1882–83 United States Senate elections

1883 United States Senate election in West Virginia
Needed to win: Majority of votes cast in each House of the Legislature; 62 votes cast in the House, 32 needed; 26 votes cast in the Senate, 14 needed
U.S. senator before election; Henry G. Davis; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; John E. Kenna; Democratic

1882–83 United States Senate elections
26 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections); 39 seats needed for a majority
	Results of the elections:; Democratic gain Democratic hold; Republican gain Republican hold; Readjuster gain Legislature failed to elect
Majority Party before election; ; Republican	Elected Majority Party ; ; Republican

The 1882–83 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 1882 and 1883, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.^[2] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 2.

The Republicans retained a narrow majority — 39 (and later 40) out of 76 seats — with the Readjusters in their caucus.

Results summary

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.

Parties		Democratic	Independent	Readjuster	Republican	Total
Parties						Total
Before these elections		37	1	1	37	76
Not up		23	0	1	26	50
	Class 1 (1880/81 → 1886/87)	9	0	1	15	25
	Class 3 (1878/79 → 1884/85)	14	0	0	11	25
Up		15	1	0	13	29
	Regular: Class 2	14	1	0	11	26
	Special: Class 1	0	0	0	0	0
	Special: Class 2	1	0	0	2	3
	Special: Class 3	0	0	0	0	0

Regular election
Incumbent retired		3	1	0	3	7
	Held by same party	2	0	—	2	4
	Replaced by other party	1 Independent replaced by 1 Republican 1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican				3
	Result	3	0	0	4	7
Incumbent ran		11	0	0	8	19
	Won re-election	10	0	0	4	14
	Lost re-election and gained by other party	1 Democrat replaced by 1 Readjuster				1
	Lost re-election without an elected successor	1 Republican lost and legislature failed to elect				1
	Lost renomination but held by same party	0	0	0	3	3
	Result	10	0	1	7	18

Total elected		13	0	1	11	25
Net change		1	1	1		3

Result		36	0	2	37	75

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

After the November 15, 1882 special election in Georgia.

D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈ Ran	D₂₇ Ran	D₂₆ Ran	D₂₅ Ran	D₂₄ Ran	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉ Ran	D₃₀ Ran	D₃₁ Ran	D₃₂ Ran	D₃₃ Ran	D₃₄ Ran	D₃₅ Retired	D₃₆ Retired	D₃₇ Retired	I₁ Retired
Plurality, with Readjuster in caucus and VP tie-breaking vote ↓									RA₁
R₂₉ Ran	R₃₀ Ran	R₃₁ Ran	R₃₂ Ran	R₃₃ Ran	R₃₄ Ran	R₃₅ Retired	R₃₆ Retired	R₃₇ Retired	RA₁
R₂₈ Ran	R₂₇ Ran	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

After the elections

D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈ Re-elected	D₂₇ Re-elected	D₂₆ Re-elected	D₂₅ Re-elected	D₂₄ Re-elected	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉ Re-elected	D₃₀ Re-elected	D₃₁ Re-elected	D₃₂ Re-elected	D₃₃ Re-elected	D₃₄ Hold	D₃₅ Hold	D₃₆ Gain	V₁ R Loss	RA₂ Gain
Majority, with Readjusters in caucus ↓									RA₁
R₂₉ Re-elected	R₃₀ Re-elected	R₃₁ Hold	R₃₂ Hold	R₃₃ Hold	R₃₄ Hold	R₃₅ Hold	R₃₆ Gain	R₃₇ Gain	RA₁
R₂₈ Re-elected	R₂₇ Re-elected	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

Key:

D_#	Democratic
I_#	Independent
RA_#	Readjuster
R_#	Republican
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 47th Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1882 or in 1883 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Iowa (Class 2)	James W. McDill	Republican	1881 (appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 25, 1882. Winner did not run for re-election; see below.	▌Y James W. McDill (Republican) ▌Moses M. Ham (Democratic) ▌Daniel Campbell (Unknown)^[3]
Georgia (Class 2)	Benjamin H. Hill	Democratic	1877	Incumbent died August 16, 1882. New senator elected November 15, 1882. Democratic hold. Winner did not run for re-election; see below.	▌Y Pope Barrow (Democratic) [data missing]
Colorado (Class 2)	George M. Chilcott	Republican	1882 (appointed)	Interim appointee retired. New senator elected January 27, 1883. Republican hold. Winner did not run for re-election; see below.	▌Y Horace Tabor (Republican) [data missing]

Races leading to the 48th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1883; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	John T. Morgan	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1882.	▌Y John T. Morgan (Democratic) [data missing]
Arkansas	Augustus Garland	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y Augustus Garland (Democratic) [data missing]
Colorado	Horace Tabor	Republican	1883 (special)	Incumbent retired. Republican hold.	▌Y Thomas M. Bowen (Republican) [data missing]
Delaware	Eli Saulsbury	Democratic	1870 1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y Eli Saulsbury (Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia	Middleton P. Barrow	Democratic	1882 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1883. Democratic hold.	▌Y Alfred H. Colquitt (Democratic) [data missing]
Illinois	David Davis	Independent	1876–77	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1882. Republican gain.	▌Y Shelby M. Cullom (Republican) [data missing]
Iowa	James W. McDill	Republican	1881 (appointed) 1882 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 25, 1882. Republican hold.	▌Y James F. Wilson (Republican) ▌La Vega G. Kinne (Unknown) ▌Daniel P. Stubbs (Greenback)^[3]
Kansas	Preston B. Plumb	Republican	1877	Incumbent re-elected January 24, 1883.^[4]	▌Y Preston B. Plumb (Republican) 127 ▌John Martin (Democratic) 20 ▌J. G. Bayne (Unknown) 12 ▌John A. Anderson (Republican) 3 ▌George W. Glick (Democratic) 1^[4]
Kentucky	James B. Beck	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1882.	▌Y James B. Beck (Democratic) [data missing]
Louisiana	Joseph R. West	Republican	1876	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1882. Democratic gain.	▌Y Randall L. Gibson (Democratic) [data missing]
Maine	William P. Frye	Republican	1881 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y William P. Frye (Republican) [data missing]
Massachusetts	George Frisbie Hoar	Republican	1877	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y George Frisbie Hoar (Republican) [data missing]
Michigan	Thomas W. Ferry	Republican	1871 1877	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1882 or 1883. Republican hold.	▌Y Thomas W. Palmer (Republican) [data missing]
Minnesota	William Windom	Republican	1870 (appointed) 1871 1877 1881 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1883. Republican hold.	▌Y Dwight M. Sabin (Republican) [data missing]
Mississippi	Lucius Q. C. Lamar	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y Lucius Q. C. Lamar (Democratic) [data missing]
Nebraska	Alvin Saunders	Republican	1877	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1883. Republican hold.	▌Y Charles F. Manderson (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Edward H. Rollins	Republican	1876	Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Republican loss.	None.
New Jersey	John R. McPherson	Democratic	1877	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y John R. McPherson (Democratic) 43 ▌Garret Hobart (Republican) 36 Others 2 [data missing]
North Carolina	Matt W. Ransom	Democratic	1872 (special) 1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y Matt W. Ransom (Democratic) [data missing]
Oregon	La Fayette Grover	Democratic	1882–83	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1882. Republican gain.	▌Y Joseph N. Dolph (Republican) [data missing]
Rhode Island	Henry B. Anthony	Republican	1858 1864 1870 1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1882.	▌Y Henry B. Anthony (Republican) [data missing]
South Carolina	Matthew Butler	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1882.	▌Y Matthew Butler (Democratic) [data missing]
Tennessee	Isham G. Harris	Democratic	1877	Incumbent re-elected in 1883.	▌Y Isham G. Harris (Democratic) [data missing]
Texas	Richard Coke	Democratic	1876	Incumbent re-elected in 1882.	▌Y Richard Coke (Democratic) [data missing]
Virginia	John W. Johnston	Democratic	1871 1877	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected early December 21, 1881.^[5] Readjuster gain. Winner caucused with the Republicans.^[5]	▌Y Harrison H. Riddleberger (Readjuster) ▌John W. Johnston (Democratic) [data missing]
West Virginia	Henry G. Davis	Democratic	1871 1877	Incumbent retired. Democratic hold.	▌Y John E. Kenna (Democratic) [data missing]

