1814 and 1815 United States Senate elections

The United States Senate elections of 1814 and 1815 were elections that had the Democratic-Republican Party lose a seat but still retain an overwhelming majority in the United States Senate. Unlike in recent elections, the minority Federalists had gone into the elections with a chance of regaining their long-lost majority had they swept almost all the seats. However, only one seat switched parties. Two seats held by Democratic-Republicans were left unfilled until long after the next Congress began.

1814 and 1815 United States Senate elections

Dates vary by state
12 of the 36 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 19 seats needed for a majority
Party Democratic-Republican Federalist Last election 28 seats 8 seats Seats before 26 10 Seats won 5 5 Seats after 22 11 Seat change 3 1 Seats up 8 4
Majority Party before election Democratic-Republican Elected Majority Party Democratic-Republican

As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.

Change in composition

Before the elections

Composition after June 1814 special election in New Hampshire.

DR8	DR7	DR6	DR5	DR4	DR3	DR2	DR1
DR9	DR10	DR11	DR12	DR13	DR14	DR15	DR16	DR17	DR18
Majority →									DR19 Md. Unknown
F9 Mass. (reg) Ran	F10 R.I. Ran	DR26 Va. Ran	DR25 Vt. Retired	DR24 Tenn. (reg) Retired	DR23 Pa. Ran	DR22 Ohio (reg) Retired	DR21 N.Y. Unknown	DR20 N.J. Ran
F8 Del. Ran	F7 Conn. Ran	F6	F5	F4	F3	F2	F1

Result of the regular elections

DR8	DR7	DR6	DR5	DR4	DR3	DR2	DR1
DR9	DR10	DR11	DR12	DR13	DR14	DR15	DR16	DR17	DR18
Majority →									DR19 N.J. Hold
F9 Mass. (reg) Re-elected	F10 R.I. Re-elected	F11 Vt. Gain	V1 Tenn. (reg) DR Loss	V2 Md. DR Loss	DR23 Va. Hold	DR22 Pa. (reg) Re-elected	DR21 Ohio (reg) Hold	DR20 N.Y. Hold
F8 Del. Re-elected	F7 Conn. Re-elected	F6	F5	F4	F3	F2	F1

Key	DR# Democratic-Republican F# Federalist V# Vacant

Race summaries

Except when noted, number following candidates is whole number votes.

Special elections during the preceding Congress

In these special elections, the winner was elected during 1814 or before March 4, 1815; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Pennsylvania (Class 3)	Michael Leib	Democratic- Republican	1809 (Special) 1808	Incumbent resigned to become Postmaster of Philadelphia. New senator elected February 24, 1814.[1] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was never seated due to a failure to qualify.	Jonathan Roberts (Democratic-Republican) 82 Thomas Sergeant (Democratic-Republican) 23 Horace Binney (Federalist) 8 John Steele (Federalist) 1 Horatio Gates Jones (Democratic-Republican) 1 Isaac Wayne (Federalist) 1 Not voting 10[1]
New Hampshire (Class 2)	Nicholas Gilman	Democratic- Republican	1804 1810	Incumbent died May 4, 1814. New senator elected June 24, 1814. Federalist gain.	Thomas W. Thompson (Federalist) 93 Samuel Bell 80 Scattering 5[2]
Ohio (Class 1)	Thomas Worthington	Democratic- Republican	1803 1807 (Retired) 1810 (Special)	Incumbent resigned to become Governor of Ohio. New senator elected December 10, 1814 on the fourth ballot. Democratic-Republican hold.	Joseph Kerr (Democratic-Republican) 42 Benjamin Ruggles 36 Duncan MacArthur 1 David Purviance 1[3]
Kentucky (Class 2)	George Walker	Democratic- Republican	1814 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected December 16, 1814. Democratic-Republican hold.	William T. Barry (Democratic-Republican) 58 Benjamin Mills 48[4]
North Carolina (Class 3)	David Stone	Democratic- Republican	1800 1807 (Resigned) 1812	Incumbent resigned December 24, 1814. New senator elected December 30, 1814 on the eleventh ballot.[5][6] Democratic-Republican hold. Winner was never seated due to a failure to qualify.	Francis Locke Jr. (Democratic-Republican) 104 John Stanly (Federalist) 75[5]
Virginia (Class 1)	Richard Brent	Democratic- Republican	1809	Incumbent died December 30, 1814, having lost re-election, see below. New senator elected January 2, 1815, having already won election to the next term. Democratic-Republican hold.	James Barbour (Democratic-Republican) 107 William Wirt 80 Scattering 4[7]
Kentucky (Class 3)	Jesse Bledsoe	Democratic- Republican	1813	Incumbent resigned. New senator elected January 3, 1815 on the second ballot. Democratic-Republican hold.	Isham Talbot (Democratic-Republican) 56 Benjamin Mills 50[8]

