1872 and 1873 United States Senate elections


The United States Senate elections of 1872 and 1873 were elections which had the Republican Party, while still retaining a commanding majority, lose two seats in the United States Senate. By the beginning of the Congress, however, they'd lost three more: two as defections to the Liberal Republican Party, and one a resignation of Henry Wilson to become U.S. Vice President. These elections also coincided with President Ulysses S. Grant's easy re-election.
As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.

Results summary

Senate Party Division, 43rd Congress

Before the elections

After the January 30, 1872 special election in North Carolina.

Result of the elections

Beginning of the next Congress

Key:

Race summaries

Special elections during the 42nd Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1872 or in 1873 before March 4; ordered by election date.

Races leading to the 43rd Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1873; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

Elections during the 43rd Congress

In this election, the winner was elected in 1873 after March 4.

Early election

New York

The New York election was held January 21, 1873. Republican Roscoe Conkling had been elected in January 1867 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1873.
At the State election in November 1871, 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats were elected for a two-year term in the State Senate. In 1872, a faction of the Republican Party opposed the re-election of President Ulysses S. Grant and the Radical Republicans who supported him, and under the name Liberal Republican Party nominated a joint ticket with the Democratic Party. At the State election in November 1872, 91 Republicans, 35 Democrats and 2 Independents were elected for the session of 1873 to the Assembly. The 96th New York State Legislature met from January 7 to May 30, 1873, at Albany, New York.
The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 8, State Senator William B. Woodin, of Auburn, presided. 18 state senators and 88 assemblymen were present. They re-nominated Conkling unanimously. The caucus of the Democratic State legislators nominated Ex-First Judge of Dutchess County Charles Wheaton.
Roscoe Conkling was the choice of both the Assembly and the State Senate, and was declared elected.
Note: The vote for Ex-U.S. Attorney General William M. Evarts was cast by Norman M. Allen, the vote for Ex-Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Henry R. Selden by Gabriel T. Harrower. Allen, Harrower and Abiah W. Palmer were the three Liberal Republicans in the State Senate.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania State Senate, voted on January 21, 1873. Incumbent Republican Simon Cameron, who was elected in 1867, won re-election.
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