Contents

1888–89 United States Senate elections

1888–89 United States Senate elections

← 1886 & 1887 Dates vary by state 1890 & 1891 →
26 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections) 39 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader George F. Edmunds[a] James B. Beck[b] (retired) Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1885 March 4, 1885 Leader's seat Vermont Kentucky Seats before 38 37 Seats after 38 37 Seat change Seats up 12 13 Races won 12 13   Third party   Party Readjuster Seats before 1 Seats won 0 Seats after 0 Seat change 1 Seats up 1
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      Legislature failed to elect
Majority Party before election Republican[c] Elected Majority Party Republican[c]

The 1888–89 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with Benjamin Harrison's victory over incumbent President Grover Cleveland. As these U.S. Senate 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 1888 and 1889, 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.

Both parties were unchanged in the regular elections, but later special elections would give Republicans an eight-seat majority, mostly from newly admitted states.

Results summary[edit]

Senate party division, 51st Congress (1889–1891)

• Majority party: Republican (39 to 51)
• Minority party: Democratic (37 to 35)
• Other parties: (0)
• Total seats: 76 to 88

Change in Senate composition[edit]

Before the elections[edit]

After the elections[edit]

Beginning of the next Congress[edit]

End of 1889[edit]

Race summaries[edit]

Special elections during the 50th Congress[edit]

There were no special elections during 1888 or in 1889 before March 4.

Races leading to the 51st Congress[edit]

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1889; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

Elections during the 51st Congress[edit]

In these elections, the winners were elected in 1889 after March 4; ordered by election date.

See also[edit]

• 1888 United States elections
  • 1888 United States presidential election
  • 1888 United States House of Representatives elections
• 50th United States Congress
• 51st United States Congress

References[edit]

• Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov
• Clark, Dan Elbert (1912). History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa.
• Journal of the House of the First Legislative Assembly begun and held at the Capitol at Bismarck, November 19, 1889 to March 18, 1890. Tribune, Printers and Binders. 1890.
• Journal of the House of Representatives of the Special Session of the South Dakota Legislature. Free Press Company. 1889.