1891 Iowa Senate election

1891 Iowa Senate election

←  1889 November 3, 1891 1893  →
32 out of 50 seats in the Iowa State Senate 26 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Party Democratic Republican Populist Last election 20 28 0 Seats after 25 24 1 [lower-alpha 1] Seat change 5 4 1   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Union Labor Independent Last election 1 1 Seats after 0 [lower-alpha 1] 0 Seat change 1 1

In the 1891 Iowa State Senate elections Iowa voters elected state senators to serve in the twenty-fourth Iowa General Assembly. Elections were held in 32 of the state senate's 50 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate.

A statewide map of the 50 state Senate districts in the 1891 elections is provided by the Iowa General Assembly here.

The general election took place on November 3, 1891. ^[1]

Following the previous election, Republicans had control of the Iowa Senate with 28 seats to Democrats' 20 seats, one seat for the Union Labor Party ^{[lower-alpha 1]} and one Independent.

To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to net 5 Senate seats.

Democrats claimed control of the Iowa State Senate following the 1891 general election with the balance of power shifting to Democrats holding 25 seats, Republicans having 24 seats, and a lone seat for the People's Party ^{[lower-alpha 1]} (a net gain of 5 seats for Democrats and 1 seat for the People's Party).

Summary of Results

• Note: The holdover Senators not up for re-election are not listed on this table.

Senate District	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party		Outcome
2nd	Benjamin Rex Vale		Rep	Benjamin Rex Vale		Rep	Rep Hold
3rd	William Henry Taylor		Dem	Ephraim M. Reynolds		Rep	Rep Gain
4th	Warren S. Dungan		Rep	Lester W. Lewis		Rep	Rep Hold
5th	James B. Harsh		Rep	James B. Harsh		Rep	Rep Hold
6th	George L. Finn		Rep	George L. Finn		Rep	Rep Hold
8th	Thomas Weidman		Rep	Allen Joseph Chantry		Rep	Rep Hold
10th [lower-alpha 2]	John Simpson Woolson [lower-alpha 3]		Rep	David James Palmer		Rep	Rep Hold
11th	James Henry Barnett		Ind	James H. Jamison		Rep	Rep Gain
13th [lower-alpha 2]	Peter G. Ballingall [lower-alpha 4]		Dem	James Joseph Smith		Dem	Dem Hold
14th	Benjamin McCoy		Rep	Alpheus Barto Conaway		Rep	Rep Hold
15th	Edward R. Cassatt		Dem	Theodore Bolivar Perry		Dem	Dem Hold
16th	Richard Price		Rep	Alva Lysander Hager [lower-alpha 5]		Rep	Rep Hold
17th	Timothy Jordan Caldwell		Rep	Henry Franklin Andrews		Rep	Rep Hold
19th	William Groneweg		Dem	William Groneweg		Dem	Dem Hold
22nd [lower-alpha 2]	Patrick Bernard Wolfe [lower-alpha 6]		Dem	Silas Wright Gardiner		Dem	Dem Hold
23rd	August George Kegler		Dem	Alfred Hurst		Dem	Dem Hold
24th	Erastus B. Bills		Dem	John Aloysius Green		Dem	Dem Hold
25th	Michael Joseph Kelly		Dem	Michael Joseph Kelly		Dem	Dem Hold
26th	Jesse H. Smith		Rep	John McClure Terry		Dem	Dem Gain
27th	Josiah D. McVay		Rep	Olaf Martin Oleson		Dem	Dem Gain
28th	William D. Mills		Rep	George A. Turner		Rep	Rep Hold
29th [lower-alpha 7]	Perry Engle [lower-alpha 1]		Union Labor	Perry Engle [lower-alpha 1]		People's	People's Gain
31st	Defiance Barnes Davidson		Rep	Thomas Clifton McCall [lower-alpha 8]		Rep	Rep Hold
32nd	Joseph S. Lawrence		Rep	James D. Yeomans		Dem	Dem Gain
33rd	Edward Paxson Seeds [lower-alpha 9]		Rep	Merritt W. Harmon		Rep	Rep Hold
36th	Frank Davis Bayless		Dem	John Everall		Dem	Dem Hold
39th	Lewis S. Hanchett		Rep	Robert S. Smith [lower-alpha 10]		Dem	Dem Gain
40th	Leslie B. Mattoon		Dem	Leslie B. Mattoon		Dem	Dem Hold
41st	Jefferson Fern Clyde		Rep	Charles Fred Jewett		Rep	Rep Hold
43rd	Norman Vaughan Brower		Rep	Norman Vaughan Brower		Rep	Rep Hold
46th	Adolph Freeland Meservey		Rep	William Hamilton Dent		Dem	Dem Gain
47th	Abraham B. Funk		Rep	Abraham B. Funk		Rep	Rep Hold
49th	Orsmond M. Barrett		Rep	Luther H. Bishop		Dem	Dem Gain

1. Senator Perry Engle switched parties from Union Labor to People's Party after the election.
2. Election was held to fill a vacancy.
3. Senator Woolson resigned, causing a vacancy. ^[2]
4. On March 7, 1891, Peter G. Ballingall died causing a vacancy. ^[3]
5. On March 3, 1893, Alva Lysander Hager resigned his seat in the Iowa Senate to go to the United States House of Representatives, causing a vacancy. ^[4]
6. Senator Wolfe resigned, causing a vacancy. ^[5]
7. There was not an election in the twenty-ninth senatorial district in 1891. Instead, incumbent Senator Perry Engle switched parties.
8. On August 11, 1892, Senator T. C. McCall died during the term. ^[6]
9. Senator Seeds resigned on November 3, 1890, causing a vacancy. ^[7]
10. On August 27, 1893, Robert S. Smith died during his term. ^[8]

Source: ^[9]

Detailed Results

• NOTE: The Iowa Official Register does not contain detailed vote totals for state senate elections in 1891.

See also

• Elections in Iowa

References

1. "The Twenty-Fourth General Assembly. SENATE" (PDF). Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 26, 2021.
2. "Senator John Simpson Woolson: Compiled Historical Information". Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 26, 2021.
3. "Senator Peter G. Ballingall: Compiled Historical Information". Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 26, 2021.
4. "Senator Alva Lysander Hager: Compiled Historical Information". Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 25, 2021.
5. "Senator Patrick Bernard Wolfe: Compiled Historical Information". Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 26, 2021.
6. "Senator Thomas Clifton McCall: Compiled Historical Information". Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 26, 2021.
7. "Senator Edward Paxson Seeds: Compiled Historical Information". Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 26, 2021.
8. "Senator Robert S. Smith: Compiled Historical Information". Iowa Official Register . Retrieved June 25, 2021.
9. "Legislators". Iowa State Senate . Retrieved June 26, 2021.