1802 and 1803 United States Senate elections
The United States Senate elections of 1802 and 1803 were elections for the United States Senate which had the Democratic-Republican Party assume an overwhelming control thereof.
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11 of the 32 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 17 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.
Change in composition
Before the elections
Accounting for the 1802 special elections in New York, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 S.C. (sp) Hold |
DR1 N.Y. (sp) Hold | ||||
DR7 | DR8 | DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 Va. (reg) Ran |
Majority → | DR17 Tenn. Unknown | ||||||||
F7 Conn. Ran |
F8 Del. Ran |
F9 Md. Ran |
F10 N.J. (reg) Ran |
F11 N.Y. (reg) Ran |
F12 Vt. Ran |
F13 R.I. Retired |
F14 Pa. Retired |
F15 Mass. Retired | |
F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 R.I. (sp) Hold |
Result of the regular elections
DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | ||||
DR7 | DR8 | DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 Md. Re-elected |
Majority → | DR17 N.Y. (reg) Gain | ||||||||
F7 Conn. Re-elected |
F8 Del. Re-elected |
F9 Mass. Hold |
V1 N.J. (reg) Fed loss |
V2 Tenn. DR loss |
DR21 Va. (reg) Gain |
DR20 Vt. Gain |
DR19 R.I. Gain |
DR18 Pa. Gain | |
F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 |
Beginning of the first session, October 17, 1803
DR7 | DR6 | DR5 | DR4 | DR3 | DR2 | DR1 | |||
DR8 | DR9 | DR10 | DR11 | DR12 | DR13 | DR14 | DR15 | DR16 | DR17 |
Majority → | DR18 | ||||||||
F8 | F9 | DR25 Ohio New state |
DR24 Ohio New state |
DR23 N.J. (reg) Appointee elected |
DR22 Tenn. Re-elected |
DR21 | DR20 | DR19 | |
F7 | F6 | F5 | F4 | F3 | F2 | F1 |
Key: |
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Race summaries
Unless noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.
Special elections during the 7th Congress
In these special elections, the winner was seated before March 4, 1803; ordered by election date.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
New York (Class 3) |
John Armstrong, Jr. | Democratic-Republican | 1800 (Special) | Incumbent resigned February 5, 1802. Winner elected February 11, 1802. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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New Hampshire (Class 3) |
James Sheafe | Federalist | 1800 | Incumbent resigned June 14, 1802. Winner elected June 17, 1802. Federalist hold. |
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South Carolina (Class 3) |
John E. Colhoun | Democratic-Republican | 1800 | Incumbent died October 26, 1802. Winner elected November 4, 1802. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Races leading to the 8th Congress
In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1803; 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 | James Hillhouse | Federalist | 1796 | Incumbent re-elected October 27, 1802. |
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Delaware | Samuel White | Federalist | 1801 (Appointed) | Incumbent re-elected January 11, 1803. |
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Maryland | John E. Howard | Federalist | 1796 (Special) 1796 |
Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected November 17, 1802. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Massachusetts | Jonathan Mason | Federalist | 1800 (Special) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected February 7, 1803 on the fourth ballot. Federalist hold. |
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New Jersey | Aaron Ogden | Federalist | 1801 (Special) | Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Federalist loss. |
Joseph Bloomfield (Democratic-Republican) 26 Aaron Ogden (Federalist) 26[8] |
New York | Gouverneur Morris | Federalist | 1800 (Special) | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 1, 1803 on the 2nd ballot. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Pennsylvania | James Ross | Federalist | 1794 (Special) 1797 |
Incumbent retired. New senator elected December 14, 1802. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Rhode Island | Theodore Foster | Federalist | 1796 | Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1802. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Tennessee | Joseph Anderson | Democratic- Republican |
1799 (Special) | Legislature did not elect until September 22, 1803, after the term began, see below. Democratic-Republican loss. |
None. |
Vermont | Nathaniel Chipman | Federalist | 1797 (Special) | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1802. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Virginia | Stevens Mason | Democratic- Republican |
1794 (Special) 1796 |
Incumbent re-elected in 1803. |
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Special elections during the 8th Congress
In this special election, the winner was seated in 1803 after March 4.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Ohio (Class 1) |
New seat | Ohio joined the Union in 1803. Winner elected April 1, 1803. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Ohio (Class 3) |
New seat | Ohio joined the Union in 1803. Winner elected April 1, 1803. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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Tennessee (Class 1) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. Predecessor re-elected late September 22, 1803 on the 4th ballot. Democratic-Republican gain. |
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New Jersey (Class 1) |
John Condit | Democratic-Republican | 1803 (Appointed) | Legislature had failed to elect. Condit was then appointed September 1, 1803 to continue the term. He was then elected November 3, 1803. |
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Virginia (Class 1) |
John Taylor | Democratic-Republican | 1792 (Special) 1793 |
Predecessor Stevens T. Mason (DR) had died May 10, 1803, having just begun the new term. Interim appointee served from June 4, 1803, and did not seek election to finish the term. Winner elected December 7, 1803. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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Early race leading to the Congress-after-next
In this regular election, the winner was seated on March 4, 1805; ordered by state.
