1828–29 United States Senate elections

1828–29 United States Senate elections
16 of the 48 seats in the United States Senate (plus special elections); 25 seats needed for a majority
	Results:; Jacksonian Hold Jacksonian Gain; Anti-Jacksonian Hold Anti-Jacksonian Gain
Majority Party before election; ; Jacksonian	Elected Majority Party ; ; Jacksonian

the 1828–29 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. As these United States Senate elections were prior to the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913, senators were chosen by State legislature United States. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1828 and 1829, 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.

The Jacksonian coalition, despite its leader's victory in the presidential election, lost a seat in the Senate to the opposing Anti-Jacksonian coalition. Senators who called themselves "Anti-Jacksonian" or "National Republicans" were also called "Adams" or "Adams Men."

Results summary

Senate party division at the beginning of the 21st United States Congress (1829–1831)

Majority party: Jacksonian 26
Minority party: Anti-Jackson 22
Total seats: 48

Change in composition

Before the elections

						A₁	A₂	A₃	A₄
A₁₄	A₁₃	A₁₂	A₁₁	A₁₀	A₉	A₈	A₇	A₆	A₅
A₁₅	A₁₆	A₁₇ Mass. Ran	A₁₈ N.H. Ran	A₁₉ R.I. Ran	A₂₀ La. Unknown	A₂₁ Ill. Retired	J₂₇ N.J. Resigned	J₂₆ Maine Retired	J₂₅ Del. Retired
Majority →									J₂₄ Miss. Unknown
J₁₅	J₁₆	J₁₇ Ala. Ran	J₁₈ Ky. Ran	J₁₉ N.C. Ran	J₂₀ S.C. Ran	J₂₁ Tenn. Ran	J₂₂ Va. Ran	J₂₃ Ga. Unknown	J₂₄ Miss. Unknown
J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇	J₆	J₅
						J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄

As a result of the elections

						A₁	A₂	A₃	A₄
A₁₄	A₁₃	A₁₂	A₁₁	A₁₀	A₉	A₈	A₇	A₆	A₅
A₁₅	A₁₆	A₁₇ Mass. Re-elected	A₁₈ N.H. Re-elected	A₁₉ R.I. Re-elected	A₂₀ Del. Gain	A₂₁ Maine Gain	A₂₂ N.J. Gain	J₂₆ La. Gain	J₂₅ Ill. Gain
Majority →									J₂₄ Miss. Hold
J₁₅	J₁₆	J₁₇ Ala. Re-elected	J₁₈ N.C. Re-elected	J₁₉ S.C. Re-elected	J₂₀ Tenn. Re-elected	J₂₁ Va. Re-elected	J₂₂ Ga. Hold	J₂₃ Ky. Hold	J₂₄ Miss. Hold
J₁₄	J₁₃	J₁₂	J₁₁	J₁₀	J₉	J₈	J₇	J₆	J₅
						J₁	J₂	J₃	J₄

Key:

A_#	= Anti-Jacksonian
J_#	= Jacksonian
V_#	= Vacant

Race summaries

Bold states link to specific election articles.

Special elections during the 20th Congress

In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1828 or before March 4, 1829; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Georgia (Class 2)	Thomas W. Cobb	Jacksonian	1824 (special)	Incumbent resigned before November 7, 1828. New senator elected November 7, 1828. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y Oliver H. Prince (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Ohio (Class 3)	William Henry Harrison	Anti-Jacksonian	1824	Incumbent resigned May 20, 1828 to become Minister Plenipotentiary to Gran Colombia.^[a] New senator elected December 10, 1828. Anti-Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y Jacob Burnet (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
North Carolina (Class 3)	Nathaniel Macon	Jacksonian	1815 (special) 1818 1825	Incumbent resigned November 14, 1828. New senator elected December 15, 1828. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y James Iredell Jr. (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Maine (Class 1)	Albion K. Parris	Jacksonian	1827	Incumbent resigned August 26, 1828 when appointed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. New senator elected January 15, 1829. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌ Y John Holmes (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
New York (Class 1)	Martin Van Buren	Jacksonian	1821 1827	Incumbent resigned December 20, 1828 to become Governor of New York. New senator elected January 15, 1829. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y Charles E. Dudley (Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Jersey (Class 1)	Ephraim Bateman	Anti-Jacksonian	1826 (special) 1826	Incumbent resigned January 12, 1829 due to failing health. New senator elected January 30, 1829. Jacksonian gain.	▌ Y Mahlon Dickerson (Jacksonian) 28 ▌William B. Ewing (Unknown) 23 ▌Garret D. Wall (Jacksonian) 2^[2]

