The 1858–59 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. 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 1858 and 1859, 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.

The Republican Party gained five additional seats in the Senate, but the Democratic Party retained its majority. That majority would erode in 1860 with the secession of the Southern United States, in the early stagrs of the Civil War.

In Illinois, incumbent Stephen A. Douglas (D) and challenger Abraham Lincoln (R) held a series of seven debates, known as the "Lincoln–Douglas debates."

Results summary Senate party division, 36th Congress (1859–1861)

Majority party: Democratic (38–25) Minority party: Republican (25–26) Other parties: American (2) Total seats: 66–68

Change in Senate composition

Before the elections

D3 D2 D1 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D23 D22 D21 D20 D19 D18 D17 D16 D15 D14 D24 D25 D26Ran D27Ran D28Ran D29Ran D30Ran D31Ran D32Ran D33Ran Majority → D34Ran A4Unknown D42Retired D41Retired D40Retired D39Retired D38Retired D37Ran D36Ran D35Ran A3Unknown A2 A1 R20Ran R19Ran R18Ran R17 R16 R15 R14 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R3 R2 R1

As a result of the elections

D3 D2 D1 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D23 D22 D21 D20 D19 D18 D17 D16 D15 D14 D24 D25 D26Re-elected D27Re-elected D28Re-elected D29Re-elected D30Re-elected D31Re-elected D32Re-elected D33Hold Majority → D34Hold R24Gain R25Gain A1 A2 V1D Loss D38Gain D37Gain D36Hold D35Hold R23Gain R22Gain R21Gain R20Re-elected R19Re-elected R18Re-elected R17 R16 R15 R14 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R3 R2 R1

Key: D# Democratic A# American R# Republican V# Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 35th Congress In these elections, the winners were seated during 1858 or in 1859 before March 4; ordered by election date.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Minnesota(Class 1) None (new state) Minnesota's first senators were elected May 11, 1858.Democratic gain. Henry M. Rice (Democratic) Minnesota(Class 2) Minnesota's first senators were elected May 11, 1858.Democratic gain. Oregon(Class 2) None (new state) Oregon's first senators were elected in 1858 in advance of statehood.Democratic gain. Oregon(Class 3) Oregon's first senators were elected in 1858 in advance of statehood.Democratic gain. North Carolina(Class 3) Thomas Clingman Democratic 1858 Interim appointee elected November 23, 1858 to finish the term., page 150 South Carolina(Class 2) Arthur P. Hayne Democratic 1858 Interim appointee retired when successor elected.New senator elected December 3, 1858.Democratic hold.Winner was also elected to the next term; see below.

Races leading to the 36th Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1859; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoralhistory Alabama Clement Claiborne Clay Democratic 1853 Incumbent re-elected in 1858. Arkansas William K. Sebastian Democratic 1848 1848 1853 Incumbent re-elected in 1859. Delaware Martin W. Bates Democratic 1857 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected in 1858.Democratic hold. Georgia Robert Toombs Democratic 1852 Incumbent re-elected in 1858. Illinois Stephen A. Douglas Democratic 18461852 Incumbent re-elected January 5, 1859. Iowa George Wallace Jones Democratic 18481852 Incumbent lost renomination.New senator elected January 26, 1858.Republican gain. Kentucky John B. Thompson American 1851 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.New senator elected January 5, 1858.Democratic gain. Louisiana Judah P. Benjamin Democratic 1852 Incumbent re-elected in 1859. Maine William P. Fessenden Republican 1854 Incumbent re-elected in 1859. Massachusetts Henry Wilson Republican 1855 Incumbent re-elected in 1859. Michigan Charles E. Stuart Democratic 1853 Incumbent retired.New senator elected in 1858.Republican gain. Minnesota James Shields Democratic 1849 1849 1849 1855 1858 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected December 15, 1859.Republican gain. Mississippi Albert G. Brown Democratic 1854 Incumbent re-elected in 1859. New Hampshire John P. Hale Republican 18461853 1855 Incumbent re-elected in 1859. New Jersey William Wright Democratic 1852 or 1853 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected in 1859.Republican gain. North Carolina David Reid Democratic 1854 Incumbent lost re-election.New senator elected in 1858 or 1859.Democratic hold. Oregon Delazon Smith Democratic 1859 Incumbent lost re-election.Legislature failed to elect.Democratic loss.Seat would remain vacant until 1860. Delazon Smith (Democratic) Rhode Island Philip Allen Democratic 1853 Incumbent retired.New senator elected in 1858.Republican gain. South Carolina Arthur P. Hayne Democratic 1858 Interim appointee retired.New senator elected December 3, 1858.Democratic hold.Winner was also elected to finish the current term; see above. Tennessee John Bell American 18471853 Incumbent retired or lost re-election.New senator elected in 1858.Democratic gain. Texas Sam Houston Democratic 184618471853 Incumbent retired.New senator elected in 1859.Democratic hold. Virginia Robert M. T. Hunter Democratic 18461852 Incumbent re-elected in 1858.

Elections during the 36th Congress In this election, the winner was elected in 1859 on or after March 4; ordered by date.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoral history Texas(Class 1) Matthias Ward Democratic 1858 Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term.New senator elected December 5, 1859.Democratic hold. Louis Wigfall (Democratic)

Race leading to the 37th Congress

In this regular election, the winner was elected for the term beginning March 4, 1861.

This election involved a Class 3 seat.

State Incumbent Results Candidates Senator Party Electoralhistory Kentucky(Class 3) John J. Crittenden American 18161819 18351841 1842 1842 or 1843 18431848 1854 Incumbent retired.Winner elected December 12, 1859, far in advance of the term.Winner wasn't seated until term began March 4, 1861.Democratic gain. John C. Breckinridge (Democratic)

Illinois

Incumbent U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas, a Democrat, defeated a challenge by former U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln, the Republican nominee. Lincoln, who had been a member of the Whig Party prior to 1856, attacked Douglas for his perceived subservience to the Slave Power, as evidenced by his support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the recent Supreme Court ruling in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. The election was extremely close, hinging on Douglas' ability to appeal to former Whigs who had resisted joining the Republicans following the decline of the Whig party after 1854. In the final weeks of the campaign, Douglas received the coveted endorsement of Kentucky's John J. Crittenden, a prominent former Whig and Douglas' colleague in the Senate. Crittenden's support for Douglas considerably diminished Lincoln's chances of winning the election.

On election day, the statewide Republican ticket took 50.6% of the popular vote, outpolling the Democrats by a margin of 3,402 votes. Further down ballot, Republican candidates for the state legislature collectively received 24,094 more votes than the Douglas Democrats. (Buchanan Democrats received almost 10,000 votes, and there were a scattering of votes for write-in candidates.) Despite this, strategically drawn district boundaries produced Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature: 40 Democrats and 35 Republicans were elected to the state House of Representatives, while the Democratic margin in the Senate was 14–11. On the day of the election in the Illinois General Assembly, Douglas received 54 votes to Lincoln's 46. The change of just over 300 votes in three state legislative districts from Democrats to Republicans would have been sufficient to deny Democrats a legislative majority and defeat Douglas.

In spite of his defeat, Lincoln's debates with Douglas were followed nationally and established Lincoln as a leading contender for the Republican nomination in the 1860 United States presidential election. In the aftermath of the senatorial election, Lincoln contacted editors looking to publish the texts of the debates. George Parsons, the Ohio Republican committee chairman, got Lincoln in touch with Ohio's main political publisher, Follett and Foster, of Columbus. They published copies of the text under the title, Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas in the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois. Four printings were made, and the fourth sold 16,000 copies.

See also 1858 United States elections 1858–59 United States House of Representatives elections 35th United States Congress 36th United States Congress Lincoln–Douglas debates

References

Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present, via Senate.gov