1825–1826 United States Senate election in New York
| Elections in New York State |
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The 1825/1826 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 1, 1825, and January 14, 1826, by the
Background
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Rufus King had been elected in 1820 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1825. Because of his advanced age, he declined to run for re-election.
Although nominally in the same party, the
At the State election in November 1824, the combined forces of the People's Party and the Clintonians elected Clinton Governor, a large majority to the Assembly, and six of the eight State Senators up for renewal. The
Candidates
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The People's Party-Clintonian State legislators met in caucus and almost unanimously nominated the longtime leader of the Clintonians,
Ex-Gov. Joseph C. Yates; Lt. Gov. James Tallmadge, Jr.; Congressman John W. Taylor;
Result 1825, no choice
On February 1, 1825, the State Legislature attempted to elect a U.S. Senator.
The Assembly nominated Ambrose Spencer by a vote of 77 to 45.
Knowing that the large majority of assemblymen would outvote the Senators on joint ballot, the Anti-Spencer Senate majority took refuge to the only means to defeat Spencer: They did not nominate anybody, so that a joint ballot could not be held. On the first ballot, Spencer received 10 votes out of 31 cast. Then
| Office | Candidate | Party | Senate (32 members) (first ballot) |
Senate (32 members) (second ballot) |
Assembly (127 members) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Senator
|
Ambrose Spencer | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | 10 | 8 | 77 |
James Tallmadge, Jr.
|
Dem.-Rep./People's Party | 2 | 4 | ||
Samuel Young
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Dem.-Rep./Bucktails | 2 | 2 | ||
| Edward P. Livingston | 2 | 2 | |||
| Victory Birdseye | 2 | 2 | |||
| John W. Taylor | 2 | 2 | |||
| Joseph C. Yates | Dem.-Rep./Bucktails | 1 | 2 | ||
Henry Seymour
|
Dem.-Rep./Bucktails | 1 | 1 | ||
| Henry Wheaton | 1 | 1 | |||
| Samuel Beardsley | 1 | 1 | |||
| Henry Huntington[1] | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | 1 | 1 | ||
| S. Suydam | 1 | 1 | |||
| John T. Irving[2] | 1 | 1 | |||
Isaac Wilson
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1 | 1 | |||
William Paulding, Jr.
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1 | 1 | |||
| Rufus Crane | 1 | 1 | |||
| David E. Evans | 1 |
On February 25, 1825, the State Senate adopted by a vote of 18 to 10 a "joint resolution" that
Election, 1826
At the State election in November 1825, Martin Van Buren managed to keep the presidential election issue out of view, and the Bucktail and Clintonian factions re-aligned. A Bucktail majority was elected to the Assembly, but five of the eight State Senators elected were Clintonians. The 49th New York State Legislature met from January 3 to April 18, 1826, at Albany, New York.
The strength of the factions in the Assembly was shown by the vote for
The Bucktail State legislators held a caucus for U.S. Senator and nominated Chancellor Nathan Sanford. Sanford had been a U.S. Senator from 1815 to 1821 and, when running for re-election as a Clintonian, had been defeated by the leader of the Bucktails, Martin Van Buren. Van Buren had by now abandoned Crawford, and maneuvered to get the Governor's and the Clintonians' support for Andrew Jackson at the next presidential election. Thus Chancellor Sanford appeared as a compromise candidate supported by both factions of the party. Upon his nomination, Sanford resigned from the bench, and on January 14, 1826, the State Legislature elected him nearly unanimously. He took his seat on January 31, 1826, and remained in office until March 3, 1831.
Notes
- ^ Henry Huntington (1766–1846), of Rome, delegate to constitutional convention 1801 and 1821, state senator 1804–1807, presidential elector 1808 and 1812, assemblyman 1816–17 and 1818, ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1822 and 1826, see A genealogical Memoir of the Huntington Family in This Country by Elijah Baldwin Huntington (Stamford, Conn; 1863; page 133)
- ^ John Treat Irving (1778–1838), brother of Washington Irving, lawyer, assemblyman 1816–17, 1819–1820, First Judge of New York County Court of Common Pleas 1821–1838
- United States Senate election in New York, 1789.
Sources
- The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators; pg. 126 for State Senators 1825 and 1826; pg. 202f for Members of Assembly 1825; pg. 203f for Members of Assembly 1826;)
- Members of the 19th United States Congress
- History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, Vol. II by Jabez Delano Hammond (Speaker election, 1825: pg. 185; U.S. Senate election 1825: pg. 191ff; U.S. Senate election 1826: pg. 209ff)
- Election result (Caucus for U.S. Senator, 1825) at Tufts University Library project "A New Nation Votes"