1792–93 United States Senate elections

1792 United States Senate election in Kentucky
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U.S. senator before election; John Brown; Anti-Administration	Elected U.S. Senator ; John Brown; Anti-Administration

1792/1793 United States Senate election in Georgia
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U.S. senator before election; William Few; Anti-Administration	Elected U.S. senator ; James Jackson; Anti-Administration

1792–93 United States Senate elections
10 of the 30 seats in the United States Senate; (as well as special elections); 16 seats needed for a majority
	Results:; Pro-Administration hold Pro-Administration gain; Anti-Administration hold Anti-Administration gain
Majority Faction before election; ; Pro-Administration	Elected Majority Faction ; ; Pro-Administration

The 1792–93 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with President George Washington's unanimous re-election. 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 1792 and 1793, 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 ten senators in Class 2.

Formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of Senators who supported George Washington's administration were known as the Pro-Administration Party, and the Senators against him as the Anti-Administration Party.

Results summary

Senate party division, 3rd Congress (1793–1795)

Majority party: Pro-Administration Party (16)
Minority party: Anti-Administration Party (13)
Other parties: 0
Total seats: 30
Vacant: 1 (later filled by Pro-Administration)

Change in composition

Note: There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.^[2]

Virginia's elections are considered a single race here.

Before the elections

After the June 1792 admission of Kentucky.

A₅	A₄	A₃	A₂	A₁
A₆	A₇ Ga. Ran	A₈ Ky. Ran	A₉ N.H. Ran	A₁₀ R.I. Unknown	A₁₁ S.C. Ran	A₁₂ Va. Resigned/Ran	V₁ Pa.	P₁₅ N.C. Ran	P₁₇ N.J. Retired
Majority →									P₁₇ N.J. Retired
P₆	P₇	P₈	P₉	P₁₀	P₁₁	P₁₂	P₁₆ Del. Unknown	P₁₃ Md. (sp) Resigned	P₁₄ Mass. Ran
P₅	P₄	P₃	P₂	P₁

Results of the election

A₅	A₄	A₃	A₂	A₁
A₆	A₇ Ga. Hold	A₈ Ky. Re-elected	A₉ N.C. Gain	A₁₀ S.C. Re-elected	A₁₁ Va. Ran/Re-elected	V₁ Pa.	P₁₈ R.I. Gain	P₁₆ N.J. Hold	P₁₇ N.H. Gain
Majority →									P₁₇ N.H. Gain
P₆	P₇	P₈	P₉	P₁₀	P₁₁	P₁₂	P₁₅ Del. Hold	P₁₃ Md. (sp) Hold	P₁₄ Mass. Re-elected
P₅	P₄	P₃	P₂	P₁

Beginning of the next Congress

Two Pro-Administration senators (Benjamin Hawkins of North Carolina and John Langdon of New Hampshire) changed to Anti-Administration.

The vacant seat in Pennsylvania was filled February 28, 1793 by an Anti-Administration senator.

A₅	A₄	A₃	A₂	A₁
A₆	A₇	A₈	A₉	A₁₀	A₁₁	A₁₂ N.H. (cl. 1) Changed	A₁₃ N.C. (cl. 3) Changed	A₁₄ Pa. Late	P₁₆
Majority →									P₁₆
P₆	P₇	P₈	P₉	P₁₀	P₁₁	P₁₂	P₁₃	P₁₄	P₁₅
P₅	P₄	P₃	P₂	P₁

Key:

A_#	Anti-Administration
P_#	Pro-Administration
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

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

Elections during the 2nd Congress

In these elections, the winner was seated before March 4, 1793; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Kentucky (Class 2)	None (new state)			Kentucky was admitted to the Union June 1, 1792. Winner elected June 18, 1792. Anti-Administration gain.	▌ Y John Brown (Anti-Admin.) 100%^[3]
Kentucky (Class 3)	None (new state)			Kentucky was admitted to the Union June 1, 1792. Winner elected June 18, 1792. Anti-Administration gain.	▌ Y John Edwards (Anti-Admin.) [data missing]
Virginia (Class 2)	Richard Henry Lee	Anti-Administration	1788	Incumbent resigned October 8, 1792. Winner elected October 18, 1792. Anti-Administration hold.	▌ Y John Taylor (Anti-Admin.) 90 ▌Arthur Lee (Unknown) 39 ▌Francis Corbin (Unknown) 33^[4]
Maryland (Class 1)	Charles Carroll	Pro-Administration	1788	Incumbent resigned November 30, 1792. Winner elected January 10, 1793. Pro-Administration hold.	▌ Y Richard Potts (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
Pennsylvania (Class 1)	Vacant			Legislature failed to elect in 1791–1792, leaving the seat vacant. Winner elected February 28, 1793. Anti-Administration gain.	▌ Y Albert Gallatin (Anti-Admin.) 45 ▌Henry Miller (Pro-Admin.) 35 ▌Arthur St. Clair (Anti-Admin.) 1 ▌William Irvine (Anti-Admin.) 1^[5]

