1850–51 United States Senate elections

← 1848 & 1849 Various dates 1852 & 1853 →
21 of the 62 seats in theUnited 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

The1850–51 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 1850 and 1851, 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.

TheDemocratic Party lost seats, but retained a majority in the Senate. This was the last election until 2006 that the Class 1 Vermont seat voted for a non-Republican.

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

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

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.

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

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

This election involved a Class 3 seat.

One-term WhigJoseph R. Underwood retired and the Know NothingLieutenant Governor of KentuckyJohn Burton Thompson was elected early, December 13, 1851, far in advance of the 1853 term, as was common practice at the time.

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

WhigArchibald Dixon was elected December 30, 1851.

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

Before Clay's resignation was effective, he died June 24, 1852. DemocraticSecretary of State of KentuckyDavid 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.

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1850 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1849 1850 1851 →
80 members of theMaryland General Assembly
Candidate Thomas Pratt Party Whig Legislative vote - Percentage -%

Reverdy Johnson won election in1844 but retired to become theUnited 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.^[9]

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(November 2022)

1851 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 1850 1851 1857 →
80 members of theMaryland 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.^[10]

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 forCharles Sumner (the Free Soilers' choice).

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. TheWhig Party in New York was split in two opposing factions: theSeward/Weed faction (the majority, opposed to theCompromise of 1850) and the "Silver Grays" (supporters of PresidentMillard Fillmore and his compromise legislation, led byFrancis Granger whose silver gray hair originated the faction's nickname). The opposing factions of theDemocratic Party in New York, the"Barnburners" and the "Hunkers", had reunited at theState election in November 1850, and managed to have almost their whole State ticket elected, onlyHoratio Seymour was defeated for Governor by a plurality of 262 votes.

At theState 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. The74th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to April 17, and from June 10 to July 11, 1851, atAlbany, New York.

Ex-Governor of New York Hamilton Fish was the candidate of theWhig Party, but was also a close friend ofHenry Clay who was one of the leaders of the Fillmore faction inWashington, 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 theFugitive Slave Law of 1850 but was believed to support most of the remainder of the Compromise. Nevertheless, Silver Gray State SenatorJames W. Beekman declared that he would not vote for Fish for personal reasons, a dislike stemming from the time when they were fellow students atColumbia 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, SenatorGeorge B. Guinnip offered a resolution to declareJohn Adams Dix elected to the U.S. Senate. On motion of SenatorGeorge R. Babcock, the resolution was laid on the table, i.e. consideration was postponed.

On February 15, Guinnip again offered a resolution to declareJohn Adams Dix elected to the U.S. Senate. SenatorStephen H. Johnson offered an amendment to this resolution, declaringDaniel S. Dickinson elected. On motion of SenatorMarius Schoonmaker, the resolution was laid on the table too.

On March 18, when two Democratic State Senators were absent, having gone toNew 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),Thomas B. Carroll andWilliam A. Dart (both Democratic) did not vote).

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

Incumbent SenatorThomas Corwin (Whig) resigned July 20, 1850 to becomeU.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.^[5]

The Pennsylvania election was held January 14, 1851.Richard Brodhead was elected by thePennsylvania General Assembly to theUnited States Senate.^[11]

• 1850 United States elections
  • 1850–51 United States House of Representatives elections
• 31st United States Congress
• 32nd United States Congress

• 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 theWilkes University Election Statistics Project

• 1850 United States Senate elections
• 1851 United States Senate elections
• Hannibal Hamlin

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