Races leading to the next Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1815; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Connecticut	Samuel Dana	Federalist	1810 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1814.	Samuel Dana (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Delaware	Outerbridge Horsey	Federalist	1810 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected January 13, 1815.	Outerbridge Horsey (Federalist) 18 John Warner (Democratic-Republican) 8[9]
Maryland	Samuel Smith	Democratic- Republican	1802 1808	Legislature failed to elect. A winner would not be elected until 1816.[10] Democratic-Republican loss.	[data unknown/missing]
Massachusetts	Christopher Gore	Federalist	1813 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected in 1815.	Christopher Gore (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
New Jersey	John Lambert	Democratic- Republican	1808	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 1, 1815 on the third ballot.[11] Democratic-Republican hold.	James Wilson (Democratic-Republican) 29[12] John Lambert (Federalist) 17[12] Ebenezer Elmer Withdrew[12]
New York	Obadiah German	Democratic- Republican	1809	[data unknown/missing] New senator elected February 7, 1815.[13][14] Democratic-Republican hold.	Nathan Sanford (Democratic-Republican) 89 James Emott (Federalist) 40 John Jay (Federalist) 1 Philetus Swift (Democratic-Republican) 1[13][14]
Ohio	Joseph Kerr	Democratic- Republican	1814 (Special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 7, 1815 on the third ballot.[15] Democratic-Republican hold.	Benjamin Ruggles (Democratic-Republican) 42 Duncan MacArthur 34 William Creighton Jr. 5 Peter Hitchcock 2[15]
Pennsylvania	Jonathan Roberts	Democratic- Republican	1814 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected December 10, 1814.[16]	Jonathan Roberts (Democratic-Republican) 84 Samuel Sitgreaves (Federalist) 32 Jared Ingersoll (Federalist) 1 Not voting 9[16]
Rhode Island	William Hunter	Federalist	1811 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected November 4, 1814.	William Hunter (Federalist) Unanimous[17]
Tennessee	Joseph Anderson	Democratic- Republican	1797 (Special) 1799 (Resigned) 1799 (Special) 1803 1809 (Appointed) 1809 (Special)	Incumbent retired. Legislature failed to elect. Democratic-Republican loss. A new senator would later be elected, see below.	None.
Vermont	Jonathan Robinson	Democratic- Republican	1807 (Special) 1808	Incumbent retired. New senator elected October 25, 1814 Federalist gain.	Isaac Tichenor (Federalist) 111 Jonathan Robinson (Democratic-Republican) 83 John Strong (Democratic-Republican) 7 Scattering, 1.[18]
Virginia	Richard Brent	Democratic- Republican	1808	Incumbent lost re-election, and then died after the election. New senator elected November 14, 1814. Democratic-Republican hold.	James Barbour (Democratic-Republican) 107 William Wirt 80 Scattering 4[7]

Special elections during the next Congress

In this special election, the winner was elected in 1815 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Tennessee (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect, see above. New senator elected October 10, 1815. Democratic-Republican gain.	George W. Campbell (Democratic-Republican) 37 Parry Wayne Humphreys 23[19]
Tennessee (Class 2)	Jesse Wharton	Democratic- Republican	1814 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected October 10, 1815. Democratic-Republican hold.	John Williams (Democratic-Republican) 32 John Rhea 26[20]
North Carolina (Class 3)	Francis Locke Jr.	Democratic- Republican	1800 1812	Incumbent resigned, having failed to qualify. New senator elected December 5, 1815 on the fifth ballot.[21][22] Democratic-Republican hold.	Nathaniel Macon (Democratic-Republican) 101 John Branch Jr. (Democratic-Republican) 59 Scattering 27[21][22]
Virginia (Class 2)	William B. Giles	Democratic- Republican	1804 (Appointed) 1804 (Special) 1804 1811	Incumbent resigned March 3, 1815. New senator elected December 7, 1815. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner subsequently declined to serve. A new senator was later elected in 1816.	John Eppes (Democratic-Republican) 125 John Mercer 43

Connecticut

Delaware

Kentucky (Special)

There were two special elections in Kentucky: one in 1814 and the other in 1815.

Maryland

Massachusetts

New Hampshire (Special)

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina (Special)

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Tennessee

Vermont

Virginia

Virginia

See also

• 1814 United States elections
  • 1814 and 1815 United States House of Representatives elections
• 13th United States Congress
• 14th United States Congress

Notes

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

References

1. "U.S. Senate Election - February 24, 1814" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
2. "New Hampshire 1814 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing Concord Gazette (Concord, NH). June 28, 1814. Turner, Lynn Warren. The Ninth State: New Hampshire's Formative Years. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1983. 292.
3. Taylor, William A. (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901 with Notes and Sketches of Senators and Representatives and Other Historical Data and Incidents. Columbus, Ohio: The XX. Century Publishing Co. pp. 98–99 – via Internet Archive.
4. "Kentucky 1814 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing The Western Monitor (Lexington, KY). December 23, 1814. Argus of Western America (Frankfort, KY). December 17, 1814.
5. "North Carolina 1814 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 11". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk, VA). January 4, 1815.
6. "NC US Senate - Special Election". Our Campaigns. January 6, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
7. "Virginia 1814 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk, VA). November 19, 1814.
8. "Kentucky 1815 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing The Union (Washington, KY). January 14, 1815. Argus of Western America (Frankfort, KY). January 7, 1815.
9. "Delaware 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 25, 2018., citing Journal of the Delaware House of Representatives, 1815. 37.
10. "MD US Senate". Our Campaigns. August 29, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
11. "NJ US Senate". Our Campaigns. April 1, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
12. "New Jersey 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing New Jersey Privy Council Records, 1814. 306-307.
13. "New York 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing Ontario Messenger (Canandaigua, NY). February 21, 1815.
14. "NY US Senate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
15. Taylor, William A. (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901 with Notes and Sketches of Senators and Representatives and Other Historical Data and Incidents. Columbus, Ohio: The XX. Century Publishing Co. p. 99 – via Internet Archive.
16. "U.S. Senate Election - December 10, 1814" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
17. "Rhode Island 1814 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing The Rhode-Island American, and General Advertiser (Providence, RI). November 8, 1814.
18. "Tuesday, October 25th: Senator". Vermont Watchman. Montpelier, VT. October 27, 1814. p. 3. In addition to winning a majority in the legislature, Tichenor also unanimously received the 12 votes of the Governor and Council.
19. "Tennessee 1815 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing Original Tally Sheet. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1815. 112. Journal of the Tennessee State Senate, 1815. 96-97.
20. "Tennessee 1815 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 27, 2018., citing Original Tally Sheet. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1815. 112. Journal of the Tennessee State Senate, 1815. 96-97.
21. "North Carolina 1815 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 5". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 26, 2018., citing The Star (Raleigh, NC). December 8, 1815.
22. "NC US Senate - Special Election". Our Campaigns. January 6, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2015.