The 1850 51 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states As these U S Senate elections we

The 1850–51 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. 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 1850 and 1851, 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 1.

1850–51 United States Senate elections

← 1848 & 1849

Various dates

1852 & 1853 →

21 of the 62 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections)
32 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party	Third party

Party	Democratic	Whig	Free Soil
Last election	33 seats	25 seats	1 seat
Seats before	35	25	2
Seats won	12	4	0
Seats after	33	22	2
Seat change	2	3
Seats up	14	7	0

Results:
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold
     Whig gain      Whig hold
     Legislature failed to elect

Majority party before election

{{{before_election}}}
Democratic

Elected Majority party

Democratic

The Democratic Party lost seats, but retained a majority in the Senate.

Results summary

Senate party division, 32nd Congress (1851–1853)

Majority party: Democratic (34–35)
Minority party: Whig Party (21–23)
Other parties: Free Soiler (2–3)
Total seats: 62

Change in composition

Before the elections

D₁
D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂
D₂₂	D₂₃ Ran	D₂₄ Ran	D₂₅ Ran	D₂₆ Ran	D₂₇ Ran	D₂₈ Ran	D₂₉ Ran	D₃₀ Ran	D₃₁ Ran
Majority →									D₃₂ Ran
W₂₂ Unknown	W₂₃ Unknown	W₂₄ Retired	FS₁	FS₂	D₃₆ Retired	D₃₅ Unknown	D₃₄ Unknown	D₃₃ Ran	D₃₂ Ran
W₂₁ Ran	W₂₀ Ran	W₁₉ Ran	W₁₈ Ran	W₁₇	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂
W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀	W₁₁
W₁

As a result of the elections

D₁
D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂
D₂₂	D₂₃ Re-elected	D₂₄ Re-elected	D₂₅ Re-elected	D₂₆ Re-elected	D₂₇ Re-elected	D₂₈ Re-elected	D₂₉ Re-elected	D₃₀ Hold	D₃₁ Hold
Majority →									D₃₂ Gain
V₁ W Loss	V₂ W Loss	FS₁	FS₂	V₃ D Loss	V₄ D Loss	V₅ D Loss	D₃₄ Gain	D₃₃ Gain	D₃₂ Gain
W₂₁ Gain	W₂₀ Gain	W₁₉ Hold	W₁₈ Re-elected	W₁₇	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂
W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀	W₁₁
W₁

At the beginning of the first session, December 1, 1851

D₁
D₂	D₃	D₄	D₅	D₆	D₇	D₈	D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁
D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉	D₁₈	D₁₇	D₁₆	D₁₅	D₁₄	D₁₃	D₁₂
D₂₂	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆	D₂₇	D₂₈	D₂₉	D₃₀	D₃₁
Majority →									D₃₂
W₂₂ Gain	W₂₃ Gain	FS₁	FS₂	FS₃ Gain	V₁	V₂	D₃₄ Hold	D₃₃	D₃₂
W₂₁	W₂₀	W₁₉	W₁₈	W₁₇	W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂
W₂	W₃	W₄	W₅	W₆	W₇	W₈	W₉	W₁₀	W₁₁
W₁

Key:

D_#	Democratic
FS_#	Free Soil
W_#	Whig
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 31st Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1850 or in 1851 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Maryland (Class 1)	David Stewart	Whig	1849 (appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected January 12, 1850. Whig hold. Winner was elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Thomas Pratt (Whig) 57 votes ▌David Stewart (Democratic) 38 votes Blank 2 votes
Massachusetts (Class 1)	Robert C. Winthrop	Whig	1850 (appointed)	Interim appointee lost election to finish the term. New senator elected February 1, 1851. Democratic gain. Winner was not elected to the next term; see below.	▌Y Robert Rantoul Jr. (Democratic) ▌Robert C. Winthrop (Whig) [data missing]

