1859 Iowa Senate election

1859

27 out of 43 seats in the Iowa State Senate
22 seats needed for a majority

	Majority party	Minority party

Party	Republican	Democratic
Last election	22	14
Seats after	22^[a]	21^[a]
Seat change		7

President of the Iowa Senate^[b] before election

Oran Faville^[c]
Republican

Elected President of the Iowa Senate^[b]

Nicholas J. Rusch^[d]
Republican

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In the 1859 Iowa State Senate elections, Iowa voters elected state senators to serve in the eighth Iowa General Assembly. Following the expansion of the Iowa Senate from 36 to 43 seats in 1859, elections were held for 27 of the state senate's 43 seats.^[e] State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate.

The general election took place in 1859.^[6]

Following the previous election in 1857, Republicans had control of the Iowa Senate with 22 seats to Democrats' 14 seats.

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

Republicans maintained control of the Iowa State Senate following the election with the balance of power shifting to Republicans holding 22 seats and Democrats having 21 seats (a net gain of 7 seats for Democrats).^[a]

Summary of Results

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

Senate District	Incumbent		Elected Senator		Outcome
1st^[f]	John R. Allen	Dem	Valentine Buechel	Dem	Dem Hold
2nd^[g]	David Trowbridge Brigham	Dem	Gideon Smith Bailey^[h]	Dem	Dem Hold
3rd^[i]	Gideon Smith Bailey^[h]	Dem	Cyrus Bussey	Dem	Dem Hold
4th^[j]	Lyman Cook	Rep	Nathan Udell	Dem	Dem Gain
4th^[j]	William Findlay Coolbaugh^[k]	Dem	Obsolete subdistrict
5th^[l]	Henry Hoffman Trimble	Dem	William E. Taylor	Dem	Dem Hold
6th^[m]	William M. Reed	Rep	James Conrad Hagans	Rep	Rep Hold
7th^[n]	Alvin Saunders^[o]	Rep	Harvey W. English	Dem	Dem Gain
8th^[p]	John A. Johnson^[q]	Dem	William Findlay Coolbaugh^[k]	Dem	Dem Hold
9th^[r]	Daniel A. Anderson^[s]	Rep	Alvin Saunders^[o]	Rep	Rep Hold
10th^[t]	John Wesley Warner	Dem	James Falconer Wilson^[u]	Rep	Rep Gain
11th^[v]	Samuel Dale	Dem	John A. Johnson^[q]	Dem	Dem Hold
12th^[w]	William H. M. Pusey^[x]	Dem	Daniel A. Anderson^[s]	Rep	Rep Gain
14th^[y]	Charles Foster	Rep	Andrew Oliphant Patterson^[z]	Dem	Dem Gain
15th^[aa]	Oliver P. Sherraden^[ab]	Rep	William B. Lewis	Dem	Dem Gain
16th^[ac]	William A. Loughridge	Rep	Oliver P. Sherraden^[ab]	Rep	Rep Hold
17th^[ad]	Jairus Edward Neal^[ae]	Dem	Henry H. Williams	Dem	Dem Hold
18th^[af]	Marquis Lafayette McPherson^[ag]	Rep	Jairus Edward Neal^[ae]	Dem	Dem Gain
19th^[ah]	Andrew Oliphant Patterson^[z]	Dem	John W. Thompson	Rep	Rep Gain
20th^[ai]	Samuel Jordan Kirkwood	Rep	George M. Davis^[aj]	Rep	Rep Hold
21st^[ak]	Nicholas John Rusch	Rep	John M. Kent	Rep	Rep Hold
22nd^[al]	Jonathan Wright Cattell	Rep	Jesse Bowen	Rep	Rep Hold
23rd^[am]	George M. Davis^[aj]	Rep	William P. Davis^[an]	Rep	Rep Hold
24th^[ao]	William George Thompson	Rep	George F. Green	Dem	Dem Gain
25th^[ap]	George McCoy	Rep	Joseph Mann^[aq]	Dem	Dem Gain
26th^[ar]	Josiah Bushnell Grinnell	Rep	H. Gates Angle	Rep	Rep Hold
27th^[as]	William P. Davis^[an]	Rep	David S. Wilson^[at]	Dem	Dem Gain
27th^[as]	Newly created subdistrict		George W. Trumbull	Dem	Dem Gain
28th^[au]	Jeremiah W. Jenkins	Rep	David Hammer	Dem	Dem Gain
29th^[av]	Joseph Mann^[aq]	Dem	Paris Perrin Henderson	Rep	Rep Gain
30th^[aw]	William G. Stewart	Dem	Marquis Lafayette McPherson^[ag]	Rep	Rep Gain
31st^[ax]	David S. Wilson^[at]	Dem	William H.M. Pusey^[x]	Dem	Dem Hold
32nd^[ay]	Henry B. Carter	Rep	John F. Duncombe	Dem	Dem Gain
33rd^[az]	Aaron Brown	Rep	Joseph J. Watson	Rep	Rep Hold
34th^[ba]	Jeremiah T. Atkins	Rep	Andrew Mateer Pattison	Rep	Rep Hold
35th^[bb]	Newly created district		Thomas Drummond^[bc]	Rep	Rep Gain
36th^[bd]	Newly created district		Alfred Francis Brown	Rep	Rep Gain
37th^[be]	Newly created district		David C. Hastings	Rep	Rep Gain
38th^[bf]	Newly created district		Lucien Lester Ainsworth	Dem	Dem Gain
39th^[bg]	Newly created district		George W. Gray	Dem	Dem Gain
40th^[bh]	Newly created district		Julius Henry Powers	Rep	Rep Gain
41st^[bi]	Newly created district		John Scott	Rep	Rep Gain

