# 1790–91 United States Senate elections

The 1790–91 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. These U.S. Senate elections occurred during the first midterm election cycle, which took place in the middle of President George Washington's first term. As these elections were prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1790 and 1791, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the nine senators in Class 1.
As of these elections, formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of senators who supported President Washington's administration were known as the Pro-Administration Party, and the senators against him as the Anti-Administration Party.

## Change in Senate composition

Note: There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.

### Before the elections

After the June 25, 1790 elections in Rhode Island.
| A$_3$ | A$_2$ | A$_1$ |
| A$_4$ | A$_5$ | A$_6$ Penn. Ran | A$_7$ Va. Ran | P$_{19}$ N.J. Unknown | P$_{18}$ R.I. Ran | P$_{17}$ N.Y. Ran | P$_{16}$ Mass. Ran | P$_{15}$ Md. Ran | P$_{14}$ Del. Ran |
| P$_{14}$ Del. Ran |||
| P$_4$ | P$_5$ | P$_6$ | P$_7$ | P$_8$ | P$_9$ | P$_{10}$ | P$_{11}$ | P$_{12}$ | P$_{13}$ Conn. Ran |
| P$_3$ | P$_2$ | P$_1$ |

### Results of the regular elections

| A$_3$ | A$_2$ | A$_1$ |
| A$_4$ | A$_5$ | A$_6$ Va. Re-elected | A$_7$ N.Y. Gain | V$_1$ Penn. A Loss | P$_{18}$ N.J. Hold | P$_{17}$ Mass. Hold | P$_{16}$ R.I. Re-elected | P$_{15}$ Md. Re-elected | P$_{14}$ Del. Re-elected |
| P$_{14}$ Del. Re-elected |||
| P$_4$ | P$_5$ | P$_6$ | P$_7$ | P$_8$ | P$_9$ | P$_{10}$ | P$_{11}$ | P$_{12}$ | P$_{13}$ Conn. Re-elected |
| P$_3$ | P$_2$ | P$_1$ |

### Results of the special elections

| A$_3$ | A$_2$ | A$_1$ |
| A$_4$ | A$_5$ Va. Gain | A$_6$ | A$_7$ | A$_8$ | V$_1$ | P$_{17}$ | P$_{16}$ | P$_{15}$ | P$_{14}$ |
| P$_{14}$ |||
| P$_4$ | P$_5$ | P$_6$ | P$_7$ | P$_8$ | P$_9$ | P$_{10}$ | P$_{11}$ | P$_{12}$ N.J. Hold | P$_{13}$ |
| P$_3$ | P$_2$ | P$_1$ |
| Key: | A$_#$ Anti-Administration P$_#$ Pro-Administration V$_#$ Vacant |

## Race summaries

Except if/when noted, the number following candidates is the whole number vote(s), not a percentage.

### Regular and special elections during the 1st Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated before March 4, 1791; ordered by election date.
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent | Incumbent | Results | Candidates |
| State | Senator | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates |
| Rhode Island (Class 1) | New seat | New seat | New seat | Rhode Island ratified the Constitution May 29, 1790. New senator elected June 7, 1790. Pro-Administration gain. | ▌Y Theodore Foster (Pro-Admin.) [data missing] |
| Rhode Island (Class 2) | New seat | New seat | New seat | Rhode Island ratified the Constitution May 29, 1790. New senator elected June 7, 1790. Anti-Administration gain. | ▌Y Joseph Stanton Jr. (Anti-Admin.) [data missing] |
| Virginia (special: Class 1) | John Walker | Pro-Administration | 1790 (appointed) | Interim appointee retired when successor elected. New senator elected November 9, 1790. Anti-Administration gain. | ▌Y James Monroe (Anti-Admin.) [data missing] |
| New Jersey (special: Class 2) | William Paterson | Pro-Administration | 1788 | Incumbent resigned November 13, 1790, to become Governor of New Jersey. New senator elected November 13, 1790. Pro-Administration hold. | ▌Y Philemon Dickinson (Pro-Admin.) [data missing] |

### Races leading to the 2nd Congress

In these regular elections, the winners were seated March 4, 1791; ordered by state.
All of these elections involved the Class 1 seats.
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent | Incumbent | Results | Candidates |
| State | Senator | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates |
| Connecticut | Oliver Ellsworth | Pro-Administration | 1788 | Incumbent re-elected on an unknown date. | ▌Y Oliver Ellsworth (Pro-Admin.) [data missing] |
| Delaware | George Read | Pro-Administration | 1788 | Incumbent re-elected October 23, 1790. | ▌Y George Read (Pro-Admin.) Unanimous |
| Maryland | Charles Carroll | Pro-Administration | 1788 | Incumbent re-elected in 1791. | ▌Y Charles Carroll (Pro-Admin.) [data missing] |
| Massachusetts | Tristram Dalton | Pro-Administration | 1788 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected in 1790 on the third ballot. Pro-Administration hold. | First ballot June 22, 1790 ▌ Nathaniel Gorham (Unknown) 36.89% (45 votes)▌ George Cabot (Pro-Administration) 28.69% (35 votes)▌ Charles Jarvis (Unknown) 26.23% (32 votes)▌ Tristram Dalton (Unknown) 4.92% (6 votes)▌ Nathan Dane (Pro-Administration) 1.64% (2 votes)▌ Samuel Holten (Unknown) 1.64% (2 votes) Second ballot June 22, 1790 ▌ George Cabot (Pro-Administration) 32.88% (48 votes)▌ Nathaniel Gorham (Unknown) 29.45% (43 votes)▌ Charles Jarvis (Unknown) 22.60% (33 votes)▌ Samuel Holten (Unknown) 15.07% (22 votes) Third ballot June 22, 1790 ▌Y George Cabot (Pro-Admin.) 59.18% (87 votes) ▌Nathaniel Gorham (Unknown) 24.49% (36 votes) ▌Charles Jarvis (Unknown) 13.61% (20 votes) ▌Samuel Holten (Unknown) 2.72% (4 votes) ▌Tristram Dalton (Pro-Admin.) Eliminated |
| New Jersey | Jonathan Elmer | Pro-Administration | 1788 | Incumbent retired or lost re-election. New senator elected in 1790. Pro-Administration hold. | ▌Y John Rutherfurd (Pro-Admin.) [data missing] |
| New York | Philip Schuyler | Pro-Administration | 1789 | Incumbent lost re-election. New senator elected January 19, 1791. Anti-Administration gain. | ▌Y Aaron Burr (Anti-Admin.) 54.24% Assembly (32–27) and 77.78% Senate (14–4) ▌Philip Schuyler (Pro-Admin.) 45.77% Assembly (27–32) ▌Egbert Benson (Pro-Admin.) 40.68% Assembly (24–35) |
| Pennsylvania | William Maclay | Anti-Administration | 1788 | Incumbent lost re-election. Legislature failed to elect a successor, leaving the seat vacant. Anti-Administration loss. | None. |
| Rhode Island | Theodore Foster | Pro-Administration | 1790 | Incumbent re-elected in 1791. | ▌Y Theodore Foster (Pro-Admin.) [data missing] |
| Virginia | James Monroe | Anti-Administration | 1790 (special) | Incumbent re-elected in 1791. | ▌Y James Monroe (Anti-Admin.) [data missing] |

### Special and regular elections in 1791 during the 2nd Congress

In these elections, the winners were seated after March 4, 1791, the beginning of the next Congress.
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent | Incumbent | Results | Candidates |
| State | Senator | Party | First elected | Results | Candidates |
| Connecticut (Class 3) | William S. Johnson | Pro-Administration | 1788 | Resigned March 4, 1791. New senator elected June 13, 1791. Pro-Administration hold. | ▌Y Roger Sherman (Pro-Admin.) [data missing] |
| Vermont (Class 1) | None (new state) | None (new state) | None (new state) | Vermont was admitted to the Union March 4, 1791. New senator elected October 17, 1791. Anti-Administration gain. | ▌Y Moses Robinson (Anti-Admin.) [data missing] |
| Vermont (Class 3) | None (new state) | None (new state) | None (new state) | Vermont was admitted to the Union March 4, 1791. New senator elected October 17, 1791. Anti-Administration gain. | ▌Y Stephen R. Bradley (Anti-Admin.) [data missing] |

## Connecticut

All of the senators from Connecticut were Pro-Administration through 1795.