Races leading to the 32nd Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1851; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Connecticut	Roger Sherman Baldwin	Whig	1847 (appointed) 1848 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election or retired. Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would not be filled until 1852.	[data missing]
California	John C. Frémont	Democratic	1850	Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would not be filled until 1852.	▌John C. Frémont (Democratic) [data missing]
Delaware	John Wales	Whig	1849 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1851. Democratic gain.	▌Y James A. Bayard Jr. (Democratic) ▌John Wales (Whig) [data missing]
Florida	David Levy Yulee	Democratic	1845	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1851. Democratic hold.	▌Y Stephen Mallory (Democratic) ▌David Levy Yulee (Democratic) [data missing]
Indiana	Jesse D. Bright	Democratic	1844	Incumbent re-elected in 1850.	▌Y Jesse D. Bright (Democratic) [data missing]
Maine	Hannibal Hamlin	Democratic	1848 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1851.	▌Y Hannibal Hamlin (Democratic) [data missing]
Maryland	Thomas Pratt	Whig	1850 (special)	Incumbent January 12, 1850.	▌Y Thomas Pratt (Whig) 54 votes ▌David Stewart (Democratic) 2 votes Blank 33 votes
Massachusetts	Robert Rantoul Jr.	Democratic	1851 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election or retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would later be filled on April 24, 1851; see below.	▌Charles Sumner (Free Soil) [data missing]
Michigan	Lewis Cass	Democratic	1844 or 1845 1848 (resigned) 1849 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1850 or 1851.	▌Y Lewis Cass (Democratic) [data missing]
Mississippi	Jefferson Davis	Democratic	1847 (appointed) 1848 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1850.	▌Y Jefferson Davis (Democratic) [data missing]
Missouri	Thomas H. Benton	Democratic	1821 1827 1833 1839 1845	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1851. Whig gain.	▌Y Henry S. Geyer (Whig) ▌Thomas H. Benton (Democratic) [data missing]
New Jersey	William L. Dayton	Whig	1842 (appointed) ? (special) 1845	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1851. Democratic gain.	▌Y Robert F. Stockton (Democratic) ▌William L. Dayton (Whig) [data missing]
New York	Daniel S. Dickinson	Democratic	1844 (appointed) 1845	Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic loss. Seat would later be filled on March 19, 1851; see below.	▌Daniel S. Dickinson (Democratic) Many; see below.
Ohio	Thomas Ewing	Whig	1850 (appointed)	Incumbent lost election to the next term. Legislature failed to elect. Whig loss. Seat would later be filled on March 15, 1851; see below.	▌Thomas Ewing (Whig) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	Daniel Sturgeon	Democratic	1840 1845	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 14, 1851. Democratic hold.	▌Y Richard Brodhead (Democratic) Many, see below
Rhode Island	Albert C. Greene	Whig	1844 or 1845	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1850 or 1851. Democratic gain.	▌Y Charles T. James (Democratic) [data missing]
Tennessee	Hopkins L. Turney	Democratic	1844	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1851. Whig gain.	▌Y James C. Jones (Whig) [data missing]
Texas	Thomas J. Rusk	Democratic	1846	Incumbent re-elected in 1851.	▌Y Thomas J. Rusk (Democratic) [data missing]
Vermont	Samuel S. Phelps	Whig	1839 1845	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1850. Whig hold.	▌Y Solomon Foot (Whig) [data missing]
Virginia	James M. Mason	Democratic	1847 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1850.	▌Y James M. Mason (Democratic) [data missing]
Wisconsin	Henry Dodge	Democratic	1848	Incumbent re-elected on January 20, 1851.	▌Y Henry Dodge (Democratic) 83.13% ▌ James Duane Doty (Ind. Dem.) 8.43% ▌ Alexander L. Collins (Whig) 3.61% ▌ Rufus King (Whig) 2.41% ▌ Warren Chase (Free Soil) 1.20% ▌ John B. Terry (Whig) 1.20%

Elections during the 32nd Congress

In late these elections, the winners were elected in 1851 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Ohio (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. Winner elected late March 15, 1851 on the 37th ballot. Whig gain.	▌Y Benjamin Wade (Whig) [data missing]
New York (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. Winner elected late March 19, 1851. Whig gain.	▌Y Hamilton Fish (Whig) Many, see below
Massachusetts (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. Winner elected April 24, 1851. Free Soil gain.	▌Y Charles Sumner (Free Soil) [data missing]
Kentucky (Class 3)	Henry Clay	Whig	1806 (special) 1807 (retired) 1810 (appointed) 1811 (retired) 1831 (special) 1836 1842 (resigned) 1849	Incumbent resigned December 17, 1851, to be effective September 6, 1852. Winner elected December 30, 1851. Whig hold.	▌Y Archibald Dixon (Whig) 71 votes ▌James Guthrie (Democratic) 58 votes ▌Garrett Davis (Whig) 1 vote ▌Charles S. Morehead (Whig) 1 vote ▌Joseph R. Underwood (Whig) 1 vote ▌John L. Helm (Whig) 1 vote

Race leading to the 33rd Congress

In this regular election, the winner was elected for the term beginning March 4, 1853.

This election involved a Class 3 seat.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Kentucky	Joseph R. Underwood	Whig	1846 or 1847	Incumbent retired. New senator elected December 13, 1851, far in advance of the 1853 term. Know Nothing gain.	▌Y John Burton Thompson (Know Nothing) 73 votes ▌ (Democratic) 65 votes

Kentucky

Kentucky (early)

One-term Whig Joseph R. Underwood retired and the Know Nothing Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky John Burton Thompson was elected early, December 13, 1851, far in advance of the 1853 term, as was common practice at the time.

