1834–35 United States Senate elections

1834–35 United States Senate elections

← 1832 & 1833 Dates vary by state 1836 & 1837 →
16 of the 48 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Party National Republican Jacksonian Nullifier Last election 23 seats 21 seats 2 seats Seats before 26 20 2 Seats won 6 8 1 Seats after 24 22 2 Seat change 2 2 Seats up 8 7 1
Results:      Jacksonian Hold      Jacksonian Gain      Anti-Jacksonian Hold      Anti-Jacksonian Gain      Nullifier Hold      Legislature Failed To Elect
Majority Party before election Anti-Jacksonian Elected Majority Party Anti-Jacksonian

The 1834–35 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 1834 and 1835, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.^[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.

The Anti-Jackson coalition maintained control of the Senate. However, during the 24th Congress, the Jacksonian coalition gained control of the Senate.

Senate party division, 24th Congress (1835–1837)

• Majority party: Jacksonian (21–31)
• Minority party: Anti-Jackson (24–19)
• Other parties: Nullifier (2)
• Total seats: 48–52

						NR1	NR2	NR3	NR4
NR14	NR13	NR12	NR11	NR10	NR9	NR8	NR7	NR6	NR5
NR15	NR16	NR17	NR18	NR19 Del. Ran	NR20 Miss. Ran	NR21 R.I. Ran	NR22 Va. Ran	NR23 La. Unknown	NR24 N.J. Unknown
Majority →									NR25 Mass. Retired
J15 Ga. Ran	J16 Ill. Ran	J17 N.C. Ran	J18 Tenn. Ran	J19 Ky. Unknown	N1	N2 S.C. Ran	NR27 Maine Resigned	NR26 N.H. Retired
J14 Ala. Ran	J13	J12	J11	J10	J9	J8	J7	J6	J5
						J1	J2	J3	J4

						NR1	NR2	NR3	NR4
NR14	NR13	NR12	NR11	NR10	NR9	NR8	NR7	NR6	NR5
NR15	NR16	NR17	NR18	NR19 Del. Re-elected	NR20 R.I. Re-elected	NR21 Va. Re-elected	NR22 Mass. Hold	NR23 Ky. Gain	NR24 Tenn. Re-elected to different party
Plurality →
J15 Ga. Re-elected	J16 Ill. Re-elected	J17 N.C. Re-elected	J18 Maine Gain	J19 Miss. Gain	J20 N.H. Gain	J21 N.J. Gain	N1	N2 S.C. Re-elected	V1 La. NR Loss[a]
J14 Ala. Re-elected	J13	J12	J11	J10	J9	J8	J7	J6	J5
						J1	J2	J3	J4

Key:	NR# = National Republican J# = Jacksonian N# = Nullfier V# = Vacant

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1834 or before March 4, 1835; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Virginia (Class 2)	William Rives	Jacksonian	1832 (special)	Incumbent resigned February 22, 1834. Successor elected February 26, 1834. Winner was also elected to the next term; see below. National Republican gain.	▌Y Benjamin W. Leigh (National Republican) [data missing]
Pennsylvania (Class 3)	William Wilkins	Jacksonian	1832	Incumbent resigned June 30, 1834, to become U.S. Minister to Russia. New senator elected December 6, 1834. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y James Buchanan (Jacksonian) 66 (49.62%)[2] ▌Amos Ellmaker (National Republican) 31 (23.31%) ▌James Clarke (Jacksonian) 26 (19.55%) ▌Joseph Lawrence (National Republican) 6 (4.51%) ▌Joel Sutherland (Jacksonian) 1 (0.75%) ▌Not voting 3 (2.26%)
Georgia (Class 3)	John Forsyth	Jacksonian	1818 (special) 1819 (resigned) 1829 (special) 1830 or 1831	Incumbent resigned June 27, 1834, to become U.S. Minister to Spain. New senator elected January 12, 1835. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Alfred Cuthbert (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Maryland (Class 3)	Ezekiel F. Chambers	National Republican	1826 (special) 1831	Incumbent resigned December 20, 1834, to become judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. New senator elected January 13, 1835. National Republican hold.	▌Y Robert Henry Goldsborough (National Republican) [data missing]
Maine (Class 2)	Peleg Sprague	National Republican	1829	Incumbent resigned January 1, 1835. New senator elected January 20, 1835. Successor was also elected to the next term; see below. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y John Ruggles (Jacksonian) [data missing]

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1835; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	William R. King	Jacksonian	1819 1822 1828	Incumbent re-elected in 1834.	▌Y William R. King (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Delaware	John M. Clayton	National Republican	1827 (special) 1829	Incumbent re-elected in 1835.	▌Y John M. Clayton (National Republican) [data missing]
Georgia	John Pendleton King	Jacksonian	1833 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1834.	▌Y John Pendleton King (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Illinois	John M. Robinson	Jacksonian	1830 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1835.	▌Y John M. Robinson (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Kentucky	George M. Bibb	Jacksonian	1829	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1835. National Republican gain.	▌Y John J. Crittenden (National Republican) [data missing]
Louisiana	George A. Waggaman	National Republican	1831 (special)	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1835, but resigned due to ill health before being seated. National Republican loss.	▌Y Charles Gayarré (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Maine	Peleg Sprague	National Republican	1829	Incumbent resigned December 20, 1834, to become judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. New senator elected January 19, 1835. Jacksonian gain. Successor was also elected to finish the term; see above.	▌Y John Ruggles (Jacksonian) 73.91% ▌George Evans (National Republican) 26.09%[3]
Massachusetts	Nathaniel Silsbee	National Republican	1826 (special) 1828	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1835. National Republican hold.	▌Y John Davis (National Republican) [data missing]
Mississippi	George Poindexter	National Republican	1830 (appointed) 1830 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1835. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Robert J. Walker (Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Samuel Bell	National Republican	1823	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1835. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Henry Hubbard (Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Jersey	Theodore Frelinghuysen	National Republican	1829	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1835. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Garret D. Wall (Jacksonian) [data missing]
North Carolina	Bedford Brown	Jacksonian	1829 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1835.	▌Y Bedford Brown (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Rhode Island	Nehemiah R. Knight	National Republican	1821 (special) 1823 1829	Incumbent re-elected May 13, 1835.	▌Y Nehemiah R. Knight (National Republican) 41 votes ▌Elisha Reynolds Potter (Unknown) 38 votes[4]
South Carolina	John C. Calhoun	Nullifier	1832 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1834.	▌Y John C. Calhoun (Nullifier) [data missing]
Tennessee	Hugh Lawson White	Jacksonian	1825 (special) 1829	Incumbent re-elected in 1835 as National Republican. National Republican gain.	▌Y Hugh Lawson White (National Republican) [data missing]
Virginia	Benjamin W. Leigh	National Republican	1834 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1835.	▌Y Benjamin W. Leigh (National Republican) [data missing]

In this special election, the winner was seated in 1835 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Connecticut (Class 1)	Nathan Smith	National Republican	1832	Incumbent died December 6, 1835. New senator elected December 21, 1835. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y John M. Niles (Jacksonian) [data missing]

In these elections, the winners were not seated until 1837.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Michigan (Class 1)	None (new state)			New state. New senator was elected in November 1835 but not seated until January 26, 1837, due to a territorial dispute with Ohio. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Lucius Lyon (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Michigan (Class 2)				New state. New senator was elected in November 1835 but not seated until January 26, 1837, due to a territorial dispute with Ohio. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y John Norvell (Jacksonian) [data missing]

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Georgia had two elections this cycle: a regular election for the class 2 seat and a special election for the class 3 seat.

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In the class 2 seat, incumbent Jacksonian John Pendleton King, who had served since winning an 1833 special election, was re-elected sometime in 1834.

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In the class 3 seat, incumbent Jacksonian John Forsyth, who had served since winning an 1829 special election, resigned June 27, 1834, to become U.S. Minister to Spain.

Jacksonian Alfred Cuthbert was elected January 12, 1835.

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Maine had two elections this cycle, both for the class 2 seat.

Incumbent Anti-Jacksonian Peleg Sprague, who was elected in 1829, resigned January 1, 1835.

Jacksonian John Ruggles won both elections.

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Jacksonian John Ruggles was elected January 19, 1835, to the next term. He was then elected to finish the current term, see below.

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Jacksonian John Ruggles was elected January 20, 1835, to finish the term that would end March 3, 1835.

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1835 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1831 January 7, 1835 1836 →
80 members of the Maryland General Assembly
Candidate Robert H. Goldsborough No votes Party Whig Legislative vote 53 15 Percentage 80.95% 17.86%

Ezekiel F. Chambers won election over non-voters by a margin of 63.10%, or 53 votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[5]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2020)

The new state of Michigan elected its new senators in 1835, both Jacksonians: Lucius Lyon (Class 1) and John Norvell (Class 2). They were not seated until January 26, 1837, due to a territorial dispute with Ohio.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2020)

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Virginia had two elections this cycle, both for the class 2 seat.

Incumbent Jacksonian William Rives, who had just won the 1832 special election, resigned February 22, 1834.

Anti-Jacksonian Benjamin W. Leigh won both elections.

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Anti-Jacksonian Benjamin W. Leigh was re-elected sometime in 1835 to the next term.

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Anti-Jacksonian Benjamin W. Leigh was elected February 26, 1834, to finish the term that would end March 3, 1835. He was then elected to the next term, see above.

• 1834 United States elections
  • 1834–35 United States House of Representatives elections
• 23rd United States Congress
• 24th United States Congress

• Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov