1796 and 1797 United States Senate elections

The United States Senate elections of 1796 and 1797 were elections for the United States Senate which, coinciding with John Adams's election as President, had the ruling Federalist Party gain one seat.

For related races, see 1796 United States elections.

1796 and 1797 United States Senate elections

Dates vary by state
11 of the 32 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 17 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Federalist Democratic-Republican Seats before 19 12 Seats after 20 10 Seat change 1 2 Seats up 8 3 Races won 9 1
Majority Party before election Federalist Elected Majority Party Federalist

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

Results summary

Senate Party Division, 5th Congress (1797–1799)

• Majority Party: Federalist (22)
• Minority Party: Democratic-Republican (9)
• Vacant: 1 (later filled by Democratic-Republican)
• Total Seats: 32

Change in composition

Before the elections

After the August 2, 1796 admission of Tennessee.

DR6	DR5	DR4	DR3	DR2	DR1
DR7	DR8	DR9 Va. Unknown	DR10 Tenn. Ran	DR11 N.Y. Ran	V2	V1	F19 Vt. Resigned	F18 Mass. Resigned	F17 R.I. Ran
Majority →
F7	F8	F9	F10	F11	F12 Conn. Ran	F13 Del. Ran	F14 Md. Ran	F15 N.J. Ran	F16 Pa. Ran
F6	F5	F4	F3	F2	F1

Results of the regular elections

DR6	DR5	DR4	DR3	DR2	DR1
DR7	DR8	DR9 Va. Re-elected	V2 Tenn. DR Loss	V2	V1	F20 N.Y. Gain	F19 Vt. Hold	F18 Mass. Hold	F17 R.I. Re-elected
Majority →
F7	F8	F9	F10	F11	F12 Conn. Re-elected	F13 Del. Re-elected	F14 Md. Re-elected	F15 N.J. Re-elected	F16 Pa. Re-elected
F6	F5	F4	F3	F2	F1

Key:	DR# Democratic-Republican F# Federalist V# Vacant

Race summaries

Except if/when noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.

Special elections during the 4th Congress

In these special elections, the winner was seated before March 4, 1797; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Georgia (Class 3)	George Walton	Federalist	1795 (Appointed)	Appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected February 20, 1796. Democratic-Republican gain.	Y Josiah Tattnall (Democratic-Republican) [data unknown/missing]
Connecticut (Class 1)	Oliver Ellsworth	Federalist	1788 1791	Incumbent resigned to become Chief Justice of the United States. New senator elected May 12, 1796. Federalist hold.	Y James Hillhouse (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Massachusetts (Class 1)	George Cabot	Federalist	1790	Incumbent resigned June 9, 1796. New senator elected June 11, 1796 on the second ballot. Federalist hold. Successor also elected the same day to the next term, see below.	Y Benjamin Goodhue (Federalist) 75 Edward H. Robbins 65[1]
Massachusetts (Class 2)	Caleb Strong	Federalist	1788 1793	Incumbent resigned June 1, 1796. New senator elected June 11, 1796 on the second ballot. Federalist hold.	Y Theodore Sedgwick (Federalist) 107 Edward H. Robbins 43 Levi Lincoln 2 Nathaniel Dane (Federalist) 1 Thompson J. Skinner 1[2]
Connecticut (Class 3)	Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.	Federalist	1794 or 1795	Incumbent resigned June 10, 1796 to become Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. New senator elected October 13, 1796. Federalist hold.	Y Uriah Tracy (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Vermont (Class 1)	Moses Robinson	Democratic-Republican	1791 (New state)	Incumbent resigned October 15, 1796. New senator elected October 18, 1796. Federalist gain. Successor also elected the same day to the next term, see below.	Y Isaac Tichenor (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
New York (Class 3)	Rufus King	Federalist	1789 1795	Incumbent resigned May 23, 1796 to become U.S. Minister to Great Britain. New senator elected November 9, 1796. Federalist hold.	Y John Laurance (Federalist) 99 Zephaniah Platt 1[3]
New Jersey (Class 2)	Frederick Frelinghuysen	Federalist	1792 or 1793	Incumbent resigned November 12, 1796. New senator elected November 12, 1796. Federalist hold.	Y Richard Stockton (Federalist) Unanimous[4]
Maryland (Class 1)	Richard Potts	Federalist	1793 (Special)	Incumbent resigned October 24, 1796. New senator elected November 28, 1796. Federalist hold. Successor also later elected to the next term, see below.	Y John Eager Howard (Federalist) W. Spriggs (Federalist) 15[5]
South Carolina (Class 2)	Pierce Butler	Democratic-Republican	1789 1793	Incumbent resigned October 25, 1796. New senator elected December 8, 1796. Democratic-Republican hold.	Y John Hunter (Democratic-Republican) 72 John Chestnut 66[6]

Races leading to the 5th Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1797; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Connecticut	James Hillhouse	Federalist	1796 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1797.	Y James Hillhouse (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Delaware	Henry Latimer	Federalist	1795 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected January 6, 1797.	Y Henry Latimer (Federalist) 16 David Hall (Democratic-Republican) 6[7]
Maryland	John Eager Howard	Federalist	1796 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected December 9, 1796.	Y John Eager Howard (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Massachusetts	George Cabot	Federalist	1790	Incumbent resigned June 9, 1796. New senator elected June 11, 1796 on the third ballot. Federalist hold. Winner also elected to finish the current term, see above.	Y Benjamin Goodhue (Federalist) 73 Edward H. Robbins[8]
New Jersey	John Rutherfurd	Federalist	1790	Incumbent re-elected in 1796.	Y John Rutherfurd (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
New York	Aaron Burr	Democratic-Republican	1791	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 24, 1797. Federalist gain.	Y Philip Schuyler (Federalist) 85 James Kent (Federalist) 1[9]
Pennsylvania	James Ross	Federalist	1794 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected February 16, 1797.	Y James Ross (Federalist) 56 William Irvine (Democratic-Republican) 38[10]
Rhode Island	Theodore Foster	Federalist	1790 1791	Incumbent re-elected in 1797.	Y Theodore Foster (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Tennessee	William Cocke	Democratic-Republican	1796	Legislature failed to elect. Democratic-Republican loss. Incumbent later appointed to continue term.[11]	None
Vermont	Moses Robinson	Democratic-Republican	1791 (New state)	Incumbent resigned October 15, 1796. New senator elected October 18, 1796. Federalist gain. Winner also elected to finish the current term, see above.	Y Isaac Tichenor (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Virginia	Stevens Mason	Democratic-Republican	1794 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected November 29, 1796.	Y Stevens Mason (Democratic-Republican) 114 James Breckinridge (Federalist) 60[12]

Special elections during the 5th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated after March 4, 1797, the beginning of the next Congress.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Tennessee (Class 1)	William Cocke	Democratic-Republican	1796 1797 (Appointed)	Interim appointee lost re-election. New senator elected September 26, 1797. Democratic-Republican hold.	Y Andrew Jackson (Democratic-Republican) 20 William Cocke (Democratic-Republican) 13[13]
Tennessee (Class 2)	William Blount	Democratic-Republican	1796	Incumbent expelled July 8, 1797.[14] New senator elected September 26, 1797. Democratic-Republican hold.	Y Joseph Anderson (Democratic-Republican) 33 Unopposed[13]
Vermont (Class 1)	Isaac Tichenor	Federalist	1796 (Special)	Incumbent resigned October 17, 1797 to become Governor of Vermont. New senator elected October 17, 1797. Federalist hold.	Y Nathaniel Chipman (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Rhode Island (Class 2)	William Bradford	Federalist	1793	Incumbent resigned in October 1797. New senator elected November 13, 1797. Federalist hold.	Y Ray Greene (Federalist) [data unknown/missing]
Maryland (Class 3)	John Henry	Federalist	1788 1795	Incumbent resigned July 10, 1797 to become Governor of Maryland. New senator elected December 8, 1797. Federalist hold.	Y James Lloyd (Federalist) Majority of one vote only[15]

See also

• 1796 United States elections
  • 1796 United States presidential election
  • 1796 and 1797 United States House of Representatives elections
• 4th United States Congress
• 5th United States Congress

References

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

1. "Massachusetts 1796 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing The Hampshire and Berkshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). June 21, 1796.
2. "Massachusetts 1796 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Political Gazette (Newburyport, MA). June 16, 1796.
3. "New York 1796 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Journal of the New York Assembly, 1796. 18. Journal of the New York State Senate, 1796. 12.
4. "New Jersey 1796 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing The Albany Gazette (Albany, NY). November 21, 1796.
5. "Maryland 1796 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Charles Carroll to James McHenry. Nov. 28, 1796. Reel 2, Item 990. Charles Carroll Papers. Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore.
6. "South Carolina 1796 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). December 30, 1796.
7. "Delaware 1797 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Journal of the Delaware State Senate, 1797. 18.
8. "Massachusetts 1796 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Hampshire and Berkshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). June 21, 1796.
9. "New York 1797 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Journal of the New York Assembly, 1797. 68. Journal of the New York State Senate, 1797. 43-44.
10. "Pennsylvania 1797 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing The New World (Philadelphia, PA). February 17, 1797.
11. United States Congress. "William Cocke (id: C000572)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
12. "Virginia 1796 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing The Virginia Argus (Richmond, VA). December 2, 1796.
13. "Tennessee 1797 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 30, 2018., citing Commercial Advertiser (New York, NY). November 11, 1797.
14. United States Congress. "William Blount (id: B000570)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
15. "Maryland 1797 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 4, 2018., citing Aurora. General Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). December 13, 1797.