Y John Burton Thompson 73 votes
65 votes

Kentucky (special)

Long-term Whig and former-United States Secretary of State Henry Clay announced his resignation December 17, 1851 from the class 3 seat, to be effective September 6, 1852.

Whig Archibald Dixon was elected December 30, 1851.

After many ballots, the vote in the final deciding ballot was:

Y Archibald Dixon 71 votes
James Guthrie 58 votes
Garrett Davis 1 vote
Charles S. Morehead 1 vote
Joseph R. Underwood 1 vote
John L. Helm 1 vote

Before Clay's resignation was effective, he died June 24, 1852. Democratic Secretary of State of Kentucky David Meriwether was appointed July 6, 1852 pending the effective date of the special election. Dixon was then seated September 1, 1852 to finish the term that would end in 1855.

Maryland

Maryland (special)

1850 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1849

1850

1851 →

80 members of the Maryland General Assembly


Candidate	Thomas Pratt
Party	Whig
Legislative vote	-
Percentage	-%

Reverdy Johnson won election in 1844 but retired to become the United States Attorney General. In order to fill his seat, David Stewart was elected as a temporary appointment until a successor could be elected. Thomas Pratt won election by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.

Maryland (regular)

1851 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1850

1851

1857 →

80 members of the Maryland General Assembly


Candidate	Thomas Pratt
Party	Whig
Legislative vote	-
Percentage	-%

Thomas Pratt won election to a full term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.

Massachusetts

In 1851, Democrats gained control of the legislature in coalition with the Free Soilers. However, the legislature deadlocked on this Senate race, as Democrats refused to vote for Charles Sumner (the Free Soilers' choice).

New York

The election in New York was held on February 4 and March 18 and 19, 1851. Daniel S. Dickinson (Democratic) had been elected in 1845 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1851. The Whig Party in New York was split in two opposing factions: the Seward/Weed faction (the majority, opposed to the Compromise of 1850) and the "Silver Grays" (supporters of President Millard Fillmore and his compromise legislation, led by Francis Granger whose silver gray hair originated the faction's nickname). The opposing factions of the Democratic Party in New York, the "Barnburners" and the "Hunkers", had reunited at the State election in November 1850, and managed to have almost their whole State ticket elected, only Horatio Seymour was defeated for Governor by a plurality of 262 votes.

At the State election in November 1849, 14 Seward Whigs, 3 Silver Gray Whigs and 15 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1850–1851) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1850, a Whig majority was elected to the Assembly for the session of 1851. The 74th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to April 17, and from June 10 to July 11, 1851, at Albany, New York.

Ex-Governor of New York Hamilton Fish was the candidate of the Whig Party, but was also a close friend of Henry Clay who was one of the leaders of the Fillmore faction in Washington, D.C. He was thus considered the only viable compromise candidate. The Silver Grays asked Fish to pledge his support for the Compromise, but Fish refused to make any comment, saying that he did not seek the office, and that the legislators should vote guided by Fish's known political history. Fish had earlier stated his opposition against the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 but was believed to support most of the remainder of the Compromise. Nevertheless, Silver Gray State Senator James W. Beekman declared that he would not vote for Fish for personal reasons, a dislike stemming from the time when they were fellow students at Columbia University.

The State Legislature met on February 4, the legally prescribed day, to elect a U.S. Senator. In the Assembly, Fish received a majority of 78 to 49. In the State Senate the vote stood 16 for Fish and 16 votes for a variety of candidates, among them Beekman's vote for Francis Granger. After a second ballot with the same result, Beekman moved to adjourn, which was carried by the casting vote of the lieutenant governor, and no nomination was made.

On February 14, Senator George B. Guinnip offered a resolution to declare John Adams Dix elected to the U.S. Senate. On motion of Senator George R. Babcock, the resolution was laid on the table, i.e. consideration was postponed.

On February 15, Guinnip again offered a resolution to declare John Adams Dix elected to the U.S. Senate. Senator offered an amendment to this resolution, declaring Daniel S. Dickinson elected. On motion of Senator Marius Schoonmaker, the resolution was laid on the table too.

On March 18, when two Democratic State Senators were absent, having gone to New York City, the Whigs persuaded the Democrats in a 14-hour session to re-open the U.S. Senate election, and Senate electionin the small hours of March 19 Fish was nominated by a vote of 16 to 12 (Beekman, Johnson (both Whigs), and William A. Dart (both Democratic) did not vote).