Races leading to the 3rd Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1793; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Delaware	Richard Bassett	Pro-Administration	1788	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1793. Pro-Administration hold.	▌ Y John Vining (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
Georgia	William Few	Anti-Administration	1789	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1793. Anti-Administration hold.	▌ Y James Jackson (Anti-Admin.) 35 ▌William Few (Unknown) 5 ▌George Mathews (Unknown) 1^[6]
Kentucky	John Brown	Anti-Administration	1792 (new state)	Incumbent re-elected December 11, 1792.	▌ Y John Brown (Anti-Admin.) Unopposed^[7]
Massachusetts	Caleb Strong	Pro-Administration	1788	Incumbent re-elected in 1793.	▌ Y Caleb Strong (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Paine Wingate	Anti-Administration	1788	Incumbent lost re-election in 1792. Pro-Administration gain.	▌ Y Samuel Livermore (Pro-Admin.) 52 ▌Paine Wingate (Federalist) 28 ▌Nathaniel Peabody (Unknown) 8 ▌Abiel Foster (Federalist) 1^[8]
New Jersey	Philemon Dickinson	Pro-Administration	1790 (special)	Incumbent retired. Winner's election date unknown. Pro-Administration hold.	▌ Y Frederick Frelinghuysen (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
North Carolina	Samuel Johnston	Pro-Administration	1789	Incumbent lost re-election. Winner elected in 1792.^[9] Anti-Administration gain.	▌ Y Alexander Martin (Anti-Admin.) 42 ▌John Leigh (Unknown) 34 ▌Thomas Blount (Unknown) 31 ▌John Steele (Unknown) 31 ▌Gaiter (Unknown) 28 ▌Samuel Johnston (Pro-Admin.) 1 ▌William Lenoir (Unknown) 1 ▌Alfred Moore (Unknown) 1 ▌Richard Dobbs Spaight (Unknown) 1 ▌Willie Jones (Unknown) 0
Rhode Island	Joseph Stanton Jr.	Anti-Administration	1790	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Winner elected in 1793. Pro-Administration gain.	▌ Y William Bradford (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]
South Carolina	Pierce Butler	Anti-Administration	1789	Incumbent re-elected December 5, 1792.	▌ Y Pierce Butler (Anti-Admin.) 118 ▌Charles Pinckney (Unknown) 8 ▌Zachariah Horskins (Unknown) 2 ▌John Little Ward (Unknown) 2 ▌John Baxter (Unknown) 1 ▌John E. Colhoun (Unknown) 1 ▌Adam C. Jones (Unknown) 1 ▌Jacob Read (Federalist) 1^[10]
Virginia	John Taylor	Anti-Administration	1792 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1793.	▌ Y John Taylor (Anti-Admin.) [data missing]

Election in 1793 during the 3rd Congress

In this special election, the winner was seated after March 4, 1793, the beginning of the next Congress.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Connecticut (Class 3)	Roger Sherman	Pro-Administration	1791 (special)	Incumbent died July 23, 1793. Winner elected December 2, 1793. Pro-Administration hold.	▌ Y Stephen Mitchell (Pro-Admin.) [data missing]

Connecticut (special)

Delaware

Georgia

One-term Anti-Federalist William Few was defeated by fellow Anti-Federalist, James Jackson. Jackson won 24 votes in the Georgia House of Representatives and 11 in the State Senate for a combined total of 35. Few won 3 in the House and 2 in the Senate for a combined total of 5. Jackson took office as a member of the 3rd United States Congress on March 4, 1793. He would later resign in 1795 to run for his state's legislature.

United States Senate election in Georgia, 1792/93^[11]
Party	Candidate	Votes in the House	Votes in the Senate	Total	%
Anti-Federalist	James Jackson	24	11	35	85.4%
Anti-Federalist	William Few (incumbent)	3	2	5	12.2%
Anti-Federalist	George Mathews	1	-	1	2.4%

Kentucky

Incumbent John Brown, who had previously been elected in a special election was easily reelected with no opposition and 100% of votes from the legislators.

Maryland (special)

1793 United States Senate special election in Maryland

← 1790

December 6, 1792

1796 →

80 members of the Maryland General Assembly


Candidate	Richard Potts	Josh Hoskins Stone
Party	Federalist	Federalist
Legislative vote	53	34
Percentage	60.92%	39.08%

Richard Potts won election to fill the seat vacated by Charles Carroll over Josh Hoskins Stone by a margin of 21.84%, or 19 votes, for the Class 1 seat.^[12]

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

1792 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

← 1788

1792

1798 →

	Majority party	Minority party	Third party

Candidate	Samuel Livermore	Paine Wingate	Nathaniel Peabody
Party	Federalist	Anti-Federalist	Independent
Legislative vote	52	28	8
Percentage	58.4%	31.5%	9%

U.S. senator before election

Paine Wingate
Anti-Administration

Elected U.S. Senator

Samuel Livermore
Federalist

Incumbent U.S. Senator Paine Wingate was not reelected. The New Hampshire General Court instead elected Federalist Samuel Livermore, a U.S. Representative, to the seat. Livermore, like his fellow senator, John Langdon, would go on to serve as President Pro-Tempore during this term.

New Jersey

North Carolina

Pro-Administration Samuel Johnston lost re-election to Anti-Administration Alexander Martin for the class 2 seat. The other senator, Benjamin Hawkins, switched his support from Pro- to Anti-Administration.

Pennsylvania (special)

There was a special election on February 28, 1793, for the Class 1 seat from Pennsylvania. Incumbent William Maclay's term had ended on March 3, 1791, but the legislature failed to elect a successor due to a disagreement on the procedure to be followed in the election.

The seat remained vacant until Albert Gallatin was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the seat during this election.^[13]

Upon agreement between the two houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate, regarding the procedure to elect a new Senator, an election was finally held on February 28, 1793. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:

State Legislature Results^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Anti-Administration	Albert Gallatin	45	51.72%
	Pro-Administration	Henry Miller	35	40.23%
	Pro-Administration	Arthur St. Clair	1	1.15%
	Pro-Administration	William Irvine	1	1.15%
	N/A	Not voting	5	5.75%
Total votes			87	100%

On February 28, 1794, the Senate determined that Gallatin did not satisfy the citizenship requirement for service and he was removed from office. He later went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Gallatin was replaced in the Senate by a special election in 1794.^[14]

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Virginia

Anti-Administration senator Richard Henry Lee resigned October 8, 1792, just before the March 3, 1793 end of term. Anti-administration John Taylor of Caroline was elected October 18, 1792 to finish Lee's term and then re-elected in 1793 to the next term.

Special

Virginia special election^[15]
Candidate	Votes	%
John Taylor of Caroline	90	55.6
Arthur Lee	39	24.1
Francis Corbin	33	20.4

Regular

References

^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
^ Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
^ "Virginia 1792 U.S. Senate, Special". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Mattern, David B., J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne K. Cross and Susan Holbrook Perdue, ed. The Papers of James Madison, Congressional Series. Vol. 14. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1983. 392.)
^ "Pennsylvania 1793 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing The Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). March 6, 1793)
^ "Georgia 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing The Augusta Chronicle and Gazette of the State (Augusta, GA). December 1, 1792.)
^ "Kentucky 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing The Mirrour (Concord, NH). January 28, 1793.; Election of United States Senators by the General Assembly (typed manuscript). Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort.)
^ "New Hampshire 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Osborne's Newhampshire Spy (Portsmouth, NH). June 23, 1792.)
^ "North Carolina 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Legislative Papers. State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh.; Legislative Papers 1792 Box 119. State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh.)
^ "South Carolina 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing "Rough House Journals.")
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
^ "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 06, 1792". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
^ ^a ^b "U.S. Senate Election - 28 February 1793" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
^ "GALLATIN, Albert, (1761 - 1849)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
^ "Virginia 1792 U.S. Senate, Special". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Mattern, David B., J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne K. Cross and Susan Holbrook Perdue, ed. The Papers of James Madison, Congressional Series. Vol. 14. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1983. 392.)

External links

Party Division in the Senate, 1789–present via Senate.gov

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

[No_parties-2] Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.

[3] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.

[4] "Virginia 1792 U.S. Senate, Special". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Mattern, David B., J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne K. Cross and Susan Holbrook Perdue, ed. The Papers of James Madison, Congressional Series. Vol. 14. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1983. 392.)

[5] "Pennsylvania 1793 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing The Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). March 6, 1793)

[6] "Georgia 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing The Augusta Chronicle and Gazette of the State (Augusta, GA). December 1, 1792.)

[7] "Kentucky 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing The Mirrour (Concord, NH). January 28, 1793.; Election of United States Senators by the General Assembly (typed manuscript). Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort.)

[8] "New Hampshire 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Osborne's Newhampshire Spy (Portsmouth, NH). June 23, 1792.)

[9] "North Carolina 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Legislative Papers. State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh.; Legislative Papers 1792 Box 119. State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh.)

[10] "South Carolina 1792 U.S. Senate". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing "Rough House Journals.")

[11] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.

[12] "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Dec 06, 1792". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-04.

[Pennsylvania-13] "U.S. Senate Election - 28 February 1793" (PDF). Wilkes University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

[14] "GALLATIN, Albert, (1761 - 1849)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 21, 2012.

[15] "Virginia 1792 U.S. Senate, Special". A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives. Retrieved January 24, 2018. (referencing Mattern, David B., J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne K. Cross and Susan Holbrook Perdue, ed. The Papers of James Madison, Congressional Series. Vol. 14. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1983. 392.)

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