Races leading to the 21st Congress

In these regular elections, the winner was seated on March 4, 1829; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	William R. King	Jacksonian	1819 1822	Incumbent re-elected in 1828.	▌ Y William R. King (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Delaware	Henry M. Ridgely	Jacksonian	1827 (special)	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1829. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌ Y John M. Clayton (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Georgia	Oliver H. Prince	Jacksonian	1828 (special)	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1828 or 1829. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y George Troup (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Illinois	Jesse B. Thomas	Anti-Jacksonian	1818 1823	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1828 or 1829. Jacksonian gain.	▌ Y John McLean (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Kentucky	Richard M. Johnson	Jacksonian	1819 (special) 1823	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1829. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y George M. Bibb (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Louisiana	Dominique Bouligny	Anti-Jacksonian	1824 (special)	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1829.^[3] Jacksonian gain.	▌ Y Edward Livingston (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Maine	John Chandler	Jacksonian	1820 1823	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1828 or 1829. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌ Y Peleg Sprague (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Massachusetts	Nathaniel Silsbee	Anti-Jacksonian	1826 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1829.	▌ Y Nathaniel Silsbee (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
Mississippi	Thomas Hill Williams	Jacksonian	1817 1823	Unknown if incumbent ran for re-election. New senator elected in 1828. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y Thomas Buck Reed (Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Hampshire	Samuel Bell	Anti-Jacksonian	1823	Incumbent re-elected in 1828 or 1829.	▌ Y Samuel Bell (Anti-Jacksonian) [data missing]
New Jersey	Mahlon Dickerson	Jacksonian	1817 1823	Incumbent resigned January 30, 1829 when elected to the class 1 seat. New senator elected immediately thereafter on January 30, 1829. Anti-Jacksonian gain.	▌ Y Theodore Frelinghuysen (Anti-Jacksonian) 35 ▌Joseph W. Scott (Unknown) 21^[4]
North Carolina	John Branch	Jacksonian	1822	Incumbent re-elected in 1829.	▌ Y John Branch (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Rhode Island	Nehemiah R. Knight	Anti-Jacksonian	1821 (special) 1823	Incumbent re-elected October 31, 1828.	▌ Y Nehemiah R. Knight (Anti-Jacksonian) Unnanimously^[5]
South Carolina	Robert Y. Hayne	Jacksonian	1822	Incumbent re-elected in 1828.	▌ Y Robert Y. Hayne (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Tennessee	Hugh Lawson White	Jacksonian	1825 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1829.	▌ Y Hugh Lawson White (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Virginia	Littleton Tazewell	Jacksonian	1824 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1829.	▌ Y Littleton Tazewell (Jacksonian) [data missing]

Special elections during the 21st Congress

In these special elections, the winners were elected in 1829 after March 4; ordered by election date.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Tennessee (Class 1)	John Eaton	Jacksonian	1818 (appointed) 1819 (special) 1821 (failure to elect) 1821 (special) 1826	Incumbent resigned March 9, 1829 to become U.S. Secretary of War. New senator elected October 19, 1829. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y Felix Grundy (Jacksonian) [data missing]
Georgia (Class 3)	John M. Berrien	Jacksonian	1825	Incumbent resigned March 9, 1829 to become U.S. Attorney General. New senator elected November 9, 1829. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y John Forsyth (Jacksonian) [data missing]
North Carolina (Class 2)	John Branch	Jacksonian	1822 1828	Incumbent resigned March 9, 1829 to become U.S. Secretary of the Navy. New senator elected December 9, 1829. Jacksonian hold.	▌ Y Bedford Brown (Jacksonian) [data missing]

Alabama

Delaware

Georgia

Georgia had three elections in this cycle.

Georgia (regular)

Georgia (special, class 2)

Georgia (special, class 3)

Illinois

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maine had two elections in this cycle.

Maine (regular)

Maine (special)

Massachusetts

Massachusetts had two elections in this cycle.

Massachusetts (regular)

Massachusetts (special)

Mississippi

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Jersey had two elections in this cycle.

New Jersey (regular)

New Jersey (special)

New York (special)

North Carolina

North Carolina had three elections in this cycle.

North Carolina (regular)

North Carolina (special, class 2)

North Carolina (special, class 3)

Ohio (special)

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Tennessee had two elections in this cycle.

Tennessee (regular)

Tennessee (special)

Virginia

Notes

^ Now the United States Ambassador to Colombia.

References

^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
^ Journal of the Proceedings of the Legislative-Council of the State of New Jersey. Vol. 53. 1929. p. 30.
^ "The Hon. Edward Livingston, at present a member of Congress from the State of Louisiana, was on the 12th ult. appointed by the Legislature of that State, a Senator in Congress, vice Mr. Bouligny, whose term of service expires on the 3d of March next". Raleigh Register. Raleigh, NC. February 6, 1829. p. 3.
^ Journal of the Proceedings of the Legislative-Council of the State of New Jersey. Vol. 53. 1929. p. 31.
^ J. Fred Parker, Secretary of State (1914). Manual, with Rules and Orders, for the use of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island, 1914. Providence, RI: E. L. Freeman Company, State Printers. p. 149.

Sources

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

[2] Now the United States Ambassador to Colombia.

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

[3] Journal of the Proceedings of the Legislative-Council of the State of New Jersey. Vol. 53. 1929. p. 30.

[4] "The Hon. Edward Livingston, at present a member of Congress from the State of Louisiana, was on the 12th ult. appointed by the Legislature of that State, a Senator in Congress, vice Mr. Bouligny, whose term of service expires on the 3d of March next". Raleigh Register. Raleigh, NC. February 6, 1829. p. 3.

[5] Journal of the Proceedings of the Legislative-Council of the State of New Jersey. Vol. 53. 1929. p. 31.

[6] J. Fred Parker, Secretary of State (1914). Manual, with Rules and Orders, for the use of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island, 1914. Providence, RI: E. L. Freeman Company, State Printers. p. 149.

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