1876–77 United States Senate elections

1877 United States Senate election in West Virginia
	January 23–26, 1877
Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature
U.S. senator before election; Henry G. Davis; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Henry G. Davis; Democratic

1877 United States Senate special election in West Virginia
	January 23–26, 1877
Needed to win: Majority of votes cast jointly by the Legislature
U.S. senator before election; Samuel Price; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Frank Hereford; Democratic

1876–77 United States Senate elections
	Dates vary by state; (And other dates for special elections)
26 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections); 39 seats needed for a majority
	Results of the elections:; Democratic gain Democratic hold; Republican gain Republican hold; Independent gain
Majority Party before election; ; Republican	Elected Majority Party ; ; Republican

The 1876–77 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with Rutherford B. Hayes's narrow election as president. 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 1876 and 1877, 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.

Although the Republican Party maintained their Senate majority, the Democratic Party gained five seats.

Results summary

Senate party division, 45th Congress (1877–1879)

Majority party: Republican (39)
Minority party: Democratic (35)
Other parties: Anti-Monopoly (1), Independent (1)
Total seats: 76

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the November 15, 1876 elections in the new state of Colorado.

R₂₉ Ran	R₃₀ Ran	R₃₁ Ran	R₃₂ Ran	R₃₃ Ran	R₃₄ Ran	R₃₅ Ran	R₃₆ Ran	R₃₇ Ran	R₃₈ Ran
D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈ Retired	D₂₇ Retired	D₂₆ Ran	D₂₅ Ran	D₂₄ Ran	D₂₃ Ran	D₂₂ Ran	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉ Retired	D₃₀ Retired	AM₁	R₄₅ Retired	R₄₄ Retired	R₄₃ Retired	R₄₂ Retired	R₄₁ Unknown	R₄₀ Unknown	R₃₉ Unknown
Majority →									R₃₉ Unknown
R₂₈	R₂₇	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

After the elections

R₂₉ Re-elected	R₃₀ Re-elected	R₃₁ Re-elected	R₃₂ Re-elected	R₃₃ Re-elected	R₃₄ Hold	R₃₅ Hold	R₃₆ Hold	R₃₇ Hold	R₃₈ Hold
D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈ Hold	D₂₇ Hold	D₂₆ Hold	D₂₅ Re-elected	D₂₄ Re-elected	D₂₃ Re-elected	D₂₂ Re-elected	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉ Hold	D₃₀ Hold	D₃₁ Gain	D₃₂ Gain	D₃₃ Gain	D₃₄ Gain	D₃₅ Gain	I₁ Gain	AM₁	R₃₉ Hold
Majority →									R₃₉ Hold
R₂₈	R₂₇	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

Key:

AM_#	Anti-Monopoly Party
D_#	Democratic
I_#	Independent
R_#	Republican

Race summaries

Special elections during the 44th Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1876 or in 1877 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Louisiana (Class 3)	Vacant			Senate had declined to seat rival claimants William L. McMillen and P. B. S. Pinchback.[2] Senator elected January 12, 1876. Democratic gain.	▌Y James B. Eustis (Democratic) [data missing]
Connecticut (Class 3)	James E. English	Democratic	1875 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected May 17, 1876. Democratic hold.	▌Y William Henry Barnum (Democratic) [data missing]
Colorado (Class 2)	New state			Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. First senator elected November 15, 1876. Republican gain. New senator was also elected to the next term, see below.	▌Y Henry M. Teller (Republican) [data missing]
Colorado (Class 3)	New state			Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. First senator elected November 15, 1876. Republican gain.	▌Y Jerome B. Chaffee (Republican) [data missing]
Tennessee (Class 1)	David M. Key	Democratic	1875 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost special election. New senator elected January 19, 1877 on the 74th ballot. Democratic hold.	▌Y James E. Bailey (Democratic) 55 votes ▌David M. Key (Democratic) 38 votes ▌W. B. Bates (Unknown) 7 votes[3]
Maine (Class 2)	James G. Blaine	Republican	1876 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 17, 1877. New senator also elected to the next term, see below.	▌Y James G. Blaine (Republican) 139 votes ▌William P. Haines (Unknown) 33 votes[3]
West Virginia (Class 1)	Samuel Price	Democratic	1876 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost special election. New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the 5th ballot. Democratic hold.	▌Y Frank Hereford (Democratic) 70 votes ▌Samuel Price (Democratic) 10 votes ▌Henry S. Walker (Unknown) 4 votes ▌R. F. Dennis (Unknown) 1 vote ▌Other 1 vote[3]

Races leading to the 45th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1877; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	George Goldthwaite	Democratic	1870	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic hold.	▌Y John Tyler Morgan (Democratic) [data missing]
Arkansas	Powell Clayton	Republican	1870	Unknown if incumbent retired or ran for re-election. New senator elected January 16, 1877. Democratic gain.	▌Y Augustus Garland (Democratic) 113 votes[lower-alpha 3] ▌T. D. W. Youlee (Unknown) 8 votes
Colorado	Henry M. Teller	Republican	1876 (New state)	Incumbent re-elected in 1876 or 1877.	▌Y Henry M. Teller (Republican) [data missing]
Delaware	Eli Saulsbury	Democratic	1870	Incumbent re-elected in 1876.	▌Y Eli Saulsbury (Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia	Thomas M. Norwood	Democratic	1871 (Readmission)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot. Democratic hold.	▌Y Benjamin Harvey Hill (Democratic) 114 votes ▌Thomas M. Norwood (Democratic) 85 votes ▌Herschel V. Johnson (Democratic) 6 votes ▌James M. Smith (Democratic) 5 votes ▌Charles J. Jenkins (Democratic) 1 vote[3]
Illinois	John A. Logan	Republican	1870 or 1871	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 25, 1877 on the fortieth ballot. Independent gain.	▌Y David Davis (Independent) 101 votes ▌Charles B. Lawrence (Unknown) 94 votes ▌John C. Haines (Republican) 3 votes ▌John A. Logan (Republican) 1 vote ▌Other 1 vote[3]
Iowa	George G. Wright	Republican	1870	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 19, 1876. Republican hold.	▌Y Samuel J. Kirkwood (Republican) 108 ▌Shepard Leffler (Unknown) 37[4]
Kansas	James M. Harvey	Republican	1874 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New elected January 31, 1877 on the seventeenth ballot. Republican hold.	▌Y Preston B. Plumb (Republican) 89 votes ▌David P. Lowe (Republican) 63 votes ▌John Martin (Republican) 8 votes ▌Thomas A. Osborn (Republican) Eliminated ▌James M. Harvey (Republican) Eliminated ▌Others 3 votes[3]
Kentucky	John W. Stevenson	Democratic	1871	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic hold.	▌Y James B. Beck (Democratic) [data missing]
Louisiana	Joseph R. West	Republican	1870 or 1871	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 10, 1877.[3] Republican hold.	▌Y William P. Kellogg (Republican) [data missing]
Maine	James G. Blaine	Republican	1876 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 16, 1877.[3] New senator also elected to finish the term, see above.	▌Y James G. Blaine (Republican) 139 votes ▌William P. Haines (Unknown) 33 votes
Massachusetts	George S. Boutwell	Republican	1873 (special)	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1877. Republican hold.	▌Y George Frisbie Hoar (Republican) 146 votes ▌Josiah G. Abbott (Democratic) 62 votes ▌George S. Boutwell (Republican) 47 votes ▌Alexander H. Rice (Republican) 19 votes ▌Alexander H. Bullock (Republican) 1 vote ▌Julius H. Seelye (Independent) 1 vote ▌Paul A. Chadbourne (Republican) 1 vote[3]
Michigan	Thomas W. Ferry	Republican	1871	Incumbent re-elected in 1877.	▌Y Thomas W. Ferry (Republican) [data missing]
Minnesota	William Windom	Republican	1870 (Appointed) 1871	Incumbent re-elected in 1877.	▌Y William Windom (Republican) [data missing]
Mississippi	James L. Alcorn	Republican	1870	Unknown if incumbent retired or ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic gain.	▌Y Lucius Q.C. Lamar II (Democratic) [data missing]
Nebraska	Phineas Hitchcock	Republican	1870	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1877. Republican hold.	▌Y Alvin Saunders (Republican) ▌Phineas Hitchcock (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Aaron H. Cragin	Republican	1864 1870	Unknown if incumbent retired or ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1876. Republican hold.	▌Y Edward H. Rollins (Republican) [data missing]
New Jersey	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen	Republican	1870 or 1871	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 24, 1877. Democratic gain.	▌Y John R. McPherson (Democratic) 41 votes ▌Cortland Parker (Unknown) 18 votes ▌George M. Robeson (Republican) 11 votes ▌Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (Republican) 10 votes ▌William Walter Phelps (Republican) 1 vote[3]
North Carolina	Matt W. Ransom	Democratic	1872 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1876.	▌Y Matt W. Ransom (Democratic) [data missing]
Oregon	James K. Kelly	Democratic	1870	Incumbent retired. New senator's election year unknown. Democratic hold.	▌Y La Fayette Grover (Democratic) [data missing]
Rhode Island	Henry B. Anthony	Republican	1858 1864 1870	Incumbent re-elected in 1876.	▌Y Henry B. Anthony (Republican) [data missing]
South Carolina	Thomas J. Robertson	Republican	1868 (Readmission) 1870	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic gain.	▌Y Matthew Butler (Democratic) [data missing]
Tennessee	Henry Cooper	Democratic	1870 or 1871	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 10, 1877.[3] Democratic hold.	▌Y Isham G. Harris (Democratic) 77 votes ▌L. L. Hawkins (Unknown) 19 votes ▌James D. Porter (Democratic) 1 vote ▌Horace H. Harrison (Republican) 1 vote ▌W. B. Bates (Unknown) 1 vote[3]
Texas	Morgan C. Hamilton	Republican	1870 (Readmission) 1871	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1876. Democratic gain.	▌Y Richard Coke (Democratic) [data missing]
Virginia	John W. Johnston	Democratic	1870 (Readmission) 1871	Incumbent re-elected in 1877.	▌Y John W. Johnston (Democratic) [data missing]
West Virginia	Henry G. Davis	Democratic	1871	Incumbent re-elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot.	▌Y Henry G. Davis (Democratic) 60 votes ▌Charles J. Faulkner (Democratic) 19 votes ▌Gideon D. Camden (Democratic) 3 votes ▌John Brannon (Unknown) 2 votes ▌John J. Davis (Democratic) 1 vote ▌Other 1 vote[3]

