1810–11 United States Senate elections

The 1810â11 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. 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 1810 and 1811, 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 senators in Class 2.

Quick facts 11 of the 34 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections) 18 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

1810â11 United States Senate elections

â 1808 & 1809

Dates vary by state

1812 & 1813 â

â 1804 & 1805

Class 2

1816 & 1817 â

11 of the 34 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections)
18 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Party	Democratic-Republican	Federalist
Seats before	26	8
Seats after	26	7
Seat change		1
Seats up	8	2
Races won	8	1

Results:
Federalist hold Dem-Republican hold
Legislature Failed To Elect

Majority Party before election

Democratic-Republican

Elected Majority Party

Democratic-Republican

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The Democratic-Republican Party maintained their Senate majority. The minority Federalists had gone into the elections with such a small share of Senate seats (8 out of 34, or 23.5%) that, had they won all of the elections, they would still not have reached a majority.

Change in composition

Senate Composition in 1809

Democratic-Republicans: 28 seats Federalists: 6 seats

Senate Composition in 1811

Democratic-Republicans: 30 seats Federalists: 6 seats

Key Changes

Democratic-Republicans: The Democratic-Republicans gained 2 seats, increasing their majority from 28 to 30 seats. Federalists: The number of Federalist seats remained unchanged at 6.

Context

The Democratic-Republican Party continued to dominate the United States Senate during this period, reflecting the broader political landscape of the early 19th century. Following the decline of the Federalist Party after the election of 1800, Democratic-Republicans held a clear majority in both chambers of Congress for much of the decade. This dominance allowed the party to influence legislative priorities and shape national policy.

The political environment of the time was strongly influenced by growing tensions between the United States and Great Britain. Disputes over maritime rights, trade restrictions, and the impressment of American sailors by the British Royal Navy contributed to increasing public and political pressure for a more assertive response. These issues became central topics of debate in Congress and played a significant role in shaping the legislative agenda.

During this period, members of Congress also focused on matters related to national defense, trade policy, and the protection of American shipping interests. Several Democratic-Republican leaders supported stronger measures against Britain, while some Federalists expressed concern about the economic and military consequences of escalating conflict. These divisions reflected broader regional and political differences within the United States.

The political debates of this era ultimately contributed to the conditions that led to the outbreak of the War of 1812. As tensions intensified, congressional discussions increasingly centered on national sovereignty, security, and the future direction of American foreign policy.^[2]

DR₇	DR₆	DR₅	DR₄	DR₃	DR₂	DR₁
DR₈	DR₉	DR₁₀	DR₁₁	DR₁₂	DR₁₃	DR₁₄	DR₁₅	DR₁₆	DR₁₇
Majority â									DR₁₈ Ga. Ran
F₈ Mass. Ran	DR₂₆ Va. Ran	DR₂₅ Tenn. Ran	DR₂₄ S.C. Retired	DR₂₃ R.I. Unknown	DR₂₂ N.C. Ran	DR₂₁ N.J. Ran	DR₂₀ N.H. Ran	DR₁₉ Ky. Retired	DR₁₈ Ga. Ran
F₇ Del. Ran	F₆	F₅	F₄	F₃	F₂	F₁

Result of the regular elections

DR₇	DR₆	DR₅	DR₄	DR₃	DR₂	DR₁
DR₈	DR₉	DR₁₀	DR₁₁	DR₁₂	DR₁₃	DR₁₄	DR₁₅	DR₁₆	DR₁₇
Majority â									DR₁₈ Ga. Re-elected
V₁ Mass. F Loss	DR₂₆ Va. Re-elected	DR₂₅ Tenn. Re-elected	DR₂₄ S.C. Hold	DR₂₃ R.I. Hold	DR₂₂ N.C. Re-elected	DR₂₁ N.J. Re-elected	DR₂₀ N.H. Re-elected	DR₁₉ Ky. Hold	DR₁₈ Ga. Re-elected
F₇ Del. Re-elected	F₆	F₅	F₄	F₃	F₂	F₁

More information Key ...

Key

DR_#	Democratic-Republican
F_#	Federalist
V_#	Vacant

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Race summaries

Except if/when noted, number following candidates is whole number votes.

Special elections during the 11th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1810 or before March 4, 1811; ordered by election date.

More information State, Incumbent ...

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Delaware (Class 1)	Samuel White	Federalist	1796 (special) 1801 (appointed) 1803 1809	Incumbent died November 4, 1809. New senator elected January 12, 1810. Federalist hold.	âY Outerbridge Horsey (Federalist) 27 Blank 1^[3]
New Hampshire (Class 3)	Nahum Parker	Democratic- Republican	1807	Incumbent resigned June 1, 1810. New senator elected June 21, 1810. Federalist gain.	âY Charles Cutts (Federalist)^[a] 99 âThomas W. Thompson (Federalist) 73 âJedediah K. Smith (Democratic-Republican) 4 âOliver Peabody (Federalist) 2 âIsaac Hill (Democratic-Republican) 1 Nay 5^[4]
Connecticut (Class 1)	James Hillhouse	Federalist	1796 (special) 1797 1803 1809	Incumbent resigned June 10, 1810. New senator elected in June 1810. Federalist hold.	âY Samuel W. Dana (Federalist) 137 âAsa Spalding (Democratic-Republican) 19^[5]^[6]
Ohio (Class 1)	Return J. Meigs Jr.	Democratic- Republican	1808 (special) 1808	Incumbent resigned December 8, 1810, to become Governor of Ohio. New senator elected December 15, 1810 on the sixth ballot. Democratic-Republican hold.	âY Thomas Worthington (Democratic-Republican) 35 âSamuel Huntington (Democratic-Republican) 31 âJames Pritchard (Democratic-Republican) 2 âGeorge Tod (Unknown) Eliminated âJohn Bigger (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated âThomas Kirker (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated âThomas Morris (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated âJames Caldwell (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated^[7]^[8]
South Carolina (Class 2)	Thomas Sumter	Democratic- Republican	1801 (special) 1809	Incumbent resigned December 16, 1810. New senator elected December 18, 1810 on the third ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to the next term; see below.	âY John Taylor (Democratic-Republican) 83 âJoseph Alston (Democratic-Republican) 74^[9]

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Races leading to the 12th Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1811 (except where noted due to late election); ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

More information State, Incumbent ...

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Delaware	James A. Bayard	Federalist	1804 (special) 1805	Incumbent re-elected January 8, 1811.	âY James A. Bayard (Federalist) 17 âJames Tilton (Democratic-Republican) 9^[10]
Georgia	William H. Crawford	Democratic- Republican	1807 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1810 or 1811.	âY William H. Crawford (Democratic-Republican) [data missing]
Kentucky	Henry Clay	Democratic- Republican	1810 (appointed)	Appointee retired to run for U.S. House of Representatives. New senator elected January 8, 1811. Democratic-Republican hold.	âY George M. Bibb (Democratic-Republican) 77 âChristopher Greenup (Democratic-Republican) 20 âMatthew Lyon (Democratic-Republican) 0^[11]
Massachusetts	Timothy Pickering	Federalist	1803 (special) 1805	Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect due to partisan deadlock in the Massachusetts Senate. Federalist loss.	âTimothy Pickering (Federalist) âJoseph B. Varnum (Democratic-Republican) âWilliam King (Democratic-Republican) âRichard Cutts (Democratic-Republican) âPerez Morton (Unknown) âJosiah Quincy III (Federalist) âJoseph Sprague (Unknown)^[12]^[13]
New Hampshire	Nicholas Gilman	Democratic- Republican	1804	Incumbent re-elected June 21, 1810, on the fourth ballot.	âY Nicholas Gilman (Democratic-Republican) âJedediah K. Smith (Democratic-Republican) 78 âCharles Cutts (Democratic-Republican)^[a] 1 âOliver Peabody (Federalist) 1 Nay 1^[14]
New Jersey	John Condit	Democratic- Republican	1803 (appointed) 1803 (special) 1809 (lost) 1809 (appointed) 1809 (special)	Incumbent re-elected November 5, 1810.	âY John Condit (Democratic-Republican) Unopposed^[15]
North Carolina	James Turner	Democratic- Republican	1804	Incumbent re-elected November 28, 1810 on the third vote.	âY James Turner (Democratic-Republican) 106 âDavid Stone (Democratic-Republican) 83 Blank 1 âBenjamin Smith (Democratic-Republican) Eliminated âThomas Davis (Unknown) Eliminated^[16]
Rhode Island	Elisha Mathewson	Democratic- Republican	1807 (special)	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected November 2, 1810. Democratic-Republican hold.	âY Jeremiah B. Howell (Democratic-Republican) 42 âJames Burrill Jr. (Federalist) 41^[17]
South Carolina	Thomas Sumter	Democratic- Republican	1801 (special) 1809	Incumbent resigned December 16, 1810. New senator elected December 18, 1810 on the third ballot. Democratic-Republican hold. Winner also elected to finish the current term; see above.	âY John Taylor (Democratic-Republican) 83 âJoseph Alston (Democratic-Republican) 74^[9]
Tennessee	Jenkin Whiteside	Democratic- Republican	1809 (special)	Incumbent re-elected early October 28, 1809.	âY Jenkin Whiteside (Democratic-Republican) 39 Unopposed^[18]
Virginia	William B. Giles	Democratic- Republican	1804 (appointed) 1804 (special) 1804	Incumbent re-elected January 2, 1811.	âY William B. Giles (Democratic-Republican) 123 Scattering 15^[19]

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Special elections during the 12th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated in 1811 after March 4; ordered by election date.

More information State, Incumbent ...

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Massachusetts (Class 2)	Vacant			Legislature had failed to elect; see above. New senator elected late June 6, 1811 on the second ballot. Democratic-Republican gain.	âY Joseph Varnum (Democratic-Republican) 341 âTimothy Pickering (Federalist) 267^[20]
Tennessee (Class 2)	Jenkin Whiteside	Democratic- Republican	1809 (special)	Incumbent resigned October 8, 1811. New senator elected October 1, 1811. Democratic-Republican hold.	âY George W. Campbell (Democratic-Republican) 38 Unopposed^[21]
Rhode Island (Class 1)	Christopher G. Champlin	Federalist	1809 (special)	Incumbent resigned October 12, 1811. New senator elected October 28, 1811. Federalist hold.	âY William Hunter (Federalist) Unanimous^[22]

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Connecticut (special)

Delaware

Delaware (regular)

Delaware (special)

Georgia

Kentucky

Massachusetts

Massachusetts (regular)

Massachusetts (special)

New Hampshire

New Hampshire (regular)

New Hampshire (special)

New Jersey

North Carolina

Ohio (special)

Rhode Island

Rhode Island (regular)

Rhode Island (special)

South Carolina

South Carolina (regular)

South Carolina (special)

Tennessee

Tennessee (regular)

Tennessee (special)

Virginia

Notes

[a]
Charles Cutts (NH) has conflicting accounts of whether he was a Democratic-Republican or a Federalist.

References

[1]
"17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
[2]
"U.S. Senate: Party Division". www.senate.gov. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
[3]
"Delaware 1810 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing Journal of the Delaware House of Representatives, 1810. 26.
[4]
"New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing Concord Gazette (Concord, NH). June 26, 1810.
[5]
"Connecticut 1810 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 26, 2018., citing Connecticut Mirror (Hartford, CT). June 4, 1810.
[6]
"Connecticut". The enquirer. Richmond, Va. June 12, 1810. p. 3. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
[7]
Taylor, William A. (1900). Ohio in Congress from 1803 to 1901 with Notes and Sketches of Senators and Representatives and Other Historical Data and Incidents. Columbus, Ohio: The XX. Century Publishing Co. â via Google Books.
[8]
"Ohio 1810 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 6". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 26, 2018., citing Muskingum Messenger (Zanesville, OH). December 8, 1810. Liberty Hall (Cincinnati, OH). December 24, 1810. The Western Spy (Cincinnati, OH). December 29, 1810, Taylor, William A. (1899). Ohio Statesmen and Annals of Progress: From the year 1788 to the year 1900. Columbus, Ohio: Press of the Westbote. p. 68.
[9]
"South Carolina 1810 U.S. Senate, Special, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six (Washington, DC). January 1, 1811.
[10]
"Delaware 1811 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing American Watchman; and Delaware Republican (Wilmington, DE). January 12, 1811.
[11]
"Kentucky 1811 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing The Reporter (Lexington, KY). January 12, 1811.
[12]
"Massachusetts 1810 U.S. Senate, House of Representatives Vote". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Columbian Centinel. Massachusetts Federalist (Boston, MA). June 9, 1810.
[13]
"Massachusetts 1810 U.S. Senate, State Senate Vote, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Columbian Centinel. Massachusetts Federalist (Boston, MA). June 16, 1810.
[14]
"New Hampshire 1810 U.S. Senate, Ballot 4". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 25, 2018., citing Concord Gazette (Concord, NH). June 26, 1810. Farmer's Museum (Walpole, NH). July 2, 1810.
[15]
"New Jersey 1810 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 22, 2018., citing The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 9, 1810.
[16]
"North Carolina 1810 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Archived from the original on March 15, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2018., citing The True Republican, and Newbern Weekly Advertiser (New Bern, NC). December 5, 1810.
[17]
"Rhode Island 1810 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 19, 2018., citing The Columbian Phenix (Providence, RI). November 3, 1810.
[18]
"Tennessee 1809 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Journal of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1809. 115.
[19]
"Virginia 1811 U.S. Senate". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 22, 2018., citing Independent American (Georgetown, DC). January 8, 1811.
[20]
"Massachusetts 1811 U.S. Senate, State Senate Vote, Ballot 2". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing American Watchman; and Delaware Republican (Wilmington, DE). June 15, 1811. Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger (Norfolk, VA). June 17, 1811. Republican Star or Eastern Shore General Advertiser (Easton, MD). June 18, 1811.
[21]
"Tennessee 1811 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Wilson's Knoxville Gazette (Knoxville, TN). October 7, 1811.
[22]
"Rhode Island 1811 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787â1825. Tufts University. Retrieved February 19, 2018., citing The True American and Commercial Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA). November 8, 1811.

Senate Composition in 1809

Senate Composition in 1811

Key Changes

Context

Result of the regular elections

Special elections during the 11th Congress

Races leading to the 12th Congress

Special elections during the 12th Congress

Delaware (regular)

Delaware (special)

Massachusetts (regular)

Massachusetts (special)

New Hampshire (regular)

New Hampshire (special)

Rhode Island (regular)

Rhode Island (special)

South Carolina (regular)

South Carolina (special)

Tennessee (regular)

Tennessee (special)

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