Fish was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

Candidate	Party	Senate (32 members) February 4 (first ballot)	Senate (32 members) February 4 (second ballot)	Assembly (128 members) February 4	Senate (32 members) March 19	Assembly (128 members) March 19
Hamilton Fish	Whig	16	16	78	16	68
John Adams Dix	Democratic	1	1	29	6	6
James T. Brady	Democratic			7
Horatio Seymour	Democratic	1	1	4	1
Francis Granger	Whig	1	1	2		1
Aaron Ward	Democratic	1	1		1
Daniel S. Dickinson	Democratic	1	1		1
Arphaxed Loomis	Democratic	1	1		1
Amasa J. Parker	Democratic	1	1		1
David Buel Jr.	Democratic	1	1
Augustus C. Hand	Democratic	1	1
John Hunter	Democratic	1	1
John Fine	Democratic	1	1
Levi S. Chatfield	Democratic	1	1
John Tracy	Democratic	1	1
Abraham Bockee	Democratic	1	1
George Rathbun	Democratic	1	1
Timothy Jenkins	Democratic	1	1
William L. Marcy	Democratic			1
Washington Irving				1
				1
Erastus Corning	Democratic			1
Levi S. Chatfield	Democratic			1
George Wood				1
Daniel Lord				1
James S. Wadsworth	Democratic				1
William C. Bouck	Democratic					1

Ohio

Incumbent Senator Thomas Corwin (Whig) resigned July 20, 1850 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Thomas Ewing (Whig) was appointed July 20, 1850 to finish the term. Benjamin Wade (Whig) was elected late on March 15, 1851, on the 37th ballot over Ewing.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania election was held January 14, 1851. Richard Brodhead was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

State Legislature results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Brodhead	76	57.14
	Whig	Andrew W. Loomis	12	9.02
	Whig	Alexander Brown	11	8.27
	Whig	Samuel Purviance	4	3.01
	Whig	Samuel Calvin	4	3.01
	Whig	Thomas M. T. McKennan	4	3.01
	Whig	John Sergeant	4	3.01
	Whig	George Chambers	3	2.26
	Whig	John Dickey	2	1.50
	Whig	James Pollock	2	1.50
	Whig	John Allison	1	0.75
	Whig	William Darlington	1	0.75
	Whig	Townsend Haines	1	0.75
	Whig	Charles Pitman	1	0.75
	Whig	Daniel M. Smyser	1	0.75
	Whig	Thomas White	1	0.75
	Whig	David Wilmot	1	0.75
	N/A	Not voting	3	2.26
Totals			133	100.00%

References

"17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
"The Senatorial Election in Maryland". The daily union. Washington, D.C. January 12, 1850. p. 3. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
"The Senatorial Election in Maryland". The daily union. Washington, D.C. January 12, 1850. p. 3. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
"Monday, Jan. 20, 1851". Journal of the Senate of Wisconsin (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1851. pp. 58–60. Retrieved March 1, 2025 – via HathiTrust.
Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 . State of Ohio. p. 240.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, p. 396.
"Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, November 3, 1851 - January 9, 1852". Journals of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort, Kentucky: Albert G. Hodges: 412. 1851.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, p. 264.
"Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 00, 1849". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
"Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1851". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
"U.S. Senate Election - 14 January 1851" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
"PA US Senate 1851". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

Sources

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators [gives wrong date for election "November 19"]; pg. 137 for State Senators 1851; pg. 240ff for Members of Assembly 1851)
Members of the 32nd United States Congress
Hamilton Fish by Amos Elwood Corning (pages 35ff)
Result Assembly: Journal of the Assembly (74th Session) (1851; Vol. I, pg. 268f and 662)
Result Senate: Journal of the Senate (74th Session) (1851; pg. 136f and 322)
The Papers of Henry Clay (Vol. 10; page 859)
The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party by Michael F. Holt (pages 649f)
"Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, November 3, 1851 - January 9, 1852". Journals of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort, Kentucky: Albert G. Hodges. 1851.
Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project

[1] "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.

[2] "The Senatorial Election in Maryland". The daily union. Washington, D.C. January 12, 1850. p. 3. Retrieved October 31, 2022.

[3] "The Senatorial Election in Maryland". The daily union. Washington, D.C. January 12, 1850. p. 3. Retrieved October 31, 2022.

[4] "Monday, Jan. 20, 1851". Journal of the Senate of Wisconsin (Report). Wisconsin Legislature. 1851. pp. 58–60. Retrieved March 1, 2025 – via HathiTrust.

[Ohio-5] Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 . State of Ohio. p. 240.

[FOOTNOTEJournal_of_the_House_of_Representatives_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Kentucky396-6] Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, p. 396.

[Kentucky_Senate-7] "Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, November 3, 1851 - January 9, 1852". Journals of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort, Kentucky: Albert G. Hodges: 412. 1851.

[FOOTNOTEJournal_of_the_House_of_Representatives_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Kentucky264-8] Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, p. 264.

[9] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 00, 1849". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.

[10] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Jan 00, 1851". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.

[results-11] "U.S. Senate Election - 14 January 1851" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

[12] "PA US Senate 1851". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 22, 2012.