Elections during the 45th Congress

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1877 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Pennsylvania (Class 3)	Simon Cameron	Republican	1857 1861 (Resigned) 1867 1873	Incumbent resigned March 12, 1877. Successor elected March 20, 1877. Republican hold.	▌Y J. Donald Cameron (Republican) ▌Andrew H. Dill (Democratic) ▌Hiester Clymer (Democratic) ▌Andrew G. Curtin (Democratic) ▌John Jackson (Democratic)
Ohio (Class 3)	John Sherman	Republican	1861 (special) 1866 1872	Incumbent resigned March 8, 1877 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. New senator elected March 21, 1877. Republican hold.	▌Y Stanley Matthews (Republican) 82 votes ▌Alfred Ginther (Unknown) 6 votes ▌Frank H. Hurd (Democratic) 1 vote[5] ▌Blank 34 votes

Alabama

Arkansas

Colorado

Connecticut (special)

Delaware

Georgia

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

North Carolina

Ohio (special)

Oregon

Pennsylvania (special)

The special election in Pennsylvania was held March 20, 1877.

Republican Senator Simon Cameron had been elected to the United States Senate by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in 1867 and was re-elected in 1873. Sen. Cameron resigned on March 12, 1877.[6]

Following the resignation of Simon Cameron, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on March 20, 1877, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy. Former United States Secretary of War J. Donald Cameron, Simon Cameron's son, was elected to complete his father's term, set to expire on March 4, 1879.[7] The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

Pennsylvania Results[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	J. Donald Cameron	147	58.57
	Democratic	Andrew H. Dill	92	36.65
	Democratic	Hiester Clymer	1	0.40
	Democratic	Andrew G. Curtin	1	0.40
	Democratic	John Jackson	1	0.40
	N/A	Not voting	9	3.59
Totals			251	100.00%

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia (special)

First-term Democrat Allen T. Caperton died July 26, 1876, in his second year in office. Fellow-Democrat Samuel Price was appointed August 26, 1876 to continue the term, pending a special election in which he was a candidate. Price lost the election to Democratic congressman Frank Hereford January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot.[3]

Y Frank Hereford (Democratic) 70 votes
Samuel Price 10 votes
Henry S. Walker 4 votes
R. F. Dennis 1 vote
Other 1 vote[3]

Hereford resigned from the House January 31, 1877, thereby qualifying for the Senate. He only finished the term and left office in 1881.

West Virginia (regular)

First-term Democrat Henry G. Davis was re-elected January 26, 1877 on the third ballot.

Y Henry G. Davis (Democratic) 60 votes
Charles J. Faulkner 19 votes
Gideon D. Camden 3 votes
John Brannon (politician) 2 votes
John J. Davis 1 vote
Scattering 1 vote[3]

Davis would retire after this second term, in 1883.

Notes

as Republican Conference Chair
as Democratic Caucus Chair
"Eighteen Republicans voted for Garland, of whom five were colored."[3]

References

"17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
Taft, George S. (1885). Compilation of Senate Election Cases from 1789 to 1885 - Pages 483 - 512. U.S. Government Publishing Office.
J. F. Cleveland, etc. (ed.). The Tribune almanac and political register. 1874-78. The Tribune Association. pp. 31–33.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Sixteenth General Assembly of the State of Iowa. 1876. pp. 36–37 – via Google books.
Taylor & Taylor, p. 76, vol. II.
"CAMERON, Simon, (1799 - 1889)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
"CAMERON, James Donald, (1833 - 1918)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
"U.S. Senate Election - 20 March 1877" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2013.