The 1892–93 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with former Democratic President
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
's
return to power. As these
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
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 1892 and 1893, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to
legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in
Class 1.
The
Republican Party lost nine seats, losing its majority to the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. The Democratic majority, however, was minimal and did not last past the next Congress.
Results summary
Senate party division,
53rd Congress (1893–1895)
* Majority party: Democratic (43)
* Minority party: Republican (37)
* Other parties: Populist (3); Silver (1)
* Vacant: 4
* Total seats: 88
Change in Senate composition
Before the elections
Result of the elections
Beginning of the next Congress
Race summaries
Elections during the 52nd Congress
In these special elections the winners were seated during the 52nd Congress in 1892 or in 1893 before March 4; ordered by election date.
In this special election, the winner was seated in the 53rd Congress, starting March 4, 1893.
In this early regular election, the winner was seated in the 54th Congress, starting March 4, 1895.
Races leading to the 53rd Congress
In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1893; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.
Elections during the 53rd Congress
In these elections, the winners were elected in 1893 after March 4, and seated in the 53rd Congress.
In this election, the winner was seated in the 54th Congress, starting March 4, 1895.
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Florida (regular)
Florida (special)
Indiana
Kansas (special)
Kentucky (special)
Maine
Maryland
Maryland (regular)
Arthur Pue Gorman
Arthur Pue Gorman (March 11, 1839June 4, 1906) was an American politician. He was leader of the Gorman-Rasin organization with Isaac Freeman Rasin that controlled the Maryland Democratic Party from the late 1870s until his death in 1906. Gorman ...
won re-election against
Lloyd Lowndes Jr. by a margin of 86.05%, or 74 votes, for the Class 1 seat.
Maryland (special)
Charles Hopper Gibson
Charles Hopper Gibson (January 19, 1842 – March 31, 1900) was a U. S. Senator from Maryland, serving from 1891–1897. He also served as a U.S. Congressman from 1885–1891.
Biography
Gibson was born near Centreville, Maryland, and attended ...
was elected to fill the seat vacated by
Ephraim King Wilson II by a margin of 69.03%, or 78 votes, for the Class 3 seat.
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Mississippi (regular, class 1)
Mississippi (regular, class 2)
Early election for the term beginning in 1895.
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
The New York election was held on January 18, 1893, by the
New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...
.
Incumbent Senator
Frank Hiscock
Frank Hiscock (September 6, 1834June 18, 1914) was a U.S. Representative and Senator from New York. He served in the United States Congress from 1877 to 1893.
Hiscock was a native of Pompey, New York, and graduated from Pompey Academy. Af ...
was elected to this seat in
1887
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher.
* January 20
** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl ...
, with his term to expire on March 3, 1893.
At the controversial
State election in November 1891, 17 Democrats, 14 Republicans and 1 Independent were elected for a two-year term (1892-1893) in the State Senate. This was the only time a Democratic majority was seated in the State Senate between 1874 and 1910. At the
State election in November 1892, 74 Democrats and 54 Republicans were elected for the session of 1893 to the Assembly. The
116th New York State Legislature
The 116th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 20, 1893, during the second year of Roswell P. Flower's governorship, in Albany.
Background
Under the p ...
met from January 3 to April 20, 1893, at
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
.
The
Democratic caucus met on January 10. 90 State legislators attended, only Assemblyman
John Cooney, of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, was absent due to illness. State Senator
Amasa J. Parker Jr. presided.
Edward Murphy Jr.
Edward Murphy Jr. (December 15, 1836August 3, 1911) was a businessman and politician from Troy, New York. A Democrat, he served as mayor of Troy, New York (1875–1883), chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee (1888–1894), and a ...
, a wealthy brewer of
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
, and Chairman of the
Democratic State Committee, was nominated by a large majority. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' had suggested earlier to nominate
Carl Schurz, a former Republican
U.S. Senator from Missouri and
U.S. Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
, who lived now in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, but the political machines of upstate boss
David B. Hill
David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York who was the 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1892 to 1897.
In 1892, he made an u ...
and
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
chose a loyal party machine man rather than an Ex-Republican advocate of civil service reform. Even President-elect
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
had voiced his disapproval of Murphy, to no avail.
The
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
caucus met on January 11. State Senator
Thomas Hunter presided. They re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator
Frank Hiscock
Frank Hiscock (September 6, 1834June 18, 1914) was a U.S. Representative and Senator from New York. He served in the United States Congress from 1877 to 1893.
Hiscock was a native of Pompey, New York, and graduated from Pompey Academy. Af ...
by acclamation.
Edward Murphy, Jr., was the choice of both the Assembly and the State Senate, and was declared elected. State Senator James T. Edwards (32nd D.), of
Randolph, voted for the defeated Republican vice presidential candidate of
1892
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States.
* February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado.
* February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...
, Whitelaw Reid.
Note: The votes were cast on January 17, but both Houses met in a joint session on January 18 to compare nominations, and declare the result.
When Murphy took his seat, for the first time since 1849 New York was represented by two Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Murphy served a single term, remaining in the U.S. Senate until March 3, 1899. In January 1899, Murphy was defeated for re-election by Republican
Chauncey M. Depew.
North Dakota
Ohio
Pennsylvania
The election in Pennsylvania was held January 17, 1893. Incumbent
Matthew Quay
Matthew Stanley "Matt" Quay (September 30, 1833May 28, 1904) was an American politician of the Republican Party who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1887 until 1899 and from 1901 until his death in 1904. Quay's control ...
was re-elected by the
Pennsylvania General Assembly.
, - bgcolor ="#EEEEEE"
, colspan ="3" align="right" , Totals
, align ="right" , 254
, align ="right" , 100.00%
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Texas (regular)
Texas (special)
Vermont
Vermont (regular)
Vermont (special)
Virginia
Virginia (regular, class 1)
Incumbent Senator
John W. Daniel (who had been first
elected in 1887) was re-elected in 1893.
Virginia (special, class 2)
Democratic incumbent
John S. Barbour Jr. died May 14, 1892. Democrat
Eppa Hunton
Eppa Hunton II (September 24, 1822October 11, 1908) was a Virginia lawyer and soldier who rose to become a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he served as a Democrat in both the United States ...
was appointed May 28, 1892, to continue until a special election.
Hunton was elected December 20, 1893, to finish the term (ending March 1895).
Washington
West Virginia
West Virginia (regular)
West Virginia (special)
Wisconsin
![John L](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/John_L._Mitchell.jpg)
Two-term Republican
Philetus Sawyer
Philetus Sawyer (September 22, 1816March 29, 1900) was a United States senator from Wisconsin for twelve years (1881–1893). He also represented Wisconsin for ten years in the United States House of Representatives (1865–1875), and he ...
retired and two-term Democratic congressman
John L. Mitchell was elected to the next term. In the Wisconsin Legislature, Democrats had a majority, but it took 31 ballots for Democrats to pick Mitchell over fellow Democrats
John H. Knight and
Edward S. Bragg.
Wyoming
See also
*
1892 United States elections
The 1892 United States elections was held on November 8, electing member to the 53rd United States Congress, taking place during the Third Party System. Democrats retained the House and won control of the Presidency and the Senate. Following the ...
**
1892 United States presidential election
The 1892 United States presidential election was the 27th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1892. In a rematch of the closely contested 1888 presidential election, former Democratic President Grover Cleveland defeat ...
**
1892 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1892 United States House of Representatives elections, coincided with the election of Grover Cleveland as president for the second, non-continuous, time, defeating incumbent Benjamin Harrison.
In spite of the presidential results, Harrison's ...
*
52nd United States Congress
The 52nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 189 ...
*
53rd United States Congress
The 53rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893 ...
Notes
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:1892-93 United States Senate elections