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1888–89 United States Senate elections
26 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (as well as special elections); 39 seats needed for a majority
	Results of the elections:; Democratic gain Democratic hold; Republican gain Republican hold; Legislature failed to elect
Majority Party before election; ; Republican	Elected Majority Party ; ; Republican

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 eightseat majority, mostly from newly admitted states.

Results summary

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

Before the elections

D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈ Ran	D₂₇ Ran	D₂₆ Ran	D₂₅ Ran	D₂₄	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉ Ran	D₃₀ Ran	D₃₁ Ran	D₃₂ Ran	D₃₃ Ran	D₃₄ Ran	D₃₅ Ran	D₃₆ Ran	D₃₇ Ran	RA₁ Retired
Majority with Readjuster in caucus →									R₃₈ Retired
R₂₉ Ran	R₃₀ Ran	R₃₁ Ran	R₃₂ Ran	R₃₃ Ran	R₃₄ Ran	R₃₅ Ran	R₃₆ Unknown	R₃₇ Unknown	R₃₈ Retired
R₂₈ Ran	R₂₇ Ran	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

After the elections

D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈ Re-elected	D₂₇ Re-elected	D₂₆ Re-elected	D₂₅ Re-elected	D₂₄	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉ Re-elected	D₃₀ Re-elected	D₃₁ Re-elected	D₃₂ Re-elected	D₃₃ Re-elected	D₃₄ Re-elected	D₃₅ Re-elected	D₃₆ Re-elected	D₃₇ Gain	V₁ R Loss
Majority due to vacancy →									R₃₈ Gain
R₂₉ Re-elected	R₃₀ Re-elected	R₃₁ Re-elected	R₃₂ Re-elected	R₃₃ Re-elected	R₃₉ Re-elected	R₃₅ Hold	R₃₆ Hold	R₃₇ Hold	R₃₈ Gain
R₂₈ Re-elected	R₂₇ Re-elected	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

Beginning of the next Congress

D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂	D₁
D₉	D₁₀	D₁₁	D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈
D₂₈	D₂₇	D₂₆	D₂₅	D₂₄	D₂₃	D₂₂	D₂₁	D₂₀	D₁₉
D₂₉	D₃₀	D₃₁	D₃₂	D₃₃	D₃₄	D₃₅	D₃₆	D₃₇	R₃₉ Gain
Majority →									R₃₉ Gain
R₂₉	R₃₀	R₃₁	R₃₂	R₃₃	R₃₄	R₃₅	R₃₆	R₃₇	R₃₈
R₂₈	R₂₇	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂	R₂₁	R₂₀	R₁₉
R₉	R₁₀	R₁₁	R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈
R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂	R₁

End of 1889

									D₁
D₁₁	D₁₀	D₉	D₈	D₇	D₆	D₅	D₄	D₃	D₂
D₁₂	D₁₃	D₁₄	D₁₅	D₁₆	D₁₇	D₁₈	D₁₉	D₂₀	D₂₁
D₃₁	D₃₀	D₂₉	D₂₈	D₂₇	D₂₆	D₂₅	D₂₄	D₂₃	D₂₂
D₃₂	D₃₃	D₃₄	D₃₅	D₃₆	D₃₇	R₄₅ New state	R₄₄ New state	R₄₃ New state	R₄₂ New state
Majority →									R₄₂ New state
R₃₂	R₃₃ Hold	R₃₄ Hold	R₃₅	R₃₆	R₃₇	R₃₈	R₃₉	R₄₀ New state	R₄₁ New state
R₃₁	R₃₀	R₂₉	R₂₈	R₂₇	R₂₆	R₂₅	R₂₄	R₂₃	R₂₂
R₁₂	R₁₃	R₁₄	R₁₅	R₁₆	R₁₇	R₁₈	R₁₉	R₂₀	R₂₁
R₁₁	R₁₀	R₉	R₈	R₇	R₆	R₅	R₄	R₃	R₂
									R₁

Key:

D_#	Democratic
RA_#	Readjuster
R_#	Republican
V_#	Vacant

Race summaries

Special elections during the 50th Congress

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

Races leading to the 51st Congress

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.

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Alabama	John T. Morgan	Democratic	1876 1882	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y John T. Morgan (Democratic) [data missing]
Arkansas	James H. Berry	Democratic	1885 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y James H. Berry (Democratic) [data missing]
Colorado	Thomas M. Bowen	Republican	1882–83	Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1889. Republican hold.	▌Y Edward O. Wolcott (Republican) [data missing]
Delaware	Eli Saulsbury	Democratic	1870 1876 1883	Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1888 or 1889. Republican gain.	▌Y Anthony C. Higgins (Republican) ▌Eli Saulsbury (Democratic) [data missing]
Georgia	Alfred H. Colquitt	Democratic	1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Alfred H. Colquitt (Democratic) [data missing]
Illinois	Shelby M. Cullom	Republican	1882	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Shelby M. Cullom (Republican) [data missing]
Iowa	James F. Wilson	Republican	1882	Incumbent re-elected January 25, 1888.	▌Y James F. Wilson (Republican)^[2] ▌Thomas J. Anderson (Democratic) ▌Daniel Campbell (Unknown)^[e] ▌J. R. Reed (Unknown)^[e] ▌John A. T. Hull (Republican)^[e] ▌Henry C. Wallace (Republican)^[e]
Kansas	Preston B. Plumb	Republican	1877 1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Preston B. Plumb (Republican) [data missing]
Kentucky	James B. Beck	Democratic	1876 1882	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y James B. Beck (Democratic) [data missing]
Louisiana	Randall L. Gibson	Democratic	1882	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y Randall L. Gibson (Democratic) [data missing]
Maine	William P. Frye	Republican	1881 (special) 1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y William P. Frye (Republican) [data missing]
Massachusetts	George F. Hoar	Republican	1877 1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y George F. Hoar (Republican) [data missing]
Michigan	Thomas W. Palmer	Republican	1882–83	Incumbent retired. New senator elected in 1889. Republican hold.	▌Y James McMillan (Republican) [data missing]
Minnesota	Dwight M. Sabin	Republican	1883	Incumbent lost renomination. New senator elected in 1888. Republican hold.	▌Y W. D. Washburn (Republican) [data missing]
Mississippi	Edward C. Walthall	Democratic	1885 (appointed) 1886 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y Edward C. Walthall (Democratic) [data missing]
Nebraska	Charles F. Manderson	Republican	1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Charles F. Manderson (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire	William E. Chandler	Republican	1887 (special)	Unknown if incumbent retired or lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect. Republican loss. Gilman Marston (R) was appointed to start the next term and Chandler was later elected to finish the term; see below.	[data missing]
New Jersey	John R. McPherson	Democratic	1877 1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y John R. McPherson (Democratic) 43 ▌ William J. Sewell (Republican) 38
North Carolina	Matt W. Ransom	Democratic	1872 (special) 1876 1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y Matt W. Ransom (Democratic) [data missing]
Oregon	Joseph N. Dolph	Republican	1882	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Joseph N. Dolph (Republican) [data missing]
Rhode Island	Jonathan Chace	Republican	1885 (special)	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Jonathan Chace (Republican) [data missing]
South Carolina	Matthew Butler	Democratic	1876 1882	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Matthew Butler (Democratic) [data missing]
Tennessee	Isham G. Harris	Democratic	1877 1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y Isham G. Harris (Democratic) [data missing]
Texas	Richard Coke	Democratic	1876 1882	Incumbent re-elected in 1888.	▌Y Richard Coke (Democratic) [data missing]
Virginia	Harrison H. Riddleberger	Readjuster	1881	Incumbent retired. New senator elected early December 20, 1887.^[4] Democratic gain.	▌Y John S. Barbour Jr. (Democratic) [data missing]
West Virginia	John E. Kenna	Democratic	1883	Incumbent re-elected in 1889.	▌Y John E. Kenna (Democratic) [data missing]

Elections during the 51st Congress

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

State	Incumbent			Results	Candidates
State	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Results	Candidates
Rhode Island (Class 2)	Jonathan Chace	Republican	1885 (special) 1888	Incumbent resigned April 9, 1889. New senator elected April 10, 1889. Republican hold.	▌Y Nathan F. Dixon III (Republican) [data missing]
New Hampshire (Class 2)	Gilman Marston	Republican	1889 (Appointed)	Interim appointee retired or lost election to finish the term. New senator elected June 18, 1889. Republican hold.	▌Y William E. Chandler (Republican) [data missing]
South Dakota (Class 2)	None (new state)			South Dakota admitted to the Union November 2, 1889. First senators elected October 16, 1889, in advance of statehood.^[5] Republican gain.	▌Y Richard F. Pettigrew (Republican) 108 ▌Bartlett Tripp (Democratic) 14 Absent/not voting 2^[5]
South Dakota (Class 3)	None (new state)			South Dakota admitted to the Union November 2, 1889. First senators elected October 16, 1889, in advance of statehood.^[5] Republican gain.	▌Y Gideon C. Moody (Republican) 107 ▌Merritt H. Day (Democratic) 14^[5]
Washington (Class 1)	None (new state)			Washington admitted to the Union November 11, 1889. First senators elected November 20, 1889. Republican gain.	▌Y John B. Allen (Republican) [data missing]
Washington (Class 3)	None (new state)			Washington admitted to the Union November 11, 1889. First senators elected November 20, 1889. Republican gain.	▌Y Watson C. Squire (Republican) [data missing]
North Dakota (Class 1)	None (new state)			North Dakota admitted to the Union November 2, 1889. First senators elected November 25, 1889.^[6] Republican gain.	▌Y Lyman R. Casey (Republican) 62 ▌Martin N. Johnson (Republican) 26 ▌Daniel W. Maratta (Democratic) 4^[6]
North Dakota (Class 3)	None (new state)			North Dakota admitted to the Union November 2, 1889. First senators elected November 25, 1889.^[6] Republican gain.	▌Y Gilbert A. Pierce (Republican) 56 ▌Michael L. McCormack (Democratic) 6^[6]

References

^ as Republican Conference Chair
^ as Democratic Caucus Chair
^ as the leader of Readjuster Party
^ ^a ^b The Readjusters caucused with the Republicans.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Campbell, Reed, Hull, and Wallace each received between one and three votes.^[3]

^ "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". National Archives and Records Administration. February 8, 2022.
^ Clark, p. 214.
^ Clark, p. 215.
^ John S. Barbour Jr. at Encyclopedia Virginia
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Journal of the House of Representatives…, p. 11
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Journal of the House of the First Legislative Assembly…, p. 63-64