1836–37 United States Senate elections

1836–37 United States Senate elections
17 of the 52 seats in theUnited States Senate(plus special elections); 27 seats needed for a majority
	Results:; Democratic gainDemocratic hold; Whig hold
Majority Party before election; ; Jacksonian	Elected Majority Party; ; Democratic

The1836–37 United States Senate electionswere held on various dates in various states. As theseU.S. Senateelections were prior to the ratification of theSeventeenth Amendmentin 1913, senators were chosen bystate legislatures.Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1836 and 1837, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due tolegislative deadlock.^[1]In these elections, terms were up for the senators inClass 3.

In this election cycle, theJacksoniancoalition emerged as theDemocratic Party,and theAdams,or Anti-Jackson, coalition emerged as theWhig Party.

Results summary

Senate party division,25th Congress(1837–1839)

Majority party: Democratic (35)
Minority party: Whig (17–16)
Other parties: (0–1)
Total seats: 52

Change in composition

Before the special elections

				AJ₁	AJ₂	AJ₃	AJ₄	AJ₅	AJ₆
AJ₁₆	AJ₁₅	AJ₁₄	AJ₁₃	AJ₁₂	AJ₁₁	AJ₁₀	AJ₉	AJ₈	AJ₇
AJ₁₇ Del. Resigned	AJ₁₈ Del. Resigned	AJ₁₉ Md. Died	AJ₂₀ N.C. Resigned	AJ₂₁ La. Resigned	AJ₂₂ Va. Resigned	AJ₂₃ Va. Resigned	Ark. New	Ark. New	N₂
									N₁
J₁₇	J₁₈	J₁₉	J₂₀	J₂₁	J₂₂ Mich.^[a]	J₂₃ Mich.^[a]	J₂₄ N.H. Resigned	V₁ La.	N₁
J₁₆	J₁₅	J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇
				J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄	J₅	J₆

As a result of the special elections

				AJ₁	AJ₂	AJ₃	AJ₄	AJ₅	AJ₆
AJ₁₆	AJ₁₅	AJ₁₄	AJ₁₃	AJ₁₂	AJ₁₁	AJ₁₀	AJ₉	AJ₈	AJ₇
AJ₁₇ Del. Hold	AJ₁₈ Del. Hold	AJ₁₉ Md. Hold	N₂	N₁	J₃₁ Va. Gain	J₃₀ Va. Gain	J₂₉ Ark. Gain	J₂₈ Ark. Gain	J₂₇ N.C. Gain
Majority →									J₂₇ N.C. Gain
J₁₇	J₁₈	J₁₉	J₂₀	J₂₁	J₂₂	J₂₃	J₂₄ N.H. Hold	J₂₅ La. Gain	J₂₆ La. Gain
J₁₆	J₁₅	J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇
				J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄	J₅	J₆

Before the regular elections

				AJ₁	AJ₂	AJ₃	AJ₄	AJ₅	AJ₆
AJ₁₆ Ohio Ran	AJ₁₅ Ky. Ran	AJ₁₄ Ind. Ran	AJ₁₃ Ala. Ran	AJ₁₂	AJ₁₁	AJ₁₀	AJ₉	AJ₈	AJ₇
AJ₁₇ La. Ran	AJ₁₈ Vt. Ran	AJ₁₉ Conn. Unknown	N₂ S.C. Ran	N₁	J₃₁ Pa. Ran	J₃₀ N.C. Ran	J₂₉ N.Y. Ran	J₂₈ N.H. Ran	J₂₇ Mo. Ran
Majority →									J₂₇ Mo. Ran
J₁₇	J₁₈	J₁₉	J₂₀	J₂₁	J₂₂	J₂₃ Ark. Ran	J₂₄ Ga. Ran	J₂₅ Ill. Ran	J₂₆ La. Ran
J₁₆	J₁₅	J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇
				J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄	J₅	J₆

As a result of the regular elections

"Hold"means the incumbent lost and the winner was from an affiliated new party, either Anti-Jacksonian to Whig or Jacksonian to Democratic.

