1854–55 United States Senate elections
elections for the U.S. Senate
The 1854–55 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 1854 and 1855, 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 3.
These elections saw the final decline of the Whig Party and the maintained majority of the Democrats. Those Whigs in the Southern United States who were opposed to secession ran on the "Opposition Party" ticket, and were elected to a minority. Along with the Whigs, the Senate roster also included Free Soilers, Americans, and a new party: the Republicans. Only five of the twenty-one senators up for election were re-elected.
Results summary
Senate party division, 34th Congress (1855–1857)
Majority party: Democratic (35)
Minority party: Opposition (20) (Whigs, Republicans, Americans, Free Soilers)
Vacant: 7
Total seats: 62
Change in Senate composition
Before the elections
After the October 14, 1854 special election in Vermont.
As a result of the elections
Beginning of the next Congress
Beginning of the first session, December 3, 1855
Race summaries
Special elections during the 33rd Congress
In these special elections, the winners were seated during 1854 or in 1855 before March 4; ordered by election date.
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