### Connecticut (regular)

Oliver Ellsworth was re-elected in 1791.

### Connecticut (special)

William Samuel Johnson resigned March 3, 1791, at the end of the 1st Congress and Roger Sherman was elected June 13, 1791, to finish the term.

## Maryland

Charles Carroll won re-election over Uriah Forrest by a margin of 20.00%, or 15 votes, for the Class 1 seat.

## Massachusetts

Incumbent U.S. Senator, Tristam Dalton sought re-election but was eliminated before the third ballot. The third ballot saw the election of George Cabot, who had been a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Cabot won 87 votes.

## New York

The election in New York was held January 19, 1791, by the New York State Legislature.
Incumbent Philip Schuyler's term would expire March 3, 1791.
At the State election in April 1790, nominal Federalist majorities were elected to both houses of the 14th New York State Legislature, but many Federalists were friendly to the Democratic-Republican Governor George Clinton, party lines not being drawn very strictly then.
The incumbent Philip Schuyler ran for re-election as the candidate of the Federalist Party. New York State Attorney General Aaron Burr was the candidate of the Democratic-Republican Party, but was at that time a rather moderate politician, opposing the ultras of both parties.
Burr was the choice of both the State Senate and the State Assembly, and was declared elected. Schuyler was defeated despite the nominal majority of his party. Many of the Federalists took the opportunity to show their disapproval of both Schuyler's haughtiness and the financial policies of Alexander Hamilton, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Schuyler's son-in-law. Besides, the Livingston faction of the Federalist Party felt betrayed after the election of Rufus King over their candidate James Duane in 1789, and now allied themselves with Clinton and later became Democratic-Republicans.
| Office | House | Democratic-Republican candidate | Democratic-Republican candidate | Federalist candidate | Federalist candidate |
| U.S. senator | State Senate (23 members) | Y Aaron Burr | 12 | Philip Schuyler | 4 |
| | State Assembly (65 members) | Y Aaron Burr | | Philip Schuyler | |
Obs.: Burr had a majority of 5 votes in the Assembly, but the exact number of votes is unclear.

## Pennsylvania

In 1791, the legislature failed to elect due to a disagreement on procedure. The seat would remain vacant until 1793.

## Vermont

Stephen R. Bradley and Moses Robinson were elected by the Vermont House of Representatives and Governor and Council in January 1791, anticipating Vermont's admission to the union. Vermont was admitted as the 14th state on March 4, 1791. The Senate had adjourned on March 3, at the completion of the 1st United States Congress; the 2nd United States Congress held a one-day session on March 4, and was not scheduled to convene again until October 24.
As a result of this congressional schedule Bradley and Robinson had not been seated when the Vermont House of Representatives convened in early October, 1791. At this legislative session, some members suggested that the January election of Bradley and Robinson had been premature, since Vermont had not yet been admitted to the union. Bradley and Robinson volunteered to resign the credentials of their January elections; on October 17, the Governor and Council voted again, and selected Bradley and Robinson. The House of Representatives then voted a second time, and also selected Bradley and Robinson. No vote totals were recorded.
Bradley was selected for the "short term" (Class 3), which expired on March 3, 1795. Robinson received the "long term" (Class 1), which expired on March 3, 1797.

## Virginia

William Grayson died March 12, 1790, and John Walker was appointed to continue the term.

### Virginia (special)

Future President James Monroe was elected in November 1790 to finish the term.

### Virginia (regular)

Monroe was re-elected in 1791 to the next term, as well.