The 1840–41 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 1840 and 1841, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.

Corresponding with their party's success in the 1840 presidential election, the Whig Party took control of the Senate.

Results summary Senate party division, 27th Congress (1841–1843)

Majority party: Whig (29) Minority party: Democratic (22–20) Other parties: (0) Vacant: (1–3) Total seats: 52

Change in composition Before the elections After the November 25, 1840 special elections in North Carolina. D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Majority → D W W W W W V V D D W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W

After the elections

D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D V V V W Majority → W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W

Beginning of the next Congress

D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D V W W W Majority → W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W Key: D Democratic W Whig V Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 26th Congress In these elections, the winners were elected during 1840 or in 1841 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Pennsylvania(Class 1) Vacant since 1839. Incumbent Samuel McKean's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor.New senator elected January 14, 1840.Democratic hold. Michigan(Class 1) Vacant since 1839. Incumbent Lucius Lyon (D) retired, his term expired, and the legislature failed to elect a successor.New senator elected January 20, 1840.Whig gain. New York(Class 1) Vacant since 1839. Incumbent Nathaniel P. Tallmadge's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor.Incumbent re-elected January 27, 1840 to his former position as a Whig.Whig gain. Tennessee(Class 2) Hugh Lawson White Whig 1825 18291835 Incumbent resigned January 13, 1840, after refusing to vote for the Subtreasury Bill as demanded by the Tennessee legislature.New senator elected January 27, 1840.Democratic gain.Winner was not elected to the next term; see below. Connecticut(Class 1) Thaddeus Betts Whig 1838 or 1839 Incumbent died April 7, 1840.New senator elected May 20, 1840.Whig hold. North Carolina(Class 2) Bedford Brown Democratic 1829 1835 Incumbent resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly.New senator elected November 25, 1840.Whig gain.Winner also elected the same day to the next term; see below. North Carolina(Class 3) Robert Strange Democratic 1836 1836 Incumbent resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly.New senator elected November 25, 1840.Whig gain. Maryland(Class 3) John S. Spence Whig 1836 1837 Incumbent died October 24, 1840.New senator elected January 5, 1841.Whig hold. Delaware(Class 1) Richard H. Bayard Whig 1836 1838 or 1839 Incumbent resigned September 19, 1839, to become Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.New senator elected January 12, 1841 to his former position.Whig hold. Massachusetts(Class 2) John Davis Whig 1835 Incumbent resigned January 5, 1841, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts.New senator elected January 13, 1841.Whig hold.Winner also elected the same day to the next term; see below. Virginia(Class 1) Vacant since 1839. Incumbent William C. Rives's (D) term expired and the legislature failed to elect a successor.Incumbent re-elected January 18, 1841 to his former position as a Whig.Whig gain. Massachusetts(Class 1) Daniel Webster Whig 182718331839 Incumbent resigned February 22, 1841, to become U.S. Secretary of State.New senator elected February 23, 1841.Whig hold.

Races leading to the 27th Congress In these regular elections, the winner was elected for the term beginning March 4, 1841; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoralhistory Alabama William R. King Democratic 1819 182218281834 Incumbent re-elected November 17, 1840. Arkansas William S. Fulton Democratic 1836 Incumbent re-elected in 1840. Delaware Thomas Clayton Whig 1824 1827 1837 Incumbent re-elected January 12, 1841. Georgia Wilson Lumpkin Democratic 1837 Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election.New senator elected December 4, 1840.Whig gain. Illinois John M. Robinson Democratic 1830 1834 Incumbent retired.New senator elected December 16, 1840.Democratic hold. Kentucky John J. Crittenden Whig 18161819 1835 Incumbent retired.New senator elected February 18, 1841 on the twenty-first ballot.Whig hold. Louisiana Robert C. Nicholas Democratic 1836 Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election.New senator elected in 1840.Whig gain. Maine John Ruggles Democratic 1835 1835 Incumbent retired.New senator elected January 28, 1841.Whig gain. Massachusetts Vacant Sen. John Davis (W) resigned January 5, 1841, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts.New senator elected January 13, 1841.Whig hold.Winner also elected the same day to finish the current term, see above. Michigan John Norvell Democratic 1835 Incumbent retired.New senator elected February 3, 1841.Whig gain. Mississippi Robert J. Walker Democratic 1835 Incumbent re-elected in 1841. New Hampshire Henry Hubbard Democratic 1835 Incumbent retired to run for New Hampshire Governor.New senator elected December 2, 1840.Democratic hold. New Jersey Garret D. Wall Democratic 1835 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected February 19, 1841.Whig gain. North Carolina Vacant Sen. Bedford Brown (D) resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly.New senator elected November 24, 1840.Whig gain.Winner also elected the same day to finish the current term; see above. Rhode Island Nehemiah R. Knight Whig 1821 182318281835 Incumbent retired.New senator elected October 29, 1840.Whig hold. South Carolina John C. Calhoun Democratic 1832 1834 Incumbent re-elected November 30, 1840. Tennessee Alexander O. Anderson Democratic 1840 Incumbent retired.Legislature failed to elect.Democratic loss.Seat would not be filled until 1843. None. Virginia William H. Roane Democratic 1837 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected March 3, 1841 on the second ballot.Whig gain.

Special elections during the 27th Congress In this special election, the winner was elected in 1841 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Alabama(Class 3) Clement Comer Clay Democratic 1837 Incumbent resigned November 15, 1841.New senator elected November 24, 1841 on the second ballot.Democratic hold.

Alabama

Alabama (regular)

Alabama (special)

Arkansas

Connecticut (special)

Delaware

Delaware (special)

Delaware (regular)

Georgia

Illinois

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland (special)

John Leeds Kerr won election to a full term an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.

Massachusetts

There were three elections due to the February 22, 1841, resignation of Whig Daniel Webster to become U.S. Secretary of State and the January 5, 1841, resignation of Whig John Davis to become Governor of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts (special, class 2)

Whig Isaac C. Bates was elected January 13, 1841, to finish Davis's term.

Massachusetts (regular)

Bates was also elected January 13, 1841, to the next term.

Bates would only serve, however, until his March 16, 1845, death, and Davis was again elected to the seat.

Massachusetts (special, class 1)

Whig Rufus Choate was elected February 23, 1841, to finish Webster's term which would continue until 1845.

Michigan

Mississippi

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York (special)

Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been elected as a Jacksonian Democrat in 1833 to this seat, and his term expired March 3, 1839. An election was held February 5, 1839. Although Tallmadge received the most votes, no candidate received a majority and the seat was declared vacant due to the legislature's failure to elect.

At the State election in November 1839, 7 Whigs and 3 Democrats were elected to the State Senate, which gave the Whigs a majority, the first anti-Bucktails/Jacksonian/Democratic majority in 20 years. The 63rd New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 14, 1840, at Albany, New York. The strength of the parties in the Assembly, as shown by the vote for Speaker, was: 68 for Whig George Washington Patterson and 56 for Democrat Levi S. Chatfield.

On January 14, 1840, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge received a majority in both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

Candidate Party Senate (32 members) Assembly (128 members)Nathaniel P. TallmadgeWhig 19Samuel BeardsleyDemocratic 2Levi Beardsley Democratic 1William C. Bouck Democratic 1Benjamin F. Butler Democratic 1Churchill C. Cambreleng Democratic 1Hiram Denio Democratic 1John A. Dix Democratic 1Azariah C. Flagg Democratic 1John Savage Democratic 1John Tracy Democratic 1

Tallmadge re-took his seat on January 27, 1840,Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856: Dec. 16, 1839 – March 3, 1841 (page 50) and remained in office until June 17, 1844, when he resigned to be appointed Governor of Wisconsin Territory. Daniel S. Dickinson was appointed to fill the vacancy temporarily, and subsequently elected by the State Legislature to succeed Tallmadge.

North Carolina

There were three elections due to the November 16, 1840, resignations of Democrats Bedford Brown and Robert Strange.

North Carolina (special, class 2)

Whig Willie Mangum was elected November 25, 1840, to finish Brown's term that would end in March 1841.

North Carolina (regular)

Mangum was later re-elected in 1841 to the next term.

North Carolina (special, class 3)

Whig William Alexander Graham was elected November 25, 1840, to finish Strange's term that would end in 1843.

Pennsylvania

The election was held on January 14, 1840, after the regularly scheduled election in December 1838 was postponed due to the Buckshot War. Daniel Sturgeon was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.

Democrat Samuel McKean was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the 1832–1833 Senate election. Sen. McKean's term was to expire on March 4, 1839, and an election would have occurred during the winter of 1838–1839 elect a senator for the successive term. The election did not occur, however, due to significant political unrest in Harrisburg, the state capital, over disputed election returns during the Buckshot War. McKean's seat was vacated when his term expired in March 1839 and remained vacant until the General Assembly elected a new senator in 1840.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 14, 1840, to elect a senator to serve out the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1839. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Tennessee (special)

Tennessee (regular)

Virginia

Virginia (regular)

Virginia (special)

See also 1840 United States elections 1840 United States presidential election 1840–41 United States House of Representatives elections 26th United States Congress 27th United States Congress

References

Party Division in the Senate, 1789–Present, via Senate.gov Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682–2006 from the Wilkes University Election Statistics Project