1830–31 United States Senate elections

1830–31 United States Senate elections
16 of the 48 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections); 25 seats needed for a majority
	Results:; Jacksonian Hold Jacksonian Gain; Anti-Jacksonian Hold Anti-Jacksonian Gain; Nullifier Gain Legislature Failed To Elect
Majority Party before election; ; Jacksonian	Elected Majority Party ; ; Jacksonian

The 1830–31 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 1830 and 1831, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.^[1] In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 3.

The Jacksonians gained one seat from the Anti-Jacksonian coalition, but lose one seat to the short-lived Nullifier Party. By the time Congress first met in December 1831, however, the Jacksonians had a net loss of one seat.

Results summary

Senate party division, 22nd Congress (1831–1833)

Majority party: Jacksonian (24–23)
Minority party: Anti-Jackson (21–23)
Other parties: Nullifier (2–1)
Total seats: 48

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the January 7, 1830 special election in Delaware.

						AJ₁	AJ₂	AJ₃	AJ₄
AJ₁₄	AJ₁₃	AJ₁₂	AJ₁₁	AJ₁₀	AJ₉	AJ₈	AJ₇	AJ₆	AJ₅
AJ₁₅ Ind. Ran	AJ₁₆ La. Ran	AJ₁₇ Md. Ran	AJ₁₈ Mo. Ran	AJ₁₉ N.Y. Ran	AJ₂₀ Pa. Ran	AJ₂₁ Conn. Unknown	AJ₂₂ Vt. Unknown	AJ₂₃ Ohio Retired	J₂₅ N.C. Retired
Majority →									J₂₄ N.H. Unknown
J₁₅	J₁₆	J₁₇	J₁₈	J₁₉ Ala. Ran	J₂₀ Ga. Ran	J₂₁ Ill. Ran	J₂₂ S.C. Ran	J₂₃ Ky. Ran	J₂₄ N.H. Unknown
J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇	J₆	J₅
						J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄

As a result of the elections

						AJ₁	AJ₂	AJ₃	AJ₄
AJ₁₄	AJ₁₃	AJ₁₂	AJ₁₁	AJ₁₀	AJ₉	AJ₈	AJ₇	AJ₆	AJ₅
AJ₁₅ Ind. Re-elected	AJ₁₆ La. Re-elected	AJ₁₇ Md. Re-elected	AJ₁₈ Ala. Hold	AJ₁₉ Conn. Hold	AJ₂₀ Ohio Hold	V₁ Ky. J Loss	N₁ S.C. Gain	J₂₆ Pa. Gain	J₂₅ N.Y. Gain
Majority →									J₂₄ Mo. Gain
J₁₅	J₁₆	J₁₇	J₁₈	J₁₉ Ga. Re-elected	J₂₀ Ill. Re-elected	J₂₁ N.H. Hold	J₂₂ N.C. Hold	J₂₃ Vt. Hold	J₂₄ Mo. Gain
J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇	J₆	J₅
						J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄

At the beginning of the first session, December 5, 1831

						AJ₁	AJ₂	AJ₃	AJ₄
AJ₁₄	AJ₁₃	AJ₁₂	AJ₁₁	AJ₁₀	AJ₉	AJ₈	AJ₇	AJ₆	AJ₅
AJ₁₅	AJ₁₆	AJ₁₇	AJ₁₈	AJ₁₉	AJ₂₀	AJ₂₁^[a] Gain	AJ₂₂^[b] Gain	N₁	N₂ S.C. Changed
Plurality^[c] →									J₂₄
J₁₅	J₁₆	J₁₇	J₁₈	J₁₉	J₂₀	J₂₁	J₂₂	J₂₃	J₂₄
J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇	J₆	J₅
						J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄

Key:

AJ_#	= Anti-Jacksonian
J_#	= Jacksonian
N_#	= Nullfier
V_#	= Vacant

Race summaries

Bold states link to specific election articles.

Special elections during the 21st Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1830 or before March 4, 1831; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Illinois (Class 2)	David J. Baker	Jacksonian	1830 (appointed)	Incumbent appointee retired when elected successor qualified. Winner elected December 11, 1830. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y John M. Robinson (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Mississippi (Class 2)	Thomas B. Reed	Jacksonian	1826 (special) 1827 (lost) 1828	Incumbent died November 26, 1829. Winner elected January 6, 1830. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Robert H. Adams (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Delaware (Class 1)	Louis McLane	Jacksonian	1827	Incumbent resigned April 29, 1829 to become U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom. Winner elected January 7, 1830. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Arnold Naudain (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]

