1820 and 1821 United States Senate elections
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15 of the 46 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 24 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1820 and 1821 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that, corresponding with James Monroe's landslide re-election, had the Democratic-Republican Party gain one-to-five seats (in the general and special elections), assuming almost complete control of the Senate.
As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, senators were chosen by state legislatures.
Results summary[]
Senate Party Division, 17th Congress (1821–1823)
- Majority Party: Democratic-Republican (39–43)
- Minority Party: Federalist (4)
- Vacant: (3–1)
- Total Seats: 46–48
Change in composition[]
Before the elections[]
Composition after the June 13 and 14, 1820 elections in Maine.
DR1 Maine New seat |
DR2 | DR3 | |||||||
DR13 | DR12 | DR11 | DR10 | DR9 | DR8 | DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 |
DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 | DR18 | DR19 | DR20 | DR21 | DR22 | DR23 |
Majority → | DR24 | ||||||||
DR33 N.Y. Ran |
DR32 N.J. Ran |
DR31 Miss. Ran |
DR30 Md. Ran |
DR29 Maine New seat Ran |
DR28 Ind. Ran |
DR27 | DR26 | DR25 | |
DR34 Ohio Ran |
DR35 Va. Ran |
DR36 Pa. Unknown |
DR37 Tenn. Unknown |
F9 Vt. Retired |
F8 Del. Retired |
F7 R.I. Unknown |
F6 Mass. Ran |
F5 Conn. Ran |
F4 |
F1 | F2 | F3 |
Result of the general elections[]
DR1 | DR2 | DR3 | |||||||
DR13 | DR12 | DR11 | DR10 | DR9 | DR8 | DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 |
DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 | DR18 | DR19 | DR20 | DR21 | DR22 | DR23 |
Majority → | DR24 | ||||||||
DR33 Va. Re-elected |
DR32 Ohio Re-elected |
DR31 Miss. Re-elected |
DR30 Md. Re-elected |
DR29 Maine Re-elected |
DR28 Ind. Re-elected |
DR27 | DR26 | DR25 | |
DR34 N.J. Hold |
DR35 N.Y. Hold |
DR36 Conn. Gain |
DR37 R.I. Gain |
DR38 Vt. Gain |
V1 Pa. DR loss |
V2 Tenn. DR loss |
V3 Del. F loss |
F5 Mass. Re-elected |
F4 |
F1 | F2 | F3 |
Result of the special elections in the next Congress[]
DR1 Mo. New seat |
DR2 Mo. New seat |
DR3 | DR4 Ga. Hold | ||||||
DR14 | DR13 | DR12 | DR11 | DR10 | DR9 | DR8 | DR7 | DR6 | DR5 |
DR15 | DR16 | DR17 | DR18 | DR19 | DR20 | DR21 | DR22 | DR23 | DR24 |
Majority → | DR25 | ||||||||
DR34 | DR33 | DR32 | DR31 | DR30 | DR29 | DR28 | DR27 | DR26 | |
DR35 | DR36 | DR37 | DR38 | DR39 | DR40 | DR41 Pa. Gain |
DR42 Tenn. Gain |
V1 | F5 |
F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 |
Key: |
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Race summaries[]
Bold states link to specific election articles.