				AJ₁	AJ₂	AJ₃	AJ₄	AJ₅	AJ₆
W₁₆ Vt. Re-elected (was AJ)	W₁₅ Ind. Hold (was AJ)	W₁₄ La. Re-elected (was AJ)	W₁₃ Ky. Re-elected (was AJ)	AJ₁₂	AJ₁₁	AJ₁₀	AJ₉	AJ₈	AJ₇
W₁₇ S.C. Re-elected (was N)	N₁	D₃₄ Ohio Gain (was AJ)	D₃₃ Conn. Gain (was AJ)	D₃₂ Ala. Gain (was AJ)	D₃₁ N.H. Hold (was J)	D₃₀ Ill. Hold (was J)	D₂₉ Pa. Re-elected (was J)	D₂₈ N.C. Re-elected (was J)	D₂₇ N.Y. Re-elected (was J)
Majority →									D₂₇ N.Y. Re-elected (was J)
J₁₇	J₁₈	J₁₉	J₂₀	J₂₁	J₂₂	D₂₃ Ark. Re-elected (was J)	D₂₄ Ga. Re-elected (was J)	D₂₅ La. Re-elected (was J)	D₂₆ Mo. Re-elected (was J)
J₁₆	J₁₅	J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇
				J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄	J₅	J₆

Beginning of the next Congress

				W₁ New party	W₂ New party	W₃ New party	W₄ New party	W₅ New party	W₆ New party
W₁₆	W₁₅	W₁₄	W₁₃	W₁₂ New party	W₁₁ New party	W₁₀ New party	W₉ New party	W₈ New party	W₇ New party
W₁₇	D₃₅ New party	D₃₄	D₃₃	D₃₂	D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉	D₂₈	D₂₇
Majority →									D₂₇
D₁₇ New party	D₁₈ New party	D₁₉ New party	D₂₀ New party	D₂₁ New party	D₂₂ New party	D₂₃	D₂₄	D₂₅	D₂₆
D₁₆ New party	D₁₅ New party	D₁₄ New party	D₁₃ New party	D₁₂ New party	D₁₁ New party	D₁₀ New party	D₉ New party	D₈ New party	D₇ New party
				D₁ New party	D₂ New party	D₃ New party	D₄ New party	D₅ New party	D₆ New party

Key:

AJ_#	Anti-Jacksonian
J_#	Jacksonian
N_#	Nullfier

D_#	Democratic
W_#	Whig
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Boldstates link to specific election articles.