Elections during the 48th Congress

In this election, the winner was elected in 1883 after March 4.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
New Hampshire	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected August 2, 1883.^[6] Republican gain.	▌Y Austin F. Pike (Republican) 181 ▌Hiram Bingham III (Republican) 112 ▌Gilman Marston (Republican) 19 ▌Edward H. Rollins (Republican) 1 ▌William S. Ladd (Republican) 1 ▌Aaron F. Stevens (Republican) 1

Iowa

On January 25, 1882, the Iowa General Assembly elected James W. McDill (Republican) to finish the term over Moses M. Ham and Daniel Campbell.^[3] James F. Wilson (Republican) was elected to the full six-year term on January 25, 1882, over La Vega G. Kinne and Daniel P. Stubbs.^[3]

West Virginia

On January 23, 1883, each House of the West Virginia Legislature chose a senator to replace retiring incumbent, Henry G. Davis. In both chambers, the ballot was a three-way race between John E. Kenna, a Democratic congressman, George Loomis, a state judge and former state senator, and Berkeley County resident John Tabb Janney.^[7] In the House, the final count was 37 votes for Kenna, 22 votes for Loomis, and 3 votes for Janney. In the Senate, the final count was 17 votes for Kenna, 7 votes for Loomis, and 2 votes for Janney.^[8] Kenna, having received the majority of votes in both chambers, was declared duly elected as senator.

Notes

^ And other dates for special elections
^ as Republican Conference Chair
^ as Democratic Caucus Chair
^ as the leader of Readjuster Party

References

^ ^a ^b The Readjusters caucused with the Republicans.
^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Clark, p. 199
^ ^a ^b Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. ... Kansas: Standard Publishing Company. p. 757. ISBN 9780722249055.
^ ^a ^b Jones Salmon, Emily. "Harrison H. Riddleberger (1843–1890)". Encyclopedia Virginia/Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
^ "A Long Dead-Lock Broken: Austin F. Pike Elected Senator from New-Hampshire". New York Times. August 3, 1883. p. 1. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
^ Atkinson, George Wesley (1890). Prominent Men of West Virginia. W.L. Callin. p. 381.
^ Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of West Virginia. West Virginia Legislature. January 24, 1883. p. 100.

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
Clark, Dan Elbert (1912). History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa.

[1] And other dates for special elections

[2] s Republican Conference Chair

[3] s Democratic Caucus Chair

[4] s the leader of Readjuster Party

[caucus-5] The Readjusters caucused with the Republicans.

[6] "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.

[Clark199-7] Clark, p. 199

[Kansas-8] Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. ... Kansas: Standard Publishing Company. p. 757. ISBN 9780722249055.

[Riddleberger-9] Jones Salmon, Emily. "Harrison H. Riddleberger (1843–1890)". Encyclopedia Virginia/Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved March 4, 2015.

[10] "A Long Dead-Lock Broken: Austin F. Pike Elected Senator from New-Hampshire". New York Times. August 3, 1883. p. 1. Retrieved July 26, 2016.

[11] Atkinson, George Wesley (1890). Prominent Men of West Virginia. W.L. Callin. p. 381.

[12] Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of West Virginia. West Virginia Legislature. January 24, 1883. p. 100.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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[8]

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