Source:^[11]

^ ^a ^b ^c The Iowa Senate expanded from 36 seats to 43 seats following the 1859 general election.^[1]
^ Article IV, section 18, of the Constitution of Iowa at that time established that the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa shall perform the duties of the President of the Senate. The Lieutenant Governor performed the duties of President of the Senate from January 11, 1858 through January 14, 1991. As of 1991, duties of Iowa's Lieutenant Governor no longer include presiding over the state Senate.^[2]
^ As Lieutenant Governor, Oran Faville was the eighth President of the Iowa Senate. He served during the seventh Iowa General Assembly, succeeding Republican Senator William W. Hamilton in that leadership position.^[3]
^ As the next Lieutenant Governor, Nicholas J. Rusch was the ninth President of the Iowa Senate. He served during the eighth Iowa General Assembly, succeeding Republican Oran Faville in that leadership position.^[4]
^ At the time, the Iowa Senate had several multi-member districts.^[5]
^ The first was a 2-member district at the time. However, only one of the seats in the district was contested in the election. The other was held by a holdover senator not up for re-election.
^ The second district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Bailey was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 3 to 2.
^ The third district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The fourth district transitioned from a 2- to 1-member district.
^ ^a ^b Senator Coolbaugh was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 4 to 8.
^ The fifth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The sixth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The seventh district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Saunders was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 7 to 9. During the next term, Senator Saunders resigned on May 14, 1861, causing a vacancy in his seat.^[7]
^ The eighth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Johnson was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 8 to 11.
^ The ninth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Anderson was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 9 to 12.
^ The tenth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ During the next term, Senator Wilson resigned on October 7, 1861, causing a vacancy in his seat.^[8]
^ The eleventh district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The twelfth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Pusey was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 12 to 31.
^ The fourteenth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Patterson was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 19 to 14. During the next term, Senator Patterson resigned on May 14, 1861, causing a vacancy in his seat.^[9]
^ The fifteenth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Sherraden was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 15 to 16.
^ The sixteenth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The seventeenth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Neal was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 17 to 18.
^ The eighteenth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator McPherson was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 18 to 30.
^ The nineteenth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The twentieth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Davis was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 23 to 20.
^ The twenty-first district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The twenty-second district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The twenty-third district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Davis was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 27 to 23.
^ The twenty-fourth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The twenty-fifth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ ^a ^b Senator Mann was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 29 to 25.
^ The twenty-sixth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The twenty-seventh district transitioned from a 1- to 2-member district.
^ ^a ^b Senator Wilson was an incumbent holdover senator not up for re-election. Instead, he was redistricted from district 31 to 27.
^ The twenty-eighth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The twenty-ninth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirtieth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-first district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-second district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-third district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-fourth district was a 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-fifth district was a newly created 1-member district at the time.
^ During the next term, Senator Drummond resigned on May 14, 1861, causing a vacancy in his seat.^[10]
^ The thirty-sixth district was a newly created 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-seventh district was a newly created 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-eighth district was a newly created 1-member district at the time.
^ The thirty-ninth district was a newly created 1-member district at the time.
^ The fortieth district was a newly created 1-member district at the time.
^ The forty-first district was a newly created 1-member district at the time.

Detailed Results

NOTE: The Iowa General Assembly does not provide detailed vote totals for Iowa State Senate elections in 1859.

Summary of Results

Detailed Results

See also

External links

References