1894 and 1895 United States Senate elections

The United States Senate elections of 1894 and 1895 were a slight Republican victory. It was a different story in the House where Democrats suffered massive losses. The senators elected went on to serve in the 54th Congress.

1894 and 1895 United States Senate elections

Dates vary by state
30 of the 88 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections) 45 seats needed for a majority
Leader John Sherman[lower-alpha 1] Arthur Pue Gorman[lower-alpha 2] Party Republican Democratic Seats before 37 44 Seats won 18 10 Seats after 39 40 Seat change 2 4 Seats up 16 14   Party Populist Silver Seats before 3 1 Seats won 1 0 Seats after 4 1 Seat change 1 Seats up 0 0
Majority Party before election Democratic Elected Majority Party Republican

As these elections were prior to the ratification of the seventeenth amendment, senators were chosen by state legislatures.

Results summary

Senate Party Division, 54th Congress (1895–1897)

• Plurality: Republican: 42
• Minority: Democrats: 39
• Other parties: Populist: 4, Silver: 2
• Total: 88
• Vacant: 1, due to failure to elect. Later filled by a Democrat

Change in composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1894, including early elections in Mississippi and Virginia.

						D1	D2	D3	D4
D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7	D6	D5
D15	D16	D17	D18	D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24
D34 Ky. Ran	D33 Ga. Ran	D32 Ark. Ran	D31 Ala. Ran	D30	D29	D28	D27	D26	D25
D35 La. Ran	D36 N.C. Ran	D37 S.C. Ran	D38 Tenn. Ran	D39 W.Va. Ran	D40 Kan. Unknown	D41 N.J. Unknown	D42 Miss. Retired	D43 Texas Retired	D44 Va. Retired
Majority with vacancies →
R35 Iowa Retired	R36 Mont. Retired	R37 R.I. Retired	S1	P1	P2	P3	V3	V2	V1
R34 Neb. Unknown	R33 Wyo. Ran	R32 S.D. Ran	R31 Ore. Ran	R30 N.H. Ran	R29 Minn. Ran	R28 Mich. Ran	R27 Mass. Ran	R26 Maine Ran	R25 Ill. Ran
R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22 Colo. Ran	R23 Del. Ran	R24 Idaho Ran
R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6	R5
						R1	R2	R3	R4

Result of the general elections

						D1	D2	D3	D4
D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7	D6	D5
D15	D16	D17	D18	D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24
D34 La. Appointee elected[lower-alpha 3]	D33 Ky. Re-elected	D32 Ark. Re-elected	D31 Ala. Re-elected	D30	D29	D28	D27	D26	D25
D35 Tenn. Re-elected	D36 Ga. Hold	D37 Miss. Hold[lower-alpha 4]	D38 S.C. Hold	D39 Texas Hold	D40 Va. Hold[lower-alpha 4]	P4 N.C. Gain	P3	V1	V2
No majority
R35 R.I. Hold	R36 Wyo. Hold	R37 Kan. Gain	R38 N.J. Gain	R39 W.Va. Gain	S1	P1	P2	V4 Del. R Loss	V3
R34 Ore. Hold	R33 Neb. Hold	R32 Mont. Hold	R31 Minn. Hold	R30 Iowa Hold	R29 S.D. Re-elected	R28 N.H. Re-elected	R27 Mich. Re-elected	R26 Mass. Re-elected	R25 Maine Re-elected
R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22 Colo. Re-elected	R23 Idaho Re-elected	R24 Ill. Re-elected
R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6	R5
						R1	R2	R3	R4

Result of the special elections and party change

						D1 Calif. Appointee elected	D2 La. Appointee elected	D3	D4
D14	D13	D12	D11	D10	D9	D8	D7	D6	D5
D15	D16	D17	D18	D19	D20	D21	D22	D23	D24
D34 La. Appointee elected[lower-alpha 3]	D33	D32	D31	D30	D29	D28	D27	D26	D25
D35	D36 Ga. Appointee elected	D37 Miss. Hold	D38	D39	P4	P3	P2	P1	V1
↓ Republican plurality (majority with Silver support →)									S1
R35	R36	R37	R38	R39 Mont. Gain from V	R40 Wash. Gain from V	R41 Wyo. Gain from V	R42 N.C. Gain from D	S2 Nev. Changed from R
R34	R33	R32	R31	R30	R29	R28	R27	R26	R25
R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24
R14	R13	R12	R11	R10	R9	R8	R7	R6	R5
						R1 Mich. Hold	R2	R3	R4

