The 1900–01 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

as well as the 1900 House of Representatives elections. 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 powe ...

elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by

state legislatures A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...

. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1900 and 1901, 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 2. Both the

Republicans 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 ...

and the Democrats gained two seats at the expense of various third parties and vacancies. Special elections were held to fill vacant seats in Pennsylvania, Utah, and Montana (of which the Republicans won the two former and Democrats the latter) as well as to replace appointees in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Vermont (all of which were carried by the Republicans). Republicans flipped Democratic-held seats in Minnesota, as well as a Populist seat in Nebraska and a Silver Republican held seat in South Dakota. The Silver Republican party kept itself to net neutral gain by flipping a Republican held seat in Idaho. The Democratic party, meanwhile, flipped Republican held seats in Montana and Colorado as well as a Populist held seat in North Carolina. In Nebraska and Montana's special election, senators were elected shortly after the beginning of the 57th Congress on March 4. In Delaware, the legislature again failed to elect a candidate, leaving both senate seats vacant– the only time a state has gone without representation in the Senate since the first Congress.

Results summary

Senate party division, 57th Congress (1901–1903) * Majority party: Republican (55) * Minority party: Democratic (29) * Other parties:

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

(2); Silver Republican 2; Vacant 2 * Total seats: 90

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

At the beginning of 1900.

Result of the general elections

Beginning of the next Congress

Race summaries

Elections to the 56th Congress

In these elections, the winner was seated in the current (56th) Congress during 1900 or in 1901 before March 4; ordered by election date.

Elections to the 57th Congress

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1901; ordered by state. All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

Early election to the 58th Congress

In this election, the winner was seated in the 58th Congress, starting March 4, 1903.

Elections during the 57th Congress

In these elections, the winners was elected in 1901 after March 4 and seated in the 57th Congress.

Pennsylvania (special)

The special election in Pennsylvania was held on January 15, 1901, after the regularly scheduled legislative election in January–April 1899 failed to elect a Senator. Former Senator

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 ...

, who had left the Senate for nearly two years because of the political stalemate, was again elected by the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

to the

United States 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 ...

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 ...

was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, in the 1893 election. With Sen. Quay's term expiring on March 4, 1899, the General Assembly convened on January 18, 1899, to elect a Senator for the next term. Between January 18 and April 19, 1899, seventy-nine ballots were recorded in an attempt to elect a Senator. Instead, the legislature adjourned

sine die In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is oppo ...

without electing a Senator due to a dispute between Sen. Quay's

political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...

and an anti-Quay faction within the Republican Party, along with

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 ...

opposition. Sen. Quay's term expired on March 4, 1899. Since a Senator had not been elected for the successive term, the seat was vacated. At the time, Quay was under

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

for misuse of funds. He was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

, after which Governor William Stone appointed Quay to the vacated Senate seat (a power the Governor did not legally have until the ratification of the

17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and2 of the Constitution, under whi ...

in 1913). The Senate refused to recognize Quay's appointment, and the seat remained vacant until a Senator could be officially elected (which would ultimately be Quay himself, after a nearly two-year hiatus). This incident, among others, would later be cited by supporters of the 17th Amendment, which mandated the

direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

of U.S. Senators. The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 15, 1901, for a special election to elect a Senator to serve out the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1899. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows: , - style="background:#eee; text-align:right" , colspan=3 , Totals , 254 , 100.00%

Notes

References

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present
via Senate.gov * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1900-01 United States Senate elections