United States Senate elections, 1910 and 1911

United States Senate elections, 1910 and 1911

January 18, 1910 – March 2, 1911
30 of the 92 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections) 47 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Shelby Moore Cullom (Conference Chairman) Thomas S. Martin (Conference Chairman) Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Illinois Virginia Seats before 59 33 Seats won 15 13 Seats after 50 40 Seat change 9 7 Seats up 24 6
Majority conference chairman before election Eugene Hale Republican Elected Majority conference chairman Shelby Moore Cullom Republican

Although the 17th Amendment was not passed until 1913, some states elected their Senators directly before its passage. Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after, Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people's will. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party's primary or in conjunction with a general election.

Results

Senate Party Division, 62nd Congress (1911–1913):

• Majority Party: Republican (50 seats)
• Minority Party: Democratic (40 seats)
• Other Parties: 0
• Vacant: 2
• Total Seats: 92

Four seats were added in early 1912 for new states: Arizona (which elected 2 Democrats) and New Mexico (which elected 2 Republicans).

Change in Senate composition

Race summaries

California

Republican incumbent Frank P. Flint, who had been elected in 1905, retired. Republican John D. Works received a plurality of votes cast at a Republican state primary. Republican Albert Spalding, however, carried a majority of the legislative districts represented by Republicans.^[6] In the legislature, Works was elected January 10, 1911 with 92 votes over Spalding's 21 votes, and a scattering of votes for various Democrats.^[7][6]

Connecticut

Republican incumbent Morgan Bulkeley, who had been elected in 1905, lost renomination in a Republican legislative caucus 113–64 to George P. McLean. McLean was then elected January 17, 1911, with 177 votes to Democrat Homer Stille Cummings's 110 votes.^[7][6]

Florida (special)

In June 1910, incumbent James Taliaferro lost a non-binding primary to former Governor Napoleon B. Broward for the term which started on March 4, 1911.^[21] Broward died in October.^[22] In early February 1911, Nathan P. Bryan won a non-binding primary for the seat, defeating William A. Blount 19,991 to 19,381.^[23] The governor then appointed Bryan to fill the vacancy.^[24] In April 1911, the Florida Legislature unanimously elected Bryan to the remainder of the term.^[25]

New York

Republican incumbent Chauncey M. Depew had been re-elected to this seat in 1905, and his term would expire on March 3, 1911. At the State election in November 1910, John Alden Dix was elected Governor, the first Democrat to hold the position since 1894. Democrats also unexpectedly carried the state legislative elections, and controlled both the Senate and the Assembly. The 134th New York State Legislature met from January 4 to October 6, 1911, in Albany, New York. Democratic Ex-Lieutenant Governor William F. Sheehan announced his candidacy on December 30, 1910. Before the State election, when a Democratic victory seemed to be improbable, Sheehan had made an agreement with Tammany Hall leader Charles Francis Murphy that the Tammany men would support Sheehan for the U.S. Senate. The Democratic caucus met on January 16 and nominated Sheehan over Edward M. Shepard and D. Cady Herrick. The Republican caucus met on January 16 and re-nominated Chauncey M. Depew unanimously.

From January 17 through March 3, the legislature was deadlocked through 39 ballots, with anti-Tammany Democrats refusing to support Sheehan. On March 3, 1911 Depew's term ended. The deadlock continued over another 19 ballots despite the vacant seat. Democrats then held a new caucus and nominated James A. O'Gorman, a justice of the New York Supreme Court. O'Gorman was elected over Depew on March 31, 1911.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania election was held January 17, 1911. Incumbent George T. Oliver was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.^[26] The Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, convened on January 17, 1911 and the results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows:^[26]

See also

• United States elections, 1910
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1910
• 61st United States Congress
• 62nd United States Congress

Notes

References

• Byrd, Robert C. (October 1, 1993). Wolff, Wendy, ed. The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992. United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
• Cox, Harold (January 31, 2007). "Pennsylvania Election Statistics: 1682-2006". The Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
• "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate – via Senate.gov.
• "United States Senators Chosen, 1910". The Tribune Almanac and Political Register 1911. New York: The Tribune Association. 1911. pp. 439–440 – via Hathi Trust Digital Library.
• "United States Senators Chosen, 1911". The Tribune Almanac and Political Register 1912. New York: The Tribune Association. 1912. pp. 455–458 – via Hathi Trust Digital Library.