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11 of the 32 seats in theUnited States Senate (plus special elections) 17 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results: Federalist hold Federalist gain Dem-Republican hold Legislature failed to elect | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1796–97 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As theseU.S. Senate elections were prior to the ratification of theSeventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen bystate legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1796 and 1797, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due tolegislative deadlock.[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators inClass 1.
They coincided withJohn Adams'selection as President. The ruling Federalist Party gained one seat.
Senate party division,5th Congress (1797–1799)
After the August 2, 1796 admission of Tennessee.
| DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | ||||
| DR7 | DR8 | DR9 N.Y. Ran | DR10 Tenn. Ran | DR11 Va. Unknown | V2 | V1 | F19 Vt. Resigned | F17 R.I. Ran | F16 Pa. Ran |
| Majority → | |||||||||
| F7 | F8 | F9 | F10 | F11 | F12 Conn. Ran | F13 Del. Ran | F14 Md. Ran | F18 Mass. Resigned | F15 N.J. Ran |
| F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 | ||||
| DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | ||||
| DR7 | DR8 | DR9 Va. Re-elected | V2 Tenn. DR Loss | V2 | V1 | F19 Vt. Hold | F17 R.I. Re-elected | F16 Pa. Re-elected | F20 N.Y. Gain |
| Majority → | |||||||||
| F7 | F8 | F9 | F10 | F11 | F12 Conn. Re-elected | F13 Del. Re-elected | F14 Md. Re-elected | F18 Mass. Hold | F15 N.J. Re-elected |
| F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 | ||||
| Key |
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|---|
Except if/when noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.
In these special elections, the winners were seated before March 4, 1797; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | First elected | |||
| Georgia (class 2) | George Walton | Federalist | 1795(Appointed) | Appointee retired when successor elected. New senatorelected February 20, 1796. Democratic-Republican gain. |
|
| Connecticut (class 1) | Oliver Ellsworth | Federalist | 1788 | Incumbent resigned to becomeChief Justice of the United States. New senatorelected May 12, 1796. Federalist hold. |
|
| Massachusetts (class 1) | George Cabot | Federalist | 1790 | Incumbent resigned June 9, 1796. New senatorelected June 11, 1796 on the second ballot. Federalist hold. Successor also elected the same day to the next term,see below. |
|
| Massachusetts (class 2) | Caleb Strong | Federalist | 1788 | Incumbent resigned June 1, 1796. New senatorelected June 11, 1796 on the second ballot. Federalist hold. |
|
| Connecticut (class 3) | Jonathan Trumbull Jr. | Federalist | 1794 or 1795 | Incumbent resigned June 10, 1796, to becomeLieutenant Governor of Connecticut. New senatorelected October 13, 1796. Federalist hold. |
|
| Vermont (class 1) | Moses Robinson | Democratic- Republican | 1791(New state) | Incumbent resigned October 15, 1796. New senatorelected October 18, 1796. Federalist gain. Winner also elected the same day to the next term;see below. |
|
| New York (class 3) | Rufus King | Federalist | 1789 | Incumbent resigned May 23, 1796, to becomeU.S. Minister to Great Britain. New senatorelected November 9, 1796. Federalist hold. |
|
| New Jersey (class 2) | Frederick Frelinghuysen | Federalist | 1792 or 1793 | Incumbent resigned November 12, 1796. New senatorelected November 12, 1796. Federalist hold. |
|
| Maryland (class 1) | Richard Potts | Federalist | 1793(special) | Incumbent resigned October 24, 1796. New senatorelected November 28, 1796. Federalist hold. Successor also later elected to the next term;see below. |
|
| South Carolina (class 2) | Pierce Butler | Democratic- Republican | 1789 | Incumbent resigned October 25, 1796. New senatorelected December 8, 1796. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1797; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | First elected | |||
| Connecticut | James Hillhouse | Federalist | 1796(special) | Incumbentre-elected in 1797. |
|
| Delaware | Henry Latimer | Federalist | 1795(special) | Incumbentre-elected January 6, 1797. |
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| Maryland | John Eager Howard | Federalist | 1796(special) | Incumbentre-elected December 9, 1796. |
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| Massachusetts | George Cabot | Federalist | 1790 | Incumbent resigned June 9, 1796. New senatorelected June 11, 1796 on the third ballot. Federalist hold. Winner also elected to finish the current term; see above. |
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| New Jersey | John Rutherfurd | Federalist | 1790 | Incumbentre-elected in 1796. |
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| New York | Aaron Burr | Democratic- Republican | 1791 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senatorelected January 24, 1797. Federalist gain. |
|
| Pennsylvania | James Ross | Federalist | 1794(special) | Incumbentre-elected February 16, 1797. |
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| Rhode Island | Theodore Foster | Federalist | 1790 | Incumbentre-elected in 1797. |
|
| Tennessee | William Cocke | Democratic- Republican | 1796 | Legislature failed to elect. Democratic-Republican loss. Incumbent later appointed to continue term.[12] | None |
| Vermont | Moses Robinson | Democratic- Republican | 1791(new state) | Incumbent resigned October 15, 1796. New senatorelected October 18, 1796. Federalist gain. Winner also elected to finish the current term, see above. |
|
| Virginia | Stevens Mason | Democratic- Republican | 1794(special) | Incumbentre-elected November 29, 1796. |
|
In these special elections, the winners were elected after the March 4, 1797 beginning of the next Congress.
| State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | First elected | |||
| Tennessee (class 1) | William Cocke | Democratic- Republican | 1796 | Interim appointee lost re-election. New senatorelected September 26, 1797. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| Tennessee (class 2) | William Blount | Democratic- Republican | 1796 | Incumbent expelled July 8, 1797.[15] New senatorelected September 26, 1797. Democratic-Republican hold. |
|
| Vermont (class 1) | Isaac Tichenor | Federalist | 1796(special) | Incumbent resigned October 17, 1797, to becomeGovernor of Vermont. New senatorelected October 17, 1797. Federalist hold. |
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| Rhode Island (class 2) | William Bradford | Federalist | 1793 | Incumbent resigned in October 1797. New senatorelected November 13, 1797. Federalist hold. |
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| Maryland (class 3) | John Henry | Federalist | 1788 | Incumbent resigned July 10, 1797, to becomeGovernor of Maryland. New senatorelected December 8, 1797. Federalist hold. |
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80 members of theMaryland General Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
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John Eager Howard won election to fill the seat vacated byRichard Potts by an unknown number of votes, for the Class 1 seat.[17]
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80 members of theMaryland General Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
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John Eager Howard won re-election overRichard Sprigg Jr. by an unknown number of votes, for the Class 1 seat.[18]
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80 members of theMaryland General Assembly | ||||||||||||||||
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James Lloyd won election over William Winder by a margin of 1.12%, or 1 vote, for the Class 3 seat.[19]
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Tennessee became a state June 1, 1796 and elected its new senators August 2, 1796.
The term of the initially elected senator, Democratic-RepublicanWilliam Cocke, ended March 3, 1797, and the Tennessee legislature failed to elect a senator for the new term. Thegovernor of Tennessee, therefore, appointed Cocke to begin the term, pending a special election. Cocke, however, lost that October 6, 1798 special election to Democratic-RepublicanAndrew Jackson.
Democratic-RepublicanWilliam Blount was expelled July 8, 1797 for conspiracy with theKingdom of Great Britain. Democratic-RepublicanJoseph Anderson was elected September 26, 1797 to finish Blount's term.
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Incumbent Democratic-RepublicanMoses Robinson resigned October 15, 1796.
FederalistIsaac Tichenor was elected October 18, 1796, both to finish Robinson's term and to the new term that would begin March 4, 1797. However, Tichenor resigned just one year later, October 17, 1797, to becomeGovernor of Vermont. FederalistNathaniel Chipman was then elected October 17, 1797, to finish the term.
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