Special elections during the preceding Congress[]
In these special elections, the winner was elected during 1820 or before March 4, 1821; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
New York (Class 3) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect in 1818/1819. Previous incumbent was elected January 8, 1820. Federalist gain. |
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Massachusetts (Class 1) |
Prentiss Mellen | Federalist | 1820 (Special) | Incumbent resigned to become Chief Justice of Maine. New senator elected June 12, 1820. Winner was also elected to the next term. Federalist hold. |
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Maine (Class 1) |
New state | New senator elected June 13, 1820 on the second ballot. Winner was also elected to the next term. Democratic-Republican gain. |
First ballot:
Second ballot:
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Maine (Class 2) |
New senator elected June 14, 1820. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Mississippi (Class 1) |
Walter Leake | Democratic- Republican |
1817 | Incumbent resigned May 15, 1820. New senator elected August 30, 1820. Winner was also elected to the next term. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Kentucky (Class 3) |
William Logan | Democratic- Republican |
1818 | Incumbent resigned May 28, 1820 to . New senator elected October 19, 1820. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Rhode Island (Class 2) |
James Burrill Jr. | Federalist | 1816 | Incumbent died December 25, 1820. New senator elected January 9, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Races leading to the next Congress[]
In these general elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1821; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Connecticut | Samuel Dana | Federalist | 1810 (Special) 1814 |
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected March 4, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Delaware | Outerbridge Horsey | Federalist | 1810 (Special) 1815 |
Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Federalist loss. A Democratic-Republican was later elected in 1822. |
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Indiana | James Noble | Democratic- Republican |
1816 | Incumbent re-elected in 1821. |
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Maine | John Holmes | Democratic- Republican |
1820 | Incumbent re-elected January 31, 1821. |
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Maryland | William Pinkney | Democratic- Republican |
1819 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1820 or 1821. |
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Massachusetts | Elijah H. Mills | Federalist | 1820 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1820.[1] |
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Mississippi | David Holmes | Democratic- Republican |
1820 (Special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1820 or 1821. |
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New Jersey | James J. Wilson | Democratic- Republican |
1815 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected November 11, 1820.[2] Democratic-Republican hold. Incumbent then resigned January 8, 1821 and winner was appointed to finish the term. |
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New York | Nathan Sanford | Democratic- Republican |
1809 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 6, 1821. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Ohio | Benjamin Ruggles | Democratic- Republican |
1815 | Incumbent re-elected in 1820 or 1821. |
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Pennsylvania | Jonathan Roberts | Democratic- Republican |
1814 (Special) 1814 |
Legislature failed to elect. Democratic-Republican loss. New senator would later be elected in 1821. |
[data unknown/missing]
|
Rhode Island | William Hunter | Federalist | 1811 (Special) 1814 |
Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1820 or 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. |
|
Tennessee | John H. Eaton | Democratic- Republican |
1818 (Appointed) 1819 (Special) |
Legislature failed to elect Democratic-Republican loss. New senator would later be elected September 27, 1821, see below.[3] |
[data unknown/missing]
|
Vermont | Isaac Tichenor | Federalist | 1796 (Special) 1796 1797 (Resigned) 1814 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Virginia | James Barbour | Democratic- Republican |
1814 (Special) 1814 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1821. |
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Special elections during the next Congress[]
In this special election, the winner was elected in 1821 after March 4; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Missouri (Class 1) |
New state | New senator elected August 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Missouri (Class 3) |
New senator elected August 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Tennessee (Class 1) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. New senator re-elected late September 27, 1821.[3] Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Georgia (Class 2) |
Freeman Walker | Democratic- Republican |
1819 (Special) | Incumbent resigned August 6, 1821. New senator elected November 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Pennsylvania (Class 1) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected December 10, 1821. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Connecticut[]
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Delaware[]
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Georgia (Special)[]
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Indiana[]
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Kentucky (Special)[]
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Maine[]
John Holmes (Democratic-Republican) was elected as one of the new states first pair of senators whose terms began with June 13, 1820 statehood. He was elected to the class 1 seat's short term, which ended March 3, 1821, and was re-elected January 31, 1821 to the term starting March 4, 1821.
John Chandler (Democratic-Republican) as elected to the class 2 seat's long term, and his term would end March 3, 1823.
Maryland[]
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Massachusetts[]
Massachusetts (Regular)[]
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Massachusetts (Special)[]
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Mississippi[]
Mississippi (Regular)[]
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Mississippi (Special)[]
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Missouri[]
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New Jersey[]
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New York[]
New York (Regular)[]
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New York (Special)[]
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Ohio[]
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Pennsylvania[]
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Rhode Island[]
Rhode Island (Regular)[]
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Rhode Island (Special)[]
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Tennessee[]
Tennessee (Regular)[]
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Tennessee (Special)[]
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Vermont[]
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Virginia[]
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See also[]
- 1820 United States elections
- 16th United States Congress
- 17th United States Congress
- Elections in the United States
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ a b "Massachusetts 1820 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. November 11, 1820. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c "New Jersey 1820 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. November 11, 1820. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- ^ a b "EATON, John Henry, (1790 - 1856)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
- Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy (ed.). The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992. United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160632563.
- 1820 United States Senate elections
- 1821 United States Senate elections