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 due to the Compromise of 1877. 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. 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.
D8 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D14 D15 D16 D17 D18 D28Retired D27Retired D26Ran D25Ran D24Ran D23Ran D22Ran D21 D20 D19 D29Retired D30Retired AM1 R45Retired R44Retired R43Retired R42Retired R41Unknown R40Unknown R39Unknown Majority → R29Ran R30Ran R31Ran R32Ran R33Ran R34Ran R35Ran R36Ran R37Ran R38Ran 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
D8 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D14 D15 D16 D17 D18 D28Hold D27Hold D26Hold D25Re-elected D24Re-elected D23Re-elected D22Re-elected D21 D20 D19 D29Hold D30Hold D31Gain D32Gain D33Gain D34Gain D35Gain I1Gain AM1 R39Hold Majority → R29Re-elected R30Re-elected R31Re-elected R32Re-elected R33Re-elected R34Hold R35Hold R36Hold R37Hold R38Hold 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 Senator Party Electoral history Louisiana(Class 3) Vacant Senate had declined to seat rival claimants William L. McMillen and P. B. S. Pinchback.Senator elected January 12, 1876.Democratic gain. Connecticut(Class 3) James E. English Democratic 1875 Interim appointee retired when successor elected.New senator elected May 17, 1876.Democratic hold. Colorado(Class 2) None (new state) Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876.First senator elected November 15, 1876.Republican gain.Winner was also elected to the next term; see below. Colorado(Class 3) Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876.First senator elected November 15, 1876.Republican gain. Tennessee(Class 1) David M. Key Democratic 1875 Interim appointee lost special election.New senator elected January 19, 1877 on the 74th ballot.Democratic hold. Maine(Class 2) James G. Blaine Republican 1876 Interim appointee elected January 17, 1877.Winner was also elected to the next term; see below. West Virginia(Class 1) Samuel Price Democratic 1876 Interim appointee lost special election.New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the 5th ballot.Democratic hold.
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 Senator Party Electoralhistory Alabama George Goldthwaite Democratic 1870 Incumbent retired.New senator elected in 1876.Democratic hold. Arkansas Powell Clayton Republican 1870 Incumbent retired.New senator elected January 16, 1877.Democratic gain. Colorado Henry M. Teller Republican 1876 Incumbent re-elected in 1876 or 1877. Delaware Eli Saulsbury Democratic 1870 Incumbent re-elected in 1876. Georgia Thomas M. Norwood Democratic 1871 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot.Democratic hold. Illinois John A. Logan Republican 1870–71 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected January 25, 1877 on the fortieth ballot.Independent gain. Iowa George G. Wright Republican 1870 Incumbent retired.New senator elected January 19, 1876.Republican hold. Kansas James M. Harvey Republican 1874 Incumbent lost re-election.New elected January 31, 1877 on the seventeenth ballot.Republican hold. Kentucky John W. Stevenson Democratic 1869 Incumbent retired.New senator elected January 18, 1876.Democratic hold. Louisiana Joseph R. West Republican 1870–71 Incumbent retired.New senator elected January 10, 1877.Republican hold. Maine James G. Blaine Republican 1876 Interim appointee elected January 16, 1877.Winner also elected to finish the term; see above. Massachusetts George S. Boutwell Republican 1873 Incumbent lost renomination.New senator elected in 1877.Republican hold. Michigan Thomas W. Ferry Republican 1871 Incumbent re-elected in 1877. Minnesota William Windom Republican 1870 1871 Incumbent re-elected in 1877. Mississippi James L. Alcorn Republican 1870 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.New senator elected in 1876.Democratic gain. Nebraska Phineas Hitchcock Republican 1870 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected in 1877.Republican hold. New Hampshire Aaron H. Cragin Republican 18641870 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.New senator elected in 1876.Republican hold. New Jersey Frederick T. Frelinghuysen Republican 1870–71 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected January 24, 1877.Democratic gain. North Carolina Matt W. Ransom Democratic 1872 Incumbent re-elected in 1876. Oregon James K. Kelly Democratic 1870 Incumbent retired.Democratic hold. Rhode Island Henry B. Anthony Republican 185818641870 Incumbent re-elected in 1876. South Carolina Thomas J. Robertson Republican 1868 1870 Incumbent retired.New senator elected in 1876.Democratic gain. Tennessee Henry Cooper Democratic 1870–71 Incumbent retired.New senator elected January 10, 1877.Democratic hold. Texas Morgan C. Hamilton Republican 1870 1871 Incumbent retired.New senator elected May 5, 1876 on third ballot.Democratic gain. Virginia John W. Johnston Democratic 1870 1871 Incumbent re-elected in 1877. West Virginia Henry G. Davis Democratic 1871 Incumbent re-elected January 26, 1877 on the fourth ballot.
Elections during the 45th Congress In these elections, the winners were elected in 1877 after March 4.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Pennsylvania(Class 3) Simon Cameron Republican 18571861 18671873 Incumbent resigned March 12, 1877.New senator elected March 20, 1877.Republican hold. Ohio(Class 3) John Sherman Republican 1861 18661872 Incumbent resigned March 8, 1877 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.New senator elected March 21, 1877.Republican hold.
Alabama
Arkansas
Colorado
Colorado (initial, class 2)
Colorado (initial, class 3)
Colorado (regular)
Connecticut (special)
Delaware
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Louisiana (special)
Louisiana (regular)
Maine
Maine (regular)
Maine (special)
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.
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. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:
|-bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | colspan="3" align="right" | Totals | align="right" | 251 | align="right" | 100.00%
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Tennessee (regular)
Tennessee (special)
Texas
Incumbent Republican Morgan C. Hamilton did not run for re-election. Since his initial election in 1870, the Democratic Party had taken control of the Texas Legislature, ensuring that a Democrat would replace him. Incumbent governor Richard Coke defeated former Texas Supreme Court justice John Ireland on the third ballot. U.S. Representative John Hancock and former governor Fletcher Stockdale also ran, but they dropped out after the second round of balloting.
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.
Appointed incumbent Samuel Price and challengers Frank Hereford and Henry S. Walker, three prominent state Democrats, fought for the party's nomination over seven ballots and three sessions, without much movement in any direction. On January 26, with the Democrats unable to make a nomination, legislative Republicans broke the deadlock by throwing their support to Hereford on the floor. +Democratic nominationCandidateBallots1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th211918182118182020211920131617191619182317Scattered78964613Total65666462636064Needed to win35 +House and Senate ballotingPartyCandidateHouseSenateVotes%Votes%Democratic1828.6313.0Democratic1523.8730.4Democratic914.3626.1Republican1523.8417.4Democratic23.2313.0Democratic11.600.0Democratic11.600.0Democratic11.600.0Democratic11.600.0Total6310023100Needed to win32>5012>50 +Joint Session ballotingPartyCandidateBallots1st2nd3rd4thDemocratic21282570Democratic24232610Democratic1612194Democratic31530Democratic6671Other candidates17371Total87878786Needed to win44444444
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. +Democratic nominationCandidateBallots1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th22242623252222222119182120222454474734314245410866Scattered8653258Total65636361616464Needed to win35 +House and Senate ballotingPartyCandidateHouseSenateVotes%Votes%Democratic2133.3626.1Democratic1828.6730.4Democratic34.8417.4Democratic57.928.7Democratic1015.928.7Democratic11.628.7Republican11.600.0Democratic11.600.0Democratic11.600.0Democratic11.600.0Republican11.600.0Total6310023100Needed to win32>5012>50 +Joint Session ballotingPartyCandidateBallots1st2nd3rdDemocratic242660Democratic242319Democratic11152Democratic563Democratic15121Other candidates852Total878787Needed to win444444Davis would retire after this second term, in 1883.
See also 1876 United States elections 1876 United States presidential election 1876–77 United States House of Representatives elections 44th United States Congress 45th United States Congress
Notes
References
Further reading Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project