The 1867 United States Senate election in New York was held on January 15, 1867, by the New York State Legislature to elect a

U.S. Senator 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 power ...

(Class 3) to represent the State of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

in the United States Senate. Incumbent Senator

Ira Harris Ira Harris (May 31, 1802December 2, 1875) was an American jurist and senator from New York. He was also a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Life Ira Harris was born in Charleston, New York on May 31, 1802. He grew up on a farm, and graduated from Uni ...

was not renominated for a second term in office. U.S. Representative Roscoe Conkling was elected to succeed him. With large Republican majorities in both houses of the Legislature, the real contest was for Republican Party support, which was determined in a joint caucus of Senate and Assembly Republicans. A three-way race between Harris, Conkling, and Judge Noah Davis eventually gave way to a two-way contest between Conkling and Davis, with Conkling prevailing on the fifth ballot.

Background

Republican

had been elected in February 1861 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1867. At the State election in November 1865, 27 Republicans and 5 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1866-1867) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1866, 82 Republicans and 46 Democrats were elected for the session of 1867 to the Assembly. The 90th State Legislature met from January 1 to April 20, 1867, 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 City. ...

Candidates

Republican caucus

The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 10, State Senator

Charles J. Folger Charles James Folger (April 16, 1818 – September 4, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was a State Senator in New York from 1862 to 1869 and served as the 34th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from ...

presided. State Senator Thomas Parsons (28th D.) was absent, but had his vote cast by proxy. They nominated Congressman Roscoe Conkling for the U.S. Senate. The incumbent Senator

was voted down. Notes: *On the fourth ballot, 110 votes were cast, one too many, and it was annulled. *"wd" = name withdrawn

Democratic caucus

The caucus of the Democratic State legislators met also on January 10. State Senator

Henry C. Murphy Henry Cruse Murphy (July 5, 1810 – December 1, 1882) was an American lawyer, politician and historian. During his political career, he served as Mayor of Brooklyn, a member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Minister to the N ...

was nominated on the first ballot with 25 votes against 21 for Ex- D.A. of New York

A. Oakey Hall Abraham Oakey Hall (July 26, 1826 – October 7, 1898) was an American politician, lawyer, and writer. He served as Mayor of New York from 1869 to 1872 as a Democrat. Hall, known as "Elegant Oakey", was a model of serenity and respectability. ...

Result

Roscoe Conkling was the choice of both the Assembly and the State Senate, and was declared elected. Notes: *The vote for Ex-

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

Comstock was cast by Henry C. Murphy. *The votes were cast on January 15, but both Houses met in a joint session on January 16 to compare nominations, and declare the result.

Aftermath

Conkling was re-elected in 1873 and 1879, and remained in office until May 17, 1881, when he resigned in protest against the distribution of federal patronage in New York by President

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

without being consulted. The crisis between the Stalwart and the

Half-Breed Half-breed is a term, now considered offensive, used to describe anyone who is of mixed race; although, in the United States, it usually refers to people who are half Native American and half European/white. Use by governments United States In ...

factions of the Republican party arose when the leader of the New Yorker Half-Breeds

William H. Robertson William Henry Robertson (October 10, 1823 Bedford, Westchester County, New York – December 6, 1898 Katonah, Westchester Co., NY), also known as W. H. Robertson, was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Robertson was known to have ...

was appointed

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...

, a position Conkling wanted to give to one of his Stalwart friends.

Notes

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner, 1867 (see pg. 568 for U. S. Senators; pg. 444 for State Senators 1867; pg. 505f for Members of Assembly 1867)
Members of the 40th United States Congress
*Result state election 1865 i
''The Tribune Almanac for 1866''
compiled by Horace Greeley of the '' New York Tribune'' *Result state election 1866 i
''The Tribune Almanac for 1867''
compiled by Horace Greeley of the '' New York Tribune''
''...THE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS; Hon. Roscoe Conkling, of Oneida County, Nominated for United States Senator; ...DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS; Hon. Henry C. Murphy, of Kings County, Nominated for United States Senator''
in NYT on January 11, 1867
''Journal of the New York State Assembly''
(1867; pages 98f and 103)
''Journal of the New York State Senate''
(1867; pages 58f and 62) {{New York elections

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

United States Senate