The 1838–39 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 1838 and 1839, 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 1.

The Democratic Party lost seven seats, but still retained a majority.

Results summary Senate party division, 26th Congress (1839–1841)

Majority party: Democratic (28–29) Minority party: Whig (19–23) Total seats: 52

Change in composition Before the elections After the January 4, 1838 special election in Maryland.

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 D D D D D D D D W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W

Result of the elections

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 V V V V D W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W

Beginning of the next term

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 V V V V V D 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 25th Congress In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1838 or before March 4, 1839; ordered by election date.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Maryland(Class 1) Joseph Kent Whig 1833 Incumbent died November 24, 1837.New senator elected January 4, 1838.Whig hold.Winner was also elected to the next term, see below. Mississippi(Class 1) Thomas H. Williams Democratic 1838 Interim appointee elected January 30, 1839.Winner was not elected to the next term; see below.

Races leading to the 26th Congress In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1839; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Connecticut John Niles Democratic 1835 Incumbent retired.Winner elected in 1838 or 1839.Whig gain. Delaware Richard H. Bayard Whig 1836 Incumbent re-elected in 1838 or 1839. Indiana John Tipton Democratic 1832 1832 Incumbent retired.Winner elected in 1838.Whig gain. Maine Reuel Williams Democratic 1837 Incumbent re-elected January 17, 1839. Maryland William Merrick Whig 1838 Incumbent re-elected in 1839. Massachusetts Daniel Webster Whig 1827 1833 Incumbent re-elected in 1839. Michigan Lucius Lyon Democratic 1835 Incumbent retired.Legislature failed to elect until 1840.Democratic loss. Mississippi Thomas H. Williams Democratic 1838 1839 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.Winner elected in 1838.Whig gain. Missouri Thomas H. Benton Democratic 182118271833 Incumbent re-elected in 1839. New Jersey Samuel L. Southard Whig 1821 18201823 1833 Incumbent re-elected in 1838. New York Nathaniel P. Tallmadge Democratic 1833 Incumbent ran for re-election as a Whig.Legislature failed to elect.Democratic loss. Ohio Thomas Morris Democratic 1833 Incumbent retired.Winner elected in 1838.Democratic hold. Pennsylvania Samuel McKean Democratic 1833 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.Legislature failed to elect until 1840 after the December 1838 election was postponed due to the Buckshot War.Democratic loss. None. Rhode Island Asher Robbins Whig 1835 18271833 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.Winner elected November 3, 1838.Whig hold. Tennessee Felix Grundy Democratic 1829 1833 Incumbent resigned July 4, 1838 to become U.S. Attorney General.A new senator had already been elected October 21, 1837.Whig gain.Winner was then appointed to finish the unexpired term but declined to serve the next term (see below). Vermont Benjamin Swift Whig 1833 Incumbent retired.Winner elected in 1839.Whig hold. Virginia William C. Rives Democratic 1832 1834 1836 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.Legislature failed to elect until 1841.Democratic loss.

Special election during the 26th Congress In this special election, the winner was seated in 1839 after March 4.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Tennessee(Class 1) Vacant Appointed incumbent Ephraim H. Foster had been elected to the next term (see above), but declined to serve the next term and left office at the end of the term.New senator elected November 19, 1839.Democratic gain.

Connecticut

Delaware

Indiana

Maine

Maryland

Maryland (special)

William Duhurst Merrick won election over to fill the seat vacated by Joseph Kent by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.

Maryland (regular)

William Duhurst Merrick won election to a full term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.

Massachusetts

Michigan

Mississippi

Mississippi (regular)

Mississippi (special)

Missouri

New Jersey

New York

The New York election was held February 5, 1839 by the New York State Legislature. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been elected as a Jacksonian Democratic in 1833 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1839.

On February 4, 1839, the State Legislature elected on joint ballot Spencer, Cooke, Hall and Haight to the offices they were nominated for, but on the next day they could not agree on a U.S. Senator.

The Assembly nominated Nathaniel P. Tallmadge "by the votes of all the Whig members." (see Hammond, page 512)

Although the Democratic State Senate majority did not object to be outvoted on joint ballot for the election of Whigs to State offices, they rejected the idea of electing a renegade Democratic to the U.S. Senate, and took refuge to the only means to defeat Tallmadge: They did not nominate anybody, following the precedents of 1819–1820 and 1825–1826, so that a joint ballot could not be held. On the first ballot, Tallmadge received 13 votes out of 31 cast, all Whigs. The Democratic vote was scattered among many men, nobody receiving more than 2. Four more ballots were held with a similar result. On the sixth ballot, all Whigs and two Democrats voted for Samuel Beardsley, who received 16 votes, one short of the necessary number for a nomination. The Democrats then abandoned further balloting, fearing that the Whigs would vote for anybody who received by chance three Democratic votes, just to force any nomination, thus enabling the Legislature to proceed to the joint ballot.

Candidate Party New York Senate(32 members) Assembly(128 members) Firstballot Secondballot Thirdballot Fourthballot Fifthballot Sixthballot Firstballot Nathaniel P. Tallmadge Whig 13 13 13 82 Samuel Nelson Democratic 2 Samuel Beardsley Democratic 1 2 2 16 William C. Bouck Democratic 1 1 1 1 Churchill C. Cambreleng Democratic 1 1 1 1 Hiram Denio Democratic 1 1 1 1 John A. Dix Democratic 1 1 1 1 Charles E. Dudley Democratic 1 1 1 1 Azariah C. Flagg Democratic 1 1 1 1 Freeborn G. Jewett Democratic 1 1 1 1 Ebenezer Mack Democratic 1 1 1 1 Charles McVean Democratic 1 1 1 1 Joseph D. Monell Democratic 1 1 1 1 John Savage Democratic 1 1 1 1 Jacob Sutherland Democratic 1 1 1 1 John Tracy Democratic 1 1 1 1 Greene C. Bronson Democratic 1 Reuben H. Walworth Democratic 1 Levi Beardsley Democratic 1 1 1 Benjamin F. Butler Democratic 1 1 1 Abijah Mann Jr. Democratic 1 1 1

No further action was taken by this Legislature, and the seat became vacant on March 4, 1839. Tallmadge would later be elected in 1840.

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Tennessee

There were two elections to the same seat due to the July 4, 1838 resignation of Democrat Felix Grundy to become U.S. Attorney General. Whig Ephraim H. Foster was appointed September 17, 1838, to finish Grundy's term.

Tennessee (regular)

Foster, who had already been elected to the next term, declined the seat, refusing to take the Tennessee General Assembly's instructions on how to vote, so he left office March 3, 1839, and the seat was vacant when the term began.

Tennessee (special)

The legislature then elected Grundy back to the seat November 19, 1839, but he died a year later.

Vermont

Virginia

See also 1838 United States elections 1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections 25th United States Congress 26th United States Congress

Notes

References

Sources Party Division in the Senate, 1789–Present, via Senate.gov