts (Regular)

Massachusetts (Special)

Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

New Jersey

New York

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

The 68th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 14, 1845.

New York (Special, Class 1)

Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been re-elected in 1840 to the Class 1 seat (term 1839-1845), but resigned June 17, 1844 to become Governor of Wisconsin Territory. On November 30, Governor of New York William C. Bouck appointed his Democratic Lieutenant Governor Daniel S. Dickinson to fill the vacancy temporarily, and Dickinson was seated December 9, 1844.

January 18, 1845 United States Senator special election, Class 1

House	Democratic		Whig		American Republican
State Senate (32 members)	Y Daniel S. Dickinson	27	Millard Fillmore	3	Jonathan Thompson	1
State Assembly (128 members)	Y Daniel S. Dickinson

New York (Special, Class 3)

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

January 18, 1845 United States Senator special election, Class 3

House	Democratic		Whig		American Republican
State Senate (32 members)	Y John Adams Dix	27	Willis Hall	3	Harman B. Cropsey	1
State Assembly (128 members)	Y John Adams Dix

Dix took his seat on January 27, 1845, and remained in office until March 3, 1849, when his term expired.

New York (Regular)

February 4, 1845 United States Senator election, Class 1

House	Democratic		Whig
State Senate (32 members)	Y Daniel S. Dickinson	25	John C. Clark	4
State Assembly (128 members)	Y 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.

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania (Regular)

The regular election was held 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 (Incumbent)	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%

Pennsylvania (Special)

A special election was held March 13, 1845. Simon Cameron was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[4] Democratic future-U.S. president James Buchanan was elected in an 1834 special election and was re-elected in 1836 and 1843.

Senator Buchanan resigned on March 5, 1845, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of State by President James K. Polk.^[5]

Following the resignation of senator Buchanan, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 13, 1845, to elect a new Ssenator 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%

Rhode Island

Rhode Island (Regular)

Rhode Island (Special)

South Carolina (Special)

Tennessee

Vermont

Virginia

Virginia (Regular)

Virginia (Special)

See also

• United States elections, 1844
  • 1844 United States presidential election
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1844
• 29th United States Congress
• 30th United States Congress

References

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
• Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900. State of Ohio.
• 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)