Races leading to the 22nd Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1831 (except where noted due to late election); ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	John McKinley	Jacksonian	1826 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1831. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Gabriel Moore (Jacksonian) ▌John McKinley (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Connecticut	Calvin Willey	Anti-Jacksonian	1825	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected May 20, 1830. Anti-Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Gideon Tomlinson (Anti-Jacksonian) 158 ▌R. M. Sherman (Unknown) 20 Scattering 17^[2]^[3]
Georgia	John Forsyth	Jacksonian	1829 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1830 or 1831.	▌Y John Forsyth (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Illinois	Elias Kane	Jacksonian	1825	Incumbent re-elected in 1831.	▌Y Elias K. Kane (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Indiana	William Hendricks	Anti-Jacksonian	1824	Incumbent re-elected December 18, 1830 on the fourth ballot.	▌Y William Hendricks (Anti-Jacksonian) 44 ▌ Ratliff Boon (Jacksonian) 26 ▌ John Law (Jacksonian) 9 ▌ Charles Dewey (Jacksonian) 3^[4]
Kentucky	John Rowan	Jacksonian	1824	Legislature elected late. Jacksonian loss.	[data missing]
Louisiana	Josiah S. Johnston	Anti-Jacksonian	1824 (appointed) 1825	Incumbent re-elected in 1831.	▌Y Josiah S. Johnston (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Maryland	Ezekiel F. Chambers	Anti-Jacksonian	1826 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1831.	▌Y Ezekiel F. Chambers (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Missouri	David Barton	Anti-Jacksonian	1821 1825	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1830. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Alexander Buckner (Jacksonian) ▌David Barton (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Levi Woodbury	Jacksonian	1825	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1831. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Isaac Hill (Jacksonian) [data missing]
New York	Nathan Sanford	Anti-Jacksonian	1826 (late)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected February 1, 1831. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y William L. Marcy (Jacksonian) 20 86 ▌Samuel Works (Anti-Masonic) 5 27 ▌Nathan Sanford (Anti-Jacksonian) 0 1
North Carolina	James Iredell Jr.	Jacksonian	1828 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1830. Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Willie P. Mangum (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Ohio	Jacob Burnet	Anti-Jacksonian	1828 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner elected in 1830. Anti-Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Thomas Ewing (Anti-Jacksonian) 54 ▌Micajah T. Williams (Jacksonian) 51 ▌Edward King (Anti-Jacksonian) 2
Pennsylvania	William Marks	Anti-Jacksonian	1825	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1830 or 1831. Jacksonian gain.	▌Y William Wilkins (Jacksonian) ▌William Marks (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
South Carolina	William Smith	Jacksonian	1826 (special)	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1830 or 1831. Nullifier gain.	▌Y Stephen D. Miller (Nullifier) ▌William Smith (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Vermont	Dudley Chase	Anti-Jacksonian	1825	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. Winner elected in 1831. Anti-Jacksonian hold.	▌Y Samuel Prentiss (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]

Elections during the 22nd Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated in 1831 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Kentucky (Class 3)	Vacant			Legislature elected late. New senator elected November 10, 1831. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌Y Henry Clay (Anti-Jacksonian) 73 ▌Richard M. Johnson (Jacksonian) 64 ▌Worden Pope (Unknown) 1^[5]
Louisiana (Class 2)	Edward Livingston	Jacksonian	1828 or 1829	Incumbent resigned May 24, 1831 to become U.S. Secretary of State. Winner elected November 15, 1831. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌Y George A. Waggaman (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Pennsylvania (Class 1)	Isaac D. Barnard	Jacksonian	1826	Incumbent resigned December 6, 1831 due to ill health. Winner elected December 13, 1831.^[6] Jacksonian hold.	▌Y George M. Dallas (Jacksonian) 67 ▌Joseph Hemphill (Jacksonian) 34 ▌Richard Rush (Anti-Masonic) 30 ▌Samuel B. Davis (Jacksonian) 1 Not voting 1^[6]

Alabama

Connecticut

Delaware (special)

Georgia

Illinois

Illinois had two elections in this cycle: one for each seat.

Illinois (regular)

For the Class 3 seat, one-term incumbent Jacksonian Elias Kane was re-elected in 1831 for the term beginning March 4, 1831.

Illinois (special)

For the Class 2 seat, Jacksonian incumbent John McLean, who had been elected in 1828 or 1829, died October 14, 1830. Jacksonian David J. Baker was appointed November 12, 1830 to continue the term until a special election. On December 11, 1830, Jacksonian John McCracken Robinson was elected to finish the term and was seated January 4, 1831.

Indiana

Kentucky

Kentucky had two elections in this cycle.

When Jacksonian John Rowan's term ended March 3, 1831, the legislature had not yet voted a replacement. When the legislature resumed for its session in November 1831, Anti-Jacksonian Henry Clay was elected, but still in time to participate when the 22nd Congress convened in December 1831.

Kentucky (regular)

Kentucky (special)

Louisiana

Louisiana had two elections in this cycle.

Louisiana (regular)

Louisiana (special)

Maryland

Ezekiel F. Chambers won election over non-voters by a margin of 45.21%, or 33 votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[7]

Mississippi (special)

Missouri

New Hampshire

New York

The Senate election in New York was held on February 1, 1831, by the New York State Legislature. Nathan Sanford had been elected in 1826 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1831. At the state election in November 1830, the Jacksonians managed to defeat the combined Anti-Masons and Anti-Jacksonians. Enos T. Throop was narrowly re-elected Governor, a large Jacksonian majority was elected to the Assembly, and five of the nine State Senators elected were Jacksonian Democrats. The 54th New York State Legislature met from January 4 to April 26, 1831, at Albany, New York. The Jacksonian State legislators held a caucus before the election, and n The Jacksonian State legislators held a caucus before the electionominated New York Supreme Court Justice William L. Marcy. The vote was 77 for Marcy, 15 for Erastus Root, 6 for the incumbent Nathan Sanford and 6 scattering votes. William L. Marcy was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

House	Jacksonian		Anti-Mason		Anti-Jacksonian
State Senate (32 members)	William L. Marcy	20	Samuel Works	5
State Assembly (128 members)	William L. Marcy	86	Samuel Works	27	Nathan Sanford	1

North Carolina

Ohio

The two houses of the Ohio General Assembly met during the winter of 1830–1831 in joint assembly to elect a Senator (Class 3). After seven ballots, on various dates, Thomas Ewing was elected on a majority of the ballots. The balloting was as follows:^[8]

Ballot	Thomas Ewing (Anti-Jacksonian)	Micajah T. Williams (Jacksonian)	Edward King (Anti-Jacksonian)
1	33	49	21
2	37	50	21
3	42	49	16
4	46	52	9
5	51	51	5
6	54	53	2
7	Y 54	51	2

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania had two election in this cycle.

Pennsylvania (regular)

-

Pennsylvania (special)

Following the December 6, 1831 resignation of Senator Isaac Barnard due to ill health, the Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on December 13, 1831, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy. Eleven ballots were recorded. The results of the eleventh and final ballot of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[9]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George M. Dallas	67	50.38
	Democratic	Joseph Hemphill	34	25.56%
	Anti-Masonic	Richard Rush	30	22.56%
	Democratic	Samuel B. Davis	1	0.75%
	N/A	Not voting	1	0.75%
-	Totals			133	100.00%

Vermont

Notes

^ Kentucky class 3 seat: Legislature elected Anti-Jacksonian late in the Congress, on November 10, 1831.
^ Indiana class 1 seat: Jacksonian died February 26, 1831, in the previous Congress, and an Anti-Jacksonian Senator was appointed August 19, 1831.
^ The Jacksonians maintained Senate control as evidenced by their electing Jacksonians as Presidents pro tempore: Samuel Smith, Littleton W. Tazewell, and Hugh Lawson White.

References

^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
^ "Legislature of Connecticut". Litchfield enquirer. Litchfield, Conn. May 27, 1830. p. 2. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
^ "Litchfield, May 27, 1830". Litchfield enquirer. Litchfield, Conn. May 27, 1830. p. 3. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
^ "The "Indiana Republican" says". Niles' Weekly Register. Vol. III, no. 19. Baltimore. January 8, 1831. p. 334. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
^ "Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, November 7, 1831 - December 23, 1831". Journals of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 14. A. G. Meriwether: 47. 1831.
^ ^a ^b "U.S. Senate Election - 13 December 1831" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
^ "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 24, 1831". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
^ Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900…. State of Ohio. p. 151.
^ "U.S. Senate Election - 13 December 1831" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
^ "PA US Senate - Special Election". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

Sources

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

[2] Kentucky class 3 seat: Legislature elected Anti-Jacksonian late in the Congress, on November 10, 1831.

[3] Indiana class 1 seat: Jacksonian died February 26, 1831, in the previous Congress, and an Anti-Jacksonian Senator was appointed August 19, 1831.

[4] The Jacksonians maintained Senate control as evidenced by their electing Jacksonians as Presidents pro tempore: Samuel Smith, Littleton W. Tazewell, and Hugh Lawson White.

[1] "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.

[5] "Legislature of Connecticut". Litchfield enquirer. Litchfield, Conn. May 27, 1830. p. 2. Retrieved November 24, 2020.

[6] "Litchfield, May 27, 1830". Litchfield enquirer. Litchfield, Conn. May 27, 1830. p. 3. Retrieved November 24, 2020.

[7] "The "Indiana Republican" says". Niles' Weekly Register. Vol. III, no. 19. Baltimore. January 8, 1831. p. 334. Retrieved November 27, 2021.

[8] "Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, November 7, 1831 - December 23, 1831". Journals of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 14. A. G. Meriwether: 47. 1831.

[PASpecial-9] "U.S. Senate Election - 13 December 1831" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

[10] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 24, 1831". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.

[11] Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900…. State of Ohio. p. 151.

[results-12] "U.S. Senate Election - 13 December 1831" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

[13] "PA US Senate - Special Election". OurCampaigns. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

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