1863 United States Senate election in New York

1863 United States Senate election in New York

←  1857 February 3, 1863 1869  →
158 votes in the New York State Legislature 80 votes needed to win
Nominee Edwin D. Morgan Erastus Corning Party Union Democratic Joint ballot 86 70 Percentage 54.4% 44.3%
Senator before election Preston King Republican Elected Senator Edwin D. Morgan Union

The 1863 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 3, 1863. The Union candidate Edwin D. Morgan defeated the Democratic candidate Erastus Corning on the joint ballot of the Senate and the Assembly.

Background

Republican Preston King was elected in 1857. King's term was due to expire on March 4, 1863, with the end of the 37th United States Congress. ^[1]

The 86th New York State Legislature convened on January 6, 1863, following general elections held in 1862. Thirty senators elected in 1861 were held over from the 85th Legislature. The incoming legislature consisted of 23 Unionists and nine Democrats in the Senate and 64 Unionists and 64 Democrats in the Assembly. ^[2]

A long struggle to elect a speaker ensued in the closely divided Assembly. The Union candidate Henry Sherwood and the Democratic candidate Gilbert Dean received 63 votes each on the first ballot. ^[3] Voting continued for several days without a majority for either candidate. Failure to organize the chamber threatened to postpone the election of a U.S. senator indefinitely. Sherwood and Dean withdrew their candidacies on January 16; the Union members then switched their votes to Democrat Theophilus C. Callicot, in exchange for Callicot's support for the Union candidate in the senatorial election. ^[4] A Democratic filibuster continued the contest until January 26, when Callicot defeated the replacement Democratic candidate Eliphaz Trimmer on the 92nd ballot. ^{[5] [6]}

Nominations

Union Party

The Union members of the legislature held a caucus on February 2, 1863. Morgan, King, Daniel S. Dickinson, Charles B. Sedgwick, David D. Field, Henry J. Raymond, Ward Hunt, and Henry R. Selden were candidates. Morgan was nominated with a majority on the second ballot. ^[7]

1863 New York Union U.S. senatorial caucus

Candidate	U.S. senatorial ballot
	Informal	1st	2nd
Edwin D. Morgan	25	39	50
Preston King	19	16	11
Daniel S. Dickinson	15	11	13
Charles B. Sedgwick	11	7	1
David D. Field	7	5	2
Henry J. Raymond	6	8	9
Ward Hunt	4	—	—
Henry R. Selden	1	—	—
Blank	1	—	—
TOTAL	89	86	86

Democratic Party

The Democratic members of the legislature held a caucus on February 2, 1863. The meeting found it inexpedient to nominate a candidate and advised members to vote their conscience in the senatorial election. ^[7] The caucus met again on February 3 and voted to reconsider the previous day's motion. Erastus Corning defeated Fernando Wood on the first ballot. ^[8]

1863 New York Democratic U.S. senatorial caucus

Candidate	1st
Erastus Corning	28
Fernando Wood	25
Scattering	18
TOTAL	71

General election

The Senate and the Assembly met separately on February 3 to hold an election for the next term. Morgan was nominated by the Senate with 23 votes to 7 for Corning. ^[9]

In the Assembly, Morgan led on the first ballot with 64 votes, one less than a majority, Speaker Callicot having voted for John A. Dix. The Union members then switched their votes to Dix, who was nominated by the Assembly on the second ballot with 65 votes to 63 for Corning. ^[10]

The two chambers being in disagreement, the Legislature convened in joint session. Morgan defeated Corning on the first joint ballot. ^[11]

Result

1863 United States Senate election in New York

Party		Candidate	State Assembly				State Senate		Joint session
			1st ballot		2nd ballot		1st ballot		1st ballot
			Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Union	Edwin D. Morgan	64	50.00	—		23	76.67	86	54.43
	Democratic	Erastus Corning	62	48.44	63	49.22	7	23.33	70	44.30
	Union	John A. Dix	1	0.78	65	50.78	—		1	0.63
	Democratic	Fernando Wood	1	0.78	—		—		—
	Union	Daniel S. Dickinson	—		—		—		1	0.63
Total votes			128	100.00	128	100.00	30	100.00	158	100.00
Votes needed to win			65	50.01	65	50.01	16	50.01	80	50.01

See also

• 1862–63 United States Senate elections

Notes

1. Congressional Quarterly 1985, p. 596.
2. Greeley 1863, p. 52.
3. New York 1863b, p. 6.
4. "A New Phase in the Struggle for the Speakership" (PDF). New York Times. January 17, 1863.
5. New York 1863b, p. 84.
6. "The Triumph of Moderation, and of Law and Order" (PDF). New York Times. January 27, 1863.
7. "Nomination of Ex-Governor for United States Senator by the Union Caucus" (PDF). New York Times. February 3, 1863.
8. "The Democratic Caucus". New York Herald. February 4, 1863.
9. New York 1863a, pp. 95–96.
10. New York 1863b, pp. 151–52.
11. New York 1863b, p. 154.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Greeley, Horace, ed. (1863). The Tribune Almanac and Political Register for 1863. New York.
• New York (1863a). Journal of the Senate [...]. Albany.
• New York (1863b). Journal of the Assembly [...]. Albany.

Secondary sources

• Congressional Quarterly (1985). Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. ISBN   978-0-87187-339-2.