This election involved a Class 2 seat.
State | Incumbent | Results | Candidates | ||
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Senator | Party | Electoral history | |||
Tennessee | William Cocke | Democratic- Republican |
1799 (Special) | Incumbent retired. New senator elected early September 23, 1803. Democratic-Republican hold. |
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New Jersey
There were two elections to the class 1 seat.
New Jersey (Regular)
The New Jersey legislature failed to elect by the March 4, 1803 beginning of the term.
New Jersey (Special)
The governor appointed Democratic-Republican John Condit September 1, 1803 to continue the term. Condit was then unanimously elected November 3, 1803 to finish the term. No vote totals were recorded.[17]
New York
New York (Special)
Democratic-Republican John Armstrong Jr., who had held the class 3 seat since 1801, resigned February 5, 1802 and Democratic-Republican DeWitt Clinton was elected February 23, 1802 to finish the term. Clinton, however, resigned November 4, 1803 and Armstrong was appointed December 8, 1803 to his old seat.
New York (Regular)
Federalist Gouverneur Morris lost re-election to the class 1 seat to Democratic-Republican Theodorus Bailey in 1803.
Ohio
Ohio joined the Union in 1803. New Democratic-Republican senators were elected April 1, 1803. Official records indicate that John Smith and Thomas Worthington were elected, and that Smith received the "long" term, while Worthington received the "short" one. They do not indicate if there were other candidates, or what the vote totals were.[18]
Vermont
Federalist Senator Nathaniel Chipman lost re-election to Democratic-Republican Israel Smith. Smith received 102 votes in the Vermont House of Representatives and 9 from the Governor and Council.[11] Spencer received 75 votes from the House and 4 from the Governor and Council.[11]
Virginia
There were two elections to the same seat as the newly-re-elected senator died at the beginning of the next term.
Virginia (Special)
Mason died May 10, 1803, having just begun the new term. Democratic-Republican John Taylor was appointed but chose not to run to finish the term. Democratic-Republican Abraham B. Venable was elected December 7, 1803 as the unanimous choice of the Virginia General Assembly. No vote totals were recorded.[15]
See also
References
- "New York 1802 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing The Poughkeepsie Journal (Poughkeepsie, NY). February 16, 1802.
- "New Hampshire 1802 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Courier of New Hampshire (Concord, NH). June 24, 1802. The Providence Gazette (Providence, RI). July 3, 1802.
- "South Carolina 1802 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Original Election Returns. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia. The Carolina Gazette (Charleston, SC). December 16, 1802. National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser (Washington, DC). December 22, 1802.
- "Connecticut 1802 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing American Mercury (Hartford, CT). November 4, 1802.
- "Delaware 1803 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Journal of the Delaware State Senate, 1803. 13-14.
- "Maryland 1802 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Votes and Proceedings of the Maryland State Senate, 1802. 10.
- "Massachusetts 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Columbian Centinel. Massachusetts Federalist (Boston, MA). February 5, 1803. The Independent Chronicle (Boston, MA). February 7, 1803. Columbian Centinel. Massachusetts Federalist (Boston, MA). February 9, 1803. Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). February 9, 1803. Boston Gazette (Boston, MA). February 10, 1803. Republican Star or Eastern Shore General Advertiser (Easton, MD). March 1, 1803. Frederick-Town Herald (Fredericktown, MD). March 5, 1803.
- "New Jersey 1802 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Middlebury Mercury (Middlebury, VT). December 15, 1802.
- "New York 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Journal of the New York Assembly, 1803. 39-40.
- "Rhode Island 1802 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 31, 2018., citing The Providence Phoenix (Providence, RI). November 2, 1802.
- "Bennington: October 25, 1802". City Gazette. Charleston, South Carolina. November 20, 1802. p. 2 – via GenealogyBank.com.
- "Tennessee 1803 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 1, 2018., citing Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1803. 21-22.
- "New Jersey 1803 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing The Centinel of Freedom (Newark, NJ). November 8, 1803.
- "Our Campaigns - Candidate - John Condit". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019."Our Campaigns - Candidate - John Condit". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- "Richmond: December 10, 1803". Wilmington, North Carolina: Wilmington Gazette. December 27, 1803. p. 4.
Mr. Taylor having declined to serve longer, Abraham B. Venable, esq., was on Wednesday last unanimously elected by the General Assembly in the room of Mr. Taylor.
- "Tennessee 1803 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1803. 27. Gazette of the United States (Philadelphia, PA). October 18, 1803. White, Robert Hiram. Messages of the Governors of Tennessee, 1796-1821. Vol. 1. Nashville: The Tennessee Historical Commission, 1952.
- New Jersey Legislature (1804). Minutes and Proceedings of the Joint Meeting, November 3, 1803. Trenton, NJ: Sherman, Mershon & Thomas. p. 44.
- Taylor, William A. (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901. Columbus, Ohio: Century Publishing Co. p. 96 – via Internet Archive.
Sources
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov