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| Elections in New York State |
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The 1857 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 3, 1857 by the New York State Legislature. Incumbent Whig Senator Hamilton Fish did not stand for re-election. The seat was won by Preston King, a former U.S. Representative and member of the newly-formed Republican Party. King was the first Republican elected to represent New York, although William H. Seward had joined the party after being elected as a Whig in 1855.
Whig Hamilton Fish had been elected in 1851 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1857.
In 1855, the Whig Party and the Anti-Nebraska Party merged in New York to form the Republican Party.
At the State election in November 1855, 16 Republicans, 11 Americans, 4 Democrats and 1 Temperance man were elected for a two-year term (1856-1857) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1856, 81 Republicans, 31 Democrats and 8 Americans were elected to the Assembly for the session of 1857. The 80th New York State Legislature met from January 6 to April 18, 1857, at Albany, New York.
Preston King was nominated by a caucus of Republican State legislators. King had been a Democratic congressman from 1843 to 1847, a Free Soil congressman from 1849 to 1853, and had joined the Republican Party upon its foundation at the State convention in September 1855. The convention nominated King for Secretary of State, but he was defeated by Joel T. Headley in a four-way race.
Secretary of State Joel T. Headley was the candidate of the American Party.
State Senator Daniel E. Sickles was the candidate of the Democratic Party.
In the Assembly the vote confirmed the party caucus selections. When State Senator Sickles received votes, the same objection to his eligibility was raised as was in 1833 regarding Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. This time, Speaker DeWitt C. Littlejohn ruled that the objection was "partially tenable and partially not so." However, the Speaker held that any member could vote for anybody, and only if the candidate received sufficient votes to win the election, a decision would be required. Otherwise, like in this case, the eligibility of an also-ran was irrelevant.
In the State Senate, only 24 votes were given. Zenas Clark (Rep.) and John B. Halsted (Rep.) were sick at home. Eaton J. Richardson (Rep.) paired with Sidney Sweet (Am.). Joseph H. Petty (Am.) was absent. William Kelly (Dem.), Mark Spencer (Dem.), and the Democratic candidate Sickles himself, declined to vote.
State Senator Justin A. Smith (Am.) raised the question if the vote for Sickles could be counted. A new State Constitution had been adopted in 1846, which had clarified the question of eligibility of State legislators. Smith quoted from the State Constitution: "No member of the Legislature shall receive any civil appointment within this State, or to the Senate of the United States, from the Governor, the Governor and Senate, or from the Legislature, during the term for which he shall have been elected; and all votes given for any such member, for any such office or appointment, shall be void." Lt. Gov. Henry R. Selden (later a judge of the New York Court of Appeals) decided to count the vote, holding that the United States Constitution described the eligibility for the office and devolved on the State legislatures only the power to prescribe the "times, places and manners of holding the elections for that office", thus not implying a right for the State governments to exclude any person who would be eligible under the U.S. Constitution. [1]
Preston King was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.
| Office | House | Republican | Democrat | American | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Senator | State Senate (32 members) | Preston King | 14 | Daniel E. Sickles | 1 | Joel T. Headley | 9 |
| State Assembly (128 members) | Preston King | 77 | Daniel E. Sickles | 33 | Joel T. Headley | 6 | |
King served one term, and remained in office until March 3, 1863.
The 1819/1820 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 2, 1819, and January 8, 1820, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The 1849 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 6, 1849, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The 1851 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 4 and March 18/19, 1851, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The 1855 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 6, 1855, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The 1861 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 5, 1861, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The 1863 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 3, 1863, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator to represent the State of New York in the United States Senate.
The United States Senate elections of 1850 and 1851 were elections which had the Democratic Party lose seats, but retain a majority in the United States Senate.
The United States Senate elections of 1856 and 1857 were elections which had the young Republican Party assume its position as one of the United States's two main political parties. The Whigs and Free Soilers were gone by the time the next Congress began.
The United States Senate elections of 1854 and 1855 were elections which saw the final decline of the Whig Party and the continuing majority of the Democrats. Those Whigs in the South 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, Know Nothings, and a new party: the Republicans. Only five of the twenty-one Senators up for election were re-elected.
The United States Senate elections of 1860 and 1861 were elections corresponding with Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency. The nascent Republican Party increased their Senate seats in the regular elections, and after southern Democrats withdrew to join the Confederacy, Republicans gained control of the United States Senate. To establish a quorum with fewer members, a lower total seat number was taken into account.
The United States Senate elections of 1862 and 1863 were elections during the American Civil War in which Republicans increased their control of the U.S. Senate. The Republican Party gained three seats, bringing their majority to two-thirds of the body. Also caucusing with them were Unionists and Unconditional Unionists, giving them a commanding majority.
The 40th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 5, 1816, to April 15, 1817, during the tenth year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, and while John Tayler was Acting Governor, in Albany.
The 78th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 14, 1855, during the first year of Myron H. Clark's governorship, in Albany.
The 79th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to April 9, 1856, during the second year of Myron H. Clark's governorship, in Albany.
The 80th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 18, 1857, during the first year of John A. King's governorship, in Albany.
The 81st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 19, 1858, during the second year of John A. King's governorship, in Albany.
The 144th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 16, 1921, during the first year of Nathan L. Miller's governorship, in Albany.
The 162nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1939, to October 22, 1940, during the seventh and eight years of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany.
The 169th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1953, to June 10, 1954, during the eleventh and twelfth years of Thomas E. Dewey's governorship, in Albany.
The 187th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1987, to December 31, 1988, during the fifth and sixth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany.
