January 16, 1900 –
February 24, 1901 1902 / 1903 → 14 13 3 2 | 51 26 48 28 17 11 | |
 | ||
The United States Senate elections of 1900 and 1901 were elections in which the Democratic Party gained two seats in the United States Senate, and which corresponded with President William McKinley's landslide re-election. By the beginning of the next Congress, however, the Republicans gained five additional seats, giving them a ten-seat majority.
Contents
- Results summary
- Before the elections
- Elections during the 56th Congress
- Elections leading to the 57th Congress
- Elections during the 57th Congress
- Pennsylvania Special
- References
As these elections were prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.
Results summary
Senate Party Division, 57th Congress (1901–1903)
Before the elections
At the beginning of 1900.
Elections during the 56th Congress
In these elections, the winner was seated in the current (56th) Congress during 1900 or in 1901 before March 4; ordered by election date.
In this election, the winner was seated in the 58th Congress, starting March 4, 1903.
Elections leading to the 57th Congress
In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning March 4, 1901; ordered by state.
All of the elections involved the Class 2 seats.
Elections during the 57th Congress
In this election, the winner was elected in 1901 after March 4 and seated in the 57th Congress.
Pennsylvania (Special)
The special election in Pennsylvania was held on January 15, 1901, after the regularly scheduled legislative election in January–April 1899 failed to elect a Senator. Former Senator Matthew Quay, who had left the Senate for nearly two years because of the political stalemate, was again elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.
Republican Matthew Quay was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the 1893 election. With Sen. Quay's term expiring on March 4, 1899, the General Assembly convened on January 18, 1899, to elect a Senator for the next term. Between January 18 and April 19, 1899, seventy-nine ballots were recorded in an attempt to elect a Senator. Instead, the legislature adjourned sine die without electing a Senator due to a dispute between Sen. Quay's political machine and an anti-Quay faction within the Republican Party, along with Democratic Party opposition.
Sen. Quay's term expired on March 4, 1899. Since a Senator had not been elected for the successive term, the seat was vacated. At the time, Quay was under indictment for misuse of funds. He was acquitted, after which Governor William Stone appointed Quay to the vacated Senate seat (a power the Governor did not legally have until the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1913). The Senate refused to recognize Quay's appointment, and the seat remained vacant until a Senator could be officially elected (which would ultimately be Quay himself, after a nearly two-year hiatus). This incident, among others, would later be cited by supporters of the 17th Amendment, which mandated the direct election of U.S. Senators.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly convened on January 15, 1901, for a special election to elect a Senator to serve out the remainder of the term that began on March 4, 1899. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows: