1859 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

1859 United States Senate election in Massachusetts

←  1855 (special) January 11 and 12, 1859 1865  →
40 members of the Massachusetts Senate 396 members of the Massachusetts House Majority vote of each house needed to win
Nominee Henry Wilson Party Republican Senate 35 Percentage 87.5% House 199 Percentage 84.69%
Senator before election Henry Wilson Republican Elected Senator Henry Wilson Republican

The 1859 United States Senate election in Massachusetts was held during January 1859. Incumbent Senator Henry Wilson, who had been elected in 1855 to fill the unexpired term of Edward Everett, was re-elected easily to a full term as a member of the Republican Party.

At the time, Massachusetts elected United States senators by a majority vote of each separate house of the Massachusetts General Court, the House and the Senate.

Background

At the time, the Massachusetts legislature was dominated by a coalition of Republican Party and American Party supporters, united in opposition to slavery.

Election in the Senate

On January 11, the State Senate convened and re-elected Wilson overwhelmingly, with 35 votes.

1859 U.S. Senate election in the Senate ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Wilson (incumbent)	35	87.50%
	Republican	George S. Boutwell	3	7.50%
	Constitutional Union	Edward Everett	1	2.50%
	Democratic	Caleb Cushing	1	2.50%
Total votes			40	100.00%

Election in the House

On January 12, the House ratified the Senate result, electing Wilson to a full term in the U.S. Senate.

1859 U.S. Senate election in the House ^{[1] [3]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Henry Wilson (incumbent)	199	84.69%
	Democratic	Caleb Cushing	25	10.64%
	Others	Scattering	11	4.68%
Total votes			235	100.00%

References

1. "United States Senators Elected". The Maine Farmer. January 20, 1859. p. 2.
2. "Re-Election of Senator Wilson". The New York Times. January 12, 1859. p. 1.
3. "Re-election of the Hon. Henry Wilson". The New York Times. January 13, 1859.