The 1796–97 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 1796 and 1797, 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.
They coincided with John Adams's election as President. The ruling Federalist Party gained one seat.
Results summary Senate party division, 5th Congress (1797–1799)
Majority party: Federalist (22) Minority party: Democratic-Republican (9) Vacant: 1 (later filled by Democratic-Republican) Total seats: 32
Change in composition
Before the elections After the August 2, 1796 admission of Tennessee.
DR DR DR DR DR DR DR DR DR DR DR V V F F F Majority → F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F
Results of the regular elections
DR DR DR DR DR DR DR DR DR V V V F F F F Majority → F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F Key DR Democratic-Republican F Federalist V Vacant
Race summaries Except if/when noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.
Special elections during the 4th Congress In these special elections, the winners were seated before March 4, 1797; ordered by election date.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party First elected Georgia(class 2) George Walton Federalist 1795 Appointee retired when successor elected.New senator elected February 20, 1796.Democratic-Republican gain. Connecticut(class 1) Oliver Ellsworth Federalist 1788 Incumbent resigned to become Chief Justice of the United States.New senator elected May 12, 1796.Federalist hold. Massachusetts(class 1) George Cabot Federalist 1790 Incumbent resigned June 9, 1796.New senator elected June 11, 1796 on the second ballot.Federalist hold.Successor also elected the same day to the next term, see below. Massachusetts(class 2) Caleb Strong Federalist 1788 Incumbent resigned June 1, 1796.New senator elected June 11, 1796 on the second ballot.Federalist hold. Connecticut(class 3) Jonathan Trumbull Jr. Federalist 1794 or 1795 Incumbent resigned June 10, 1796, to become Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut.New senator elected October 13, 1796.Federalist hold. Vermont(class 1) Moses Robinson Democratic-Republican 1791 Incumbent resigned October 15, 1796.New senator elected October 18, 1796.Federalist gain.Winner also elected the same day to the next term; see below. New York(class 3) Rufus King Federalist 1789 Incumbent resigned May 23, 1796, to become U.S. Minister to Great Britain.New senator elected November 9, 1796.Federalist hold. New Jersey(class 2) Frederick Frelinghuysen Federalist 1792 or 1793 Incumbent resigned November 12, 1796.New senator elected November 12, 1796.Federalist hold. Maryland(class 1) Richard Potts Federalist 1793 Incumbent resigned October 24, 1796.New senator elected November 28, 1796.Federalist hold.Successor also later elected to the next term; see below. South Carolina(class 2) Pierce Butler Democratic-Republican 1789 Incumbent resigned October 25, 1796.New senator elected December 8, 1796.Democratic-Republican hold.
Races leading to the 5th Congress In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1797; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party First elected Connecticut James Hillhouse Federalist 1796 Incumbent re-elected in 1797. Delaware Henry Latimer Federalist 1795 Incumbent re-elected January 6, 1797. Maryland John Eager Howard Federalist 1796 Incumbent re-elected December 9, 1796. Massachusetts George Cabot Federalist 1790 Incumbent resigned June 9, 1796.New senator elected June 11, 1796 on the third ballot.Federalist hold.Winner also elected to finish the current term; see above. New Jersey John Rutherfurd Federalist 1790 Incumbent re-elected in 1796. New York Aaron Burr Democratic-Republican 1791 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected January 24, 1797.Federalist gain. Pennsylvania James Ross Federalist 1794 Incumbent re-elected February 16, 1797. Rhode Island Theodore Foster Federalist 1790 Incumbent re-elected in 1797. Tennessee William Cocke Democratic-Republican 1796 Legislature failed to elect.Democratic-Republican loss.Incumbent later appointed to continue term. None Vermont Moses Robinson Democratic-Republican 1791 Incumbent resigned October 15, 1796.New senator elected October 18, 1796.Federalist gain.Winner also elected to finish the current term, see above. Virginia Stevens Mason Democratic-Republican 1794 Incumbent re-elected November 29, 1796.
Special elections during the 5th Congress In these special elections, the winners were elected after the March 4, 1797 beginning of the next Congress.
State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party First elected Tennessee(class 1) William Cocke Democratic-Republican 1796 Interim appointee lost re-election.New senator elected September 26, 1797.Democratic-Republican hold. Tennessee(class 2) William Blount Democratic-Republican 1796 Incumbent expelled July 8, 1797.New senator elected September 26, 1797.Democratic-Republican hold. Vermont(class 1) Isaac Tichenor Federalist 1796 Incumbent resigned October 17, 1797, to become Governor of Vermont.New senator elected October 17, 1797.Federalist hold. Rhode Island(class 2) William Bradford Federalist 1793 Incumbent resigned in October 1797.New senator elected November 13, 1797.Federalist hold. Maryland(class 3) John Henry Federalist 1788 Incumbent resigned July 10, 1797, to become Governor of Maryland.New senator elected December 8, 1797.Federalist hold.
Connecticut
Connecticut (regular)
Connecticut (special, class 1)
Connecticut (special, class 3)
Delaware
Georgia (special)
Maryland
Maryland (special, 1796)
John Eager Howard won election to fill the seat vacated by Richard Potts by an unknown number of votes, for the Class 1 seat.
Maryland (regular)
John Eager Howard won re-election over Richard Sprigg Jr. by an unknown number of votes, for the Class 1 seat.
Maryland (special, 1797)
James Lloyd won election over William Winder by a margin of 1.12%, or 1 vote, for the Class 3 seat.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (regular)
Massachusetts (special, class 1)
Massachusetts (special, class 2)
New Jersey
New Jersey (regular)
New Jersey (special)
New York
New York (regular)
New York (special)
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (regular)
Rhode Island (special)
South Carolina (special)
Tennessee
Tennessee (initial)
Tennessee became a state June 1, 1796 and elected its new senators August 2, 1796.
Tennessee (special, class 1)
The term of the initially elected senator, Democratic-Republican William Cocke, ended March 3, 1797, and the Tennessee legislature failed to elect a senator for the new term. The governor of Tennessee, therefore, appointed Cocke to begin the term, pending a special election. Cocke, however, lost that October 6, 1798 special election to Democratic-Republican Andrew Jackson.
Tennessee (special, class 2)
Democratic-Republican William Blount was expelled July 8, 1797 for conspiracy with the Kingdom of Great Britain. Democratic-Republican Joseph Anderson was elected September 26, 1797 to finish Blount's term.
Vermont
Incumbent Democratic-Republican Moses Robinson resigned October 15, 1796.
Federalist Isaac Tichenor was elected October 18, 1796, both to finish Robinson's term and to the new term that would begin March 4, 1797. However, Tichenor resigned just one year later, October 17, 1797, to become Governor of Vermont. Federalist Nathaniel Chipman was then elected October 17, 1797, to finish the term.
Vermont (special, 1796)
Vermont (regular)
Vermont (special, 1797)
Virginia
See also 1796 United States elections 1796 United States presidential election 1796–97 United States House of Representatives elections 4th United States Congress 5th United States Congress
References Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov