United States Senate elections, 1868 and 1869

Dates vary by state
(And other dates for special elections)

25 of the 74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections)
33 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Party	Republican	Democratic
Last election	39 seats	10 seats
Seats before	57	9
Seats won	17	5
Seats after	57	9
Seat change
Seats up	17	5

Majority Party before election

Republican Party

Elected Majority Party

Republican Party

The United States Senate elections of 1868 and 1869 were elections which had the Republican Party maintain their majority in the United States Senate. However, six former Confederate states were also readmitted separately from the general election, each electing two Republicans. This increased the Republicans' already overwhelming majority to the largest amount of seats ever controlled by the party.

As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.

Senate Party Division, 41st Congress (1869–1871)

After July 16, 1868 readmission of South Carolina.

In these elections, the winners were seated during 1868 or in 1869 before March 4; ordered by election date.

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1869; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 1 seats.

There were no elections in 1869 during this Congress after March 4.

The election in New York was held on January 19, 1869 by the New York State Legislature. Republican Edwin D. Morgan had been elected in February 1863 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1869. At the State election in November 1867, 17 Republicans and 15 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1868-1869) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1868, Democrat John T. Hoffman was elected Governor, and 75 Republicans and 53 Democrats were elected for the session of 1869 to the Assembly. The 92nd New York State Legislature met from January 5 to May 11, 1869, at Albany, New York.

The caucus of Republican State legislators met on January 16, Assemblyman John H. Selkreg presided. All 92 legislators were present. They nominated Ex-Governor Reuben E. Fenton for the U.S. Senate. The incumbent U.S. Senator Edwin D. Morgan was very keen on his re-election, but was voted down. Speaker Truman G. Younglove had held back the appointments to the standing Assembly committees until after the caucus, and subsequent election, of a U.S. Senator, and was accused by the Morgan men to have made a bargain to favor the Fenton men with appointments after the election was accomplished. After the caucus, comparing notes, the assemblymen discovered that some of the most important committee chairmanships had been promised to a dozen different members by Speaker Younglove.

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Wikipedia