Key:	D# Democratic P# Populist R# Republican S# Silver V# Vacant

Race summaries

Elections during the 53rd Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1894 or in 1895 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Mississippi (Class 2)	Edward C. Walthall	Democratic	1885 (Appointed) 1886 (Special) 1889 1892 (Early)	Incumbent resigned due to ill health. New senator elected February 7, 1894. Democratic hold. Walthall, however, had already been re-elected to next term.[1]	Anselm J. McLaurin (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Louisiana (Class 2)	Donelson Caffery	Democratic	1892 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected May 23, 1894.[2] Winner was had already been elected to the next term, see below.	Donelson Caffery (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Louisiana (Class 3)	Newton C. Blanchard	Democratic	1894 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected May 23, 1894.[3]	Newton C. Blanchard (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Georgia (Class 2)	Patrick Walsh	Democratic	1894 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected November 7, 1894.[4] Winner was not elected to the next term, see below.	Patrick Walsh (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
North Carolina (Class 3)	Thomas Jarvis	Democratic	1894 (Appointed)	Unknown if interim appointee retired or lost election to finish the term. New senator elected November 7, 1894. Republican gain. New senator qualified January 23, 1895.	Jeter Pritchard (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Montana (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected January 16, 1895.	Lee Mantle (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Wyoming (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected January 23, 1895.	Clarence D. Clark (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
California (Class 3)	George C. Perkins	Republican	1893 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected January 23, 1895.[5]	George C. Perkins (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Michigan (Class 1)	John Patton Jr.	Republican	1894 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost election to finish the term. New senator elected January 24, 1895. Republican hold.	Julius C. Burrows (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Washington (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect. New senator elected February 1, 1895.	John L. Wilson (Republican) [data unknown/missing]

Elections leading to the 54th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1895; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Alabama	John Tyler Morgan	Democratic	1876 1882 1888	Incumbent re-elected in 1894.	John Tyler Morgan (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Arkansas	James Berry	Democratic	1885 (Special) 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	James Berry (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Colorado	Edward O. Wolcott	Republican	1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	Edward O. Wolcott (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Delaware	Anthony C. Higgins	Republican	1888 or 1889	Incumbent lost re-election. Failure to elect. Republican loss.	Anthony C. Higgins (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Georgia	Patrick Walsh	Democratic	1894 (Special)	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1894. Democratic hold.	Augustus Bacon (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Idaho	George Shoup	Republican	1890	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	George Shoup (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Illinois	Shelby M. Cullom	Republican	1882 1888	Incumbent re-elected in 1894.	Shelby M. Cullom (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Iowa	James F. Wilson	Republican	1888	Incumbent retired. New senator elected January 17, 1894.[6] Republican hold.	John H. Gear (Republican) Horace Boies (Democratic)
Kansas	John Martin	Democratic	1893 (Special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in January 1895. Republican gain.	Lucien Baker (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Kentucky	William Lindsay	Democratic	1893 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected January 17, 1894.[7]	William Lindsay (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Louisiana	Donelson Caffery	Democratic	1891 (Appointed)	Interim appointee elected May 14, 1894.[8] Winner would later be elected to finish the current term, see below.	Donelson Caffery (Democratic) 97 Jones 21 Allen Barksdale 7[8]
Maine	William P. Frye	Republican	1881 (Special) 1883 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	William P. Frye (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Massachusetts	George Frisbie Hoar	Republican	1877 1883 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	George Frisbie Hoar (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Michigan	James McMillan	Republican	1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	James McMillan (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Minnesota	William D. Washburn	Republican	1888	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1895. Republican hold.	Knute Nelson (Republican) William D. Washburn (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Mississippi	Anselm J. McLaurin	Democratic	1894	Incumbent retired as predecessor had already been elected to the next term. Predecessor was already elected early January 20, 1892.[1] Democratic hold.	Edward C. Walthall (Democratic) Clerk Lewis C.E. Hooker[1]
Montana	Thomas C. Power	Republican	1890	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in January 1895.[9] Republican hold.	Thomas H. Carter (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Nebraska	Charles F. Manderson	Republican	1883 1888	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected January 15, 1895. Republican hold.	John M. Thurston (Republican) William Jennings Bryan (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
New Hampshire	William E. Chandler	Republican	1887 (Special) 1889 (Failure to elect) 1889 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	William E. Chandler (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
New Jersey	John R. McPherson	Democratic	1877 1883 1889	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1895. Republican gain.	William Joyce Sewell (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
North Carolina	Matt W. Ransom	Democratic	1872 (Special) 1876 1883 1889	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1894. Populist gain.	Marion Butler (Populist) Matt W. Ransom (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Oregon	Joseph N. Dolph	Republican	1882 1888	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected February 23, 1895.[10] Republican hold.	George W. McBride (Republican) Joseph N. Dolph (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Rhode Island	Nathan F. Dixon III	Republican	1889 (Special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1894. Republican hold.	George P. Wetmore (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
South Carolina	Matthew Butler	Democratic	1876 1882 1888	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1894. Democratic hold.	Benjamin Tillman (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
South Dakota	Richard F. Pettigrew	Republican	1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1894.	Richard F. Pettigrew (Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Tennessee	Isham G. Harris	Democratic	1877 1883 1889	Incumbent re-elected in 1895.	Isham G. Harris (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Texas	Richard Coke	Democratic	1876 1882 1888	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1894. Democratic hold.	Horace Chilton (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
Virginia	Eppa Hunton	Democratic	1892 (Appointed) 1893 (Special)	Incumbent retired. New senator was already elected early December 19, 1893.[11] Democratic hold.	Thomas S. Martin (Democratic) [data unknown/missing]
West Virginia	Johnson N. Camden	Democratic	1893 (Special)	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 23, 1895.[12] Republican gain.	Stephen B. Elkins (Republican) 60 votes Johnson N. Camden (Democratic) 29 votes Neal (Populist) 2 votes.[12]
Wyoming	Joseph M. Carey	Republican	1890	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1895. Republican hold.	Francis E. Warren (Republican) Joseph M. Carey (Republican)

Elections during the 54th Congress

There were no elections in 1895 after March 4.

Alabama

Arkansas

California (Special)

Colorado

Delaware

Georgia

Georgia (Special)

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Interim appointee Donelson Caffery (D) was elected May 14, 1894 to the next term. He was later (May 23, 1894) elected to finish the current term.

Louisiana (Special, class 2)

Randall L. Gibson (D) had been re-elected in 1889, but died December 15, 1892. Donelson Caffery (D) was appointed by the Governor of Louisiana December 31, 1892 to continue the term, pending a special election. On May 14, 1894 Caffery was elected to the next term, and on May 23, 1894 Caffery was elected to finish the current term.

Louisiana (Special, class 3)

Edward Douglass White (D) had been elected in 1891, but resigned March 12, 1894 when appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Newton C. Blanchard (D) was appointed by the Governor of Louisiana March 12, 1894 to continue the term, pending a special election. On May 23, 1894 Blanchard was elected to finish the current term, which would end March 3, 1897.

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Michigan (Special)

Minnesota

Mississippi

Mississippi (Special)

Montana

Montana (Special)

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

North Carolina

North Carolina (Special)

Oregon

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Washington (Special)

John B. Allen (R) had been elected in 1889 as one of the first senators from Washington. In 1893, however, the Washington State Legislature failed to elect a senator for the term beginning March 4, 1893. The governor appointed Allen to serve until March 20, 1893, but the Senate rejected his credentials.

John L. Wilson (R) was elected February 1, 1895 to finish the term, that would end March 3, 1899, taking his seat February 19, 1895.

West Virginia

Wyoming

Wyoming (Special)

See also

• 1894 United States elections
  • 1894 United States House of Representatives elections
• 53rd United States Congress
• 54th United States Congress

Notes

1. as Republican Conference Chair
2. as Democratic Caucus Chair
3. Same result for this seat in general and special elections
4. Elected early

1. "GEORGE AND WALTHALL ELECTED". The New York Times. January 20, 1892. p. 1.
2. Byrd, p. 114.
3. Byrd, p. 115.
4. Byrd, p. 96.
5. Byrd, p. 83.
6. Clark, p. 234.
7. Kleber, John E. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. p. 558.
8. "MR. CAFFERY HIS OWN SUCCESSOR". The New York Times. May 15, 1894. p. 1.
9. Goodspeed, p. 457.
10. "George Wycliffe McBride". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
11. ""TWO VIRGINIA SENATORS ELECTED"". The New York Times. December 20, 1893.
12. "Elkins Elected in West Virginia". The New York Times. January 24, 1895. p. 5.

References

• Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy (ed.). "The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992". United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). "History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa". Iowa City, Iowa.
• Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, ed. (1904). "The Province and the States: A History of the Province of Louisiana Under France and Spain, And of the Territories and States of the United States Formed Therefrom" (Vol. VI ed.). Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical Association.