Elections seated during the 24th Congress

In these elections, senators were elected to finish terms already in progress either as special elections or as elections to a new state. senators were seated during 1836 or before March 4, 1837; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Louisiana (Class 2)	Vacant			Charles Gayarréhad been elected but resigned due to ill health without having taken his seat. New senator electedJanuary 13, 1836. Jacksonian gain. Winner would serve in the next Congress as a Democrat.	▌YRobert C. Nicholas(Jacksonian) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 1)	John Tyler	National Republican	1827 1833	Incumbent resigned February 29, 1836. New senator electedMarch 4, 1836. Jacksonian gain. Winner would serve in the next Congress as a Democrat.	▌YWilliam C. Rives(Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Hampshire (Class 3)	Isaac Hill	Jacksonian	1831	Incumbent resigned May 30, 1836 to becomeGovernor of New Hampshire. New senator electedJune 8, 1836. Jacksonian hold. Winner also lost re-election to the next term, see below.	▌YJohn Page(Jacksonian) [data missing]
Delaware (Class 1)	Arnold Naudain	National Republican	1830(special) 1832	Incumbent resigned June 16, 1836. New senator electedJune 17, 1836. National Republican hold. Winner would serve in the next Congress as a Whig.	▌YRichard H. Bayard(National Republican) [data missing]
Arkansas (Class 2)	New seats			New state. New senator electedSeptember 19, 1836. Jacksonian gain. Winner would serve in the next Congress as a Democrat.	▌YWilliam S. Fulton(Jacksonian) 60 votes^[2]
Arkansas (Class 3)	New seats			New state. New senator electedSeptember 19, 1836. Jacksonian gain. Winner was also re-elected to the next term, see below.	▌YAmbrose H. Sevier(Jacksonian) 56 votes H. F. Walworth 4 votes^[2]
North Carolina (Class 3)	Willie P. Mangum	National Republican	1830	Incumbent resigned November 26, 1836. New senator electedDecember 5, 1836. Jacksonian gain. Winner was also elected to the next term, see below.	▌YRobert Strange(Jacksonian) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 2)	Benjamin W. Leigh	National Republican	1834(special) 1835	Incumbent resigned July 4, 1836. New senator electedDecember 12, 1836. Jacksonian gain. Winner would resign at the end of this Congress,see below.	▌YRichard E. Parker(Jacksonian) [data missing]
Maryland (Class 3)	Robert H. Goldsborough	National Republican	1813 1819(Retired or lost) 1835(special)	Incumbent died October 5, 1836. New senator electedDecember 31, 1836. National Republican hold. Winner was also re-elected to the next term, see below.	▌YJohn S. Spence(National Republican) [data missing]
Delaware (Class 2)	John M. Clayton	National Republican	1829 1835	Incumbent resigned December 29, 1836. New senator electedJanuary 9, 1837. National Republican hold. Winner would serve in the next Congress as a Whig.	▌YThomas Clayton(National Republican) [data missing]
Louisiana (Class 3)	Alexander Porter	National Republican	1833(special)	Incumbent resigned January 5, 1837 due to ill health. New senator electedJanuary 12, 1837. Jacksonian gain. Winner was also re-elected to the next term, see below.	▌YAlexandre Mouton(Jacksonian) [data missing]

Races leading to the 25th Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1837; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	Gabriel Moore	Whig (National Republican)	1831	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1837. Democratic gain.	▌YJohn McKinley(Democratic) ▌Gabriel Moore(Democratic) [data missing]
Arkansas	Ambrose Sevier	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1836(New seat)	Incumbent re-elected in 1837.	▌YAmbrose Sevier(Democratic) [data missing]
Connecticut	Gideon Tomlinson	Whig (National Republican)	1831	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1836 or 1837. Democratic gain.	▌YPerry Smith(Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia	Alfred Cuthbert	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1835(special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1837.	▌YAlfred Cuthbert(Democratic) [data missing]
Illinois	William Lee D. Ewing	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1835(Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election. New senator elected in 1837. Democratic hold.	▌YRichard M. Young(Democratic) ▌William Lee D. Ewing(Democratic) [data missing]
Indiana	William Hendricks	Whig (National Republican)	1824 1830	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1836. Whig hold.	▌YOliver H. Smith(Whig) ▌William Hendricks(Whig) [data missing]
Kentucky	Henry Clay	Whig (National Republican)	1806(special) 1807(retired) 1810(Appointed) 1811(retired) 1831(Late)	Incumbent re-elected in 1836.	▌YHenry Clay(Whig) [data missing]
Louisiana	Alexandre Mouton	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1837(special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1837.	▌YAlexandre Mouton(Democratic) [data missing]
Maryland	John S. Spence	Whig (National Republican)	1836(special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1837.	▌YJohn S. Spence(Whig) [data missing]
Missouri	Lewis F. Linn	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1833(Appointed) ?(special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1836.	▌YLewis F. Linn(Democratic) [data missing]
New Hampshire	John Page	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1836(special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1837. Democratic hold.	▌YFranklin Pierce(Democratic) [data missing]
New York	Silas Wright Jr.	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1826(Late)	Incumbentre-electedFebruary 7, 1837.	▌YSilas Wright Jr.(Democratic) 26+85 ▌Ambrose L. Jordan(Whig) 3+27
North Carolina	Willie P. Mangum	Whig (National Republican)	1830	Incumbent resigned November 26, 1836. New senator elected in 1836. Democratic gain. Successor alsoelected to finish the current term,see above.	▌YRobert Strange(Democratic) [data missing]
Ohio	Thomas Ewing	Whig (National Republican)	1830	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in January 1837. Democratic gain.	▌YWilliam Allen(Democratic) ▌Thomas Ewing(Whig) [data missing]
Pennsylvania	James Buchanan	Democratic (Jacksonian)	1834(special)	Incumbentre-electedDecember 14, 1836.	▌YJames Buchanan(Democratic) 85 ▌Thomas M. T. McKennan(Whig) 24 ▌Charles B. Penrose(Whig) 21 ▌Thomas Cunningham (Democratic) 1 ▌Isaac Leet(Democratic) 1 ▌Not voting 1^[3]
South Carolina	William C. Preston	Nullifier	1833(special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1837 as a Whig.	▌YWilliam C. Preston(Whig) [data missing]
Vermont	Samuel Prentiss	Whig (National Republican)	1831	Incumbent re-elected in 1837.	▌YSamuel Prentiss(Whig) [data missing]

Elections during the 25th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated in 1837 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Virginia (Class 2)	Richard E. Parker	Democratic	1836(special)	Incumbent resigned March 4, 1837 to become judge of theSupreme Court of Virginia. New senator electedMarch 14, 1837. Democratic hold.	▌YWilliam H. Roane(Democratic) [data missing]
Alabama (Class 3)	John McKinley	Democratic	1833(special)	Incumbent resigned April 22, 1837 to becomeAssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. New senator electedJune 19, 1837. Democratic hold.	▌YClement C. Clay(Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia (Class 2)	John Pendleton King	Democratic	1833(special)	Incumbent resigned November 1, 1837. New senator electedNovember 22, 1837. Democratic hold.	▌YWilson Lumpkin(Democratic) 55.10% ▌John M. Berrien(Whig) 39.18% ▌Scattering 4.08% ▌Daniel M. Stewart(Democratic) 1.63%^[4]

Alabama

There were two elections in Alabama in this cycle, both for the same seat.

Alabama (regular)

First-term senator Anti-JacksonianGabriel Moorelost re-election in November 1836 to JacksonianJohn McKinley.

Alabama (special)

Shortly after the new term started, Jacksonian-now-DemocratJohn McKinleyresigned to becomeAssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.He was replaced by fellow DemocratClement C. Clayin a June 19, 1837 special election.

Clay would serve only until November 15, 1841, when he, too, resigned.

Arkansas

Arkansas became a new state and elected its two senators September 18, 1836.

Jacksonian formerGovernor of Arkansas Territory William Fultonwas elected to the Class 2 seat, with the term ending March 3, 1841.

Jacksonian formerdelegate Ambrose Sevierwas elected to the Class 3 seat, with the term ending March 3, 1837.

Sevier was also re-elected in 1837 to the next term that would end in 1843.

Connecticut

Delaware

Georgia

There were two elections in Georgia in this cycle.

Georgia (regular)

Georgia (special)

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Louisiana

There were two elections in Louisiana in this cycle, both for the same seat.

Anti-JacksonianAlexander Porterresigned January 5, 1837 due to ill health.

Louisiana (special)

JacksonianAlexandre Moutonwas elected January 12, 1837 to finish Porter's term, ending March 3, 1837.

Louisiana (regular)

JacksonianAlexandre Moutonwas also elected as a Democrat in 1837 (possibly re-elected) to the next term, beginning March 4, 1837.

Maryland

Maryland (special)

Anti-JacksonianRobert Henry Goldsboroughdied October 5, 1836. Anti-JacksonianJohn S. Spencewas elected in late 1836 to finish Goldsborough's term, ending March 3, 1837.^[5]

Maryland (regular)

John S. Spencewon election to a full term an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 3 seat.^[6]

Missouri

New Hampshire

New York

Silas Wright Jr.,had beenelected in 1833to this seat after the resignation ofWilliam L. Marcywho had been electedGovernor of New York.Wright's term would expire on March 3, 1837.

At the State election in November 1836, 94 Democrats and 34 Whigs were elected to the Assembly, and seven of the eight State senators elected were Democrats. The60th New York State Legislaturemet from January 3 to May 16, 1837, atAlbany.The party strength in the Assembly as shown by the election forSpeakerwas: 80 for DemocratEdward Livingstonand 27 for WhigLuther Bradish.

Wright was re-nominated in aDemocraticcaucus by a large majority. Silas Wright Jr., was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

House	Democratic		Whig
State Senate(32 members)	Silas Wright Jr.	26	Ambrose L. Jordan	3
State Assembly(128 members)	Silas Wright Jr.	85	Ambrose L. Jordan	27

North Carolina

There were two elections in North Carolina in this cycle, both for the same seat.

Anti-JacksonianWillie P. Mangumresigned November 26, 1836.

North Carolina (special)

JacksonianRobert Strangewas elected in late 1836 to finish Mangum's term, ending March 3, 1837.

North Carolina (regular)

JacksonianRobert Strangewas also elected as a Democrat in 1836, to the next term, beginning March 4, 1837.

Ohio

Pennsylvania

ThePennsylvania General Assemblyconvened on December 14, 1836, to elect a Senator to serve the term beginning on March 4, 1837. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

Pennsylvania General Assembly Results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Buchanan(Incumbent)	85	63.91
	Whig	Thomas M. T. McKennan	24	18.05
	Whig	Charles B. Penrose	21	15.79
	Democratic	Thomas Cunningham	1	0.75
	Democratic	Isaac Leet	1	0.75
	N/A	Not voting	1	0.75
Totals			133	100.00%

South Carolina

Vermont

Virginia (special)

There were three special elections in Virginia in this cycle.

Virginia (special, class 1)

Two-term Anti-Jacksonian (and future President)John Tylerresigned February 29, 1836 due to policial differences and conflict with theVirginia House of Delegates,which had come under control of the rival Jacksonians.

Former Jacksonian senatorWilliam C. Rives(who had served in the class 2 seat from December 10, 1832, to February 22, 1834) was elected March 4, 1836 to finish Tyler's term that would end March 3, 1839.

Virginia (special, class 2 1836)

Anti-JacksonianBenjamin W. Leigh,who had served in the seat since an1834 special electionandre-elected in 1835,resigned July 4, 1836 to return to his private legal practice.

JacksonianRichard E. Parkerwas elected December 12, 1836, but he would only remain in the seat for four months.

Virginia (special, class 2 1837)

Parker, now a Democrat, was elected to theVirginia Supreme Court of Appealsand so he resigned from the Senate March 13, 1837.

Fellow DemocratWilliam H. Roanewas elected March 14, 1837 to finish the term that would end March 3, 1841.

Notes

^^a ^bMichigan's senators wereelected in 1835,but not seated until early 1837

References

^"17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)".National Archives and Records Administration.February 8, 2022.
^^a ^b"Senate".The Arkansas advocate.Little Rock, Ark. September 23, 1836. pp. 2–3.RetrievedSeptember 19,2021.
^^a ^b"U.S. Senate Election - 14 December 1836"(PDF).Wilkes University.RetrievedDecember 22,2013.
^"Our Campaigns - GA US Senate - Appointment Race - Nov 01, 1837".
^"Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 00, 1837".www.ourcampaigns.com.RetrievedNovember 5,2022.
^"Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 00, 1837".www.ourcampaigns.com.RetrievedNovember 5,2022.

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

[Michigan-2] Michigan's senators wereelected in 1835,but not seated until early 1837

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

[Advocate-3] "Senate".The Arkansas advocate.Little Rock, Ark. September 23, 1836. pp. 2–3.RetrievedSeptember 19,2021.

[Pennsylvania-4] "U.S. Senate Election - 14 December 1836"(PDF).Wilkes University.RetrievedDecember 22,2013.

[5] "Our Campaigns - GA US Senate - Appointment Race - Nov 01, 1837".

[6] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 00, 1837".www.ourcampaigns.com.RetrievedNovember 5,2022.

[7] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Feb 00, 1837".www.ourcampaigns.com.RetrievedNovember 5,2022.

[1]

[a]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]