# 1881 Iowa Senate election

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In the 1881 Iowa State Senate elections Iowa voters elected state senators to serve in the nineteenth Iowa General Assembly. Elections were held in 25 of the state senate's 50 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate.
The general election took place on October 11, 1881.
Following the previous election, Republicans had control of the Iowa Senate with 41 seats to Democrats' seven seats and two Greenbackers.
To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to net 19 Senate seats.
Republicans maintained control of the Iowa State Senate following the 1881 general election with the balance of power shifting to Republicans holding 45 seats, Democrats having two seats, two Greenbackers, and one Independent (a net gain of 4 seats for Republicans and 1 Independent seat).

## 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 |
| 1st | James Madison Shelley | Dem | Henry W. Rothert | Rep | Rep Gain |
| 2nd | Henry Clay Traverse | Rep | Alexander Brown | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 7th | Philip W. Lewellen | Rep | Talton Embrey Clark | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 9th | John Patterson | Rep | Benton J. Hall | Dem | Dem Gain |
| 10th | John Simpson Woolson | Rep | Lot Abraham | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 12th | Sanford S. Harned | Dem | Cassius M. Brown | Rep | Rep Gain |
| 13th | Gregg A. Madison | Dem | Joseph G. Hutchison | Rep | Rep Gain |
| 18th | Lafayette Young | Rep | Cephas B. Hunt | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 20th | Thomas Hanna | Rep | Pliny Nichols | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 21st | William A. Foster | Rep | John Carver Bills | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 22nd | Nathaniel Anson Merrell | Dem | Wickliffe A. Cotton | Rep | Rep Gain |
| 26th | Christian Hedges | Rep | William Aitken Patrick | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 27th | John Wimberly Henderson | Dem | John Wimberly Henderson | Ind | Ind. Gain |
| 29th | John Meyer | Rep | Egbert C. Sudlow | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 30th | Robert C. Webb | Rep | Hiram Ypsilanti Smith | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 34th | Augustin W. Ford | Rep | Thomas M. C. Logan | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 35th | Moses M. Ham | Dem | Julius Kingman Graves | Rep | Rep Gain |
| 37th | Daniel Darrow Chase | Rep | John L. Kamrar | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 38th | Herman C. Hemenway | Rep | Herman C. Hemenway | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 42nd | Martin Nelson Johnson | Rep | Henry A. Baker | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 44th | Aaron Kimball | Rep | Chapman A. Marshall | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 45th | Robert M. Haines | Rep | Alfred Nelson Poyneer | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 46th | Wilberforce P. Gaylord | Rep | Alvin Manley Whaley | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 47th | Frank M. Goodykoontz | Rep | Horace G. Parker | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 48th | John J. Russell | Rep | John J. Russell | Rep | Rep Hold |
| 50th | Albert Henry Lawrence | Rep | Gifford Simeon Robinson | Rep | Rep Hold |
* 1 2 3 4 Election was held to fill a vacancy.
* ↑ Senator Traverse resigned, causing a vacancy.
* ↑ During the next term, Senator Hall resigned his seat in the Iowa Senate after being elected to the United States House of Representatives, causing a vacancy.
* ↑ Senator Hedges resigned, causing a vacancy.
* ↑ There was not an election in the twenty-seventh senatorial district in 1881. Instead, incumbent Senator John Wimberly Henderson switched parties.
* 1 2 Senator Henderson was an incumbent Senator who was not up for election in 1881. Instead, he switched parties from Democratic to Independent.
* ↑ During the next term, Senator Smith resigned his seat in the Iowa Senate after being elected to the United States House of Representatives, causing a vacancy.
* ↑ Senator Gaylord died on April 27, 1880, causing a vacancy.
* ↑ Senator Whaley filled the vacancy caused by Senator Gaylord's death.
* ↑ Senator Goodykoontz resigned, causing a vacancy.
* ↑ Senator Parker filled the vacancy caused by Senator Goodykoontz's resignation.
Source:

## Detailed Results

* NOTE: The Iowa Official Register does not contain detailed vote totals for state senate elections in 1881.