1860 United States Senate special election in Oregon

none March 2026 March 2026 1860 United States Senate special election in Oregon presidential no United States 1858 1858 United States Senate election in Oregon 1858 1862 United States Senate special election in Oregon 1862 October 2, 1860 50 members of the Oregon Legislative AssemblyMajority of voting members needed to win 135x135px 1st ballot 14th ballot File:Edward Dickinson Baker.jpg Edward D. Baker Republican Party (United States) — 26 (52.0%) File:George H. Williams.jpg George H. Williams Douglas Democratic 11 (22.4%) 20 (40.0%) File:George Law Curry in 1860s.jpg George L. Curry Breckinridge Democratic 8 (16.3%) 2 (4.0%) File:La Fayette Grover - Brady-Handy.jpg La Fayette Grover Douglas Democratic 16 (32.6%) — File:Amory Holbrook.png Amory Holbrook Republican Party (United States) 11 (22.4%) — Senator None (vacant from March 4, 1859) Edward D. Baker Republican Party (United States) The 1860 United States Senate special election in Oregon was held on October 2, 1860, as part of the 1860–61 United States Senate elections. The Republican former U.S. representative from Illinois's 6th congressional district Edward D. Baker defeated the Douglas Democratic former chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court George H. Williams on the 14th ballot. Delazon Smith won the 1858 election for the term ending March 4, 1859, in anticipation the admission of Oregon to the Union. After the expiration of Smith's term, but before the 36th United States Congress convened, the governor of Oregon John Whiteaker called a special session of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in May 1859 to hold an election for the succeeding term. The Oregon Democratic Party was divided between partisans of U.S. senator Joseph Lane and Asahel Bush, who were identified with support or opposition to the Buchanan administration's policy on slavery in the U.S. territories, respectively. In the Democratic caucus, Smith, a Lane Democrat, was narrowly renominated with 22 out of 43 votes. The Bush Democrats subsequently refused to support Smith's re-election in the legislative joint session, and the legislature adjourned on July 4 without having elected a senator.Johannsen 1955 81–82, 67, 72–73 In the 1860 United States presidential election, Lane was nominated for vice president by supporters of John C. Breckinridge, the Southern Democratic candidate for president; the Lane faction became identified with Breckinridge's candidacy in Oregon, while the Anti-Lane forces supported Stephen A. Douglas. In state elections held in June 1860, an ad-hoc Anti-Lane coalition of Republicans and Douglas Democrats handed a decisive defeat to the Lane faction, which was reduced to a minority in the legislature. Besides their shared hatred of Lane, both groups opposed the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford and supported popular sovereignty in the territories. The election of an Anti-Lane majority cleared the way for a cooperation between Republicans and Douglas Democrats in the upcoming senatorial elections.Johannsen 1955 117–21 The legislature met again in joint session on September 21, 1860, to hold concurrent elections for the vacant Class 2 seat and the Class 3 seat held by Lane.Oregon 1860 45 The elected legislature included 19 Lane Democrats, 18 Douglas Democrats, and 13 Republicans. In an attempt to prevent a quorum in the Senate, six Lane Democrats absented themselves from the proceedings; during their absence, the House of Representatives attempted to conduct the election, but no candidate for either seat gained a majority over twenty ballots.Johannsen 1955 118, 122–24 At length, the absent senators were persuaded to return, and balloting resumed on October 1. Republican Amory Holbrook, Douglas Democrats George H. Williams and La Fayette Grover, and Breckinridge Democrat George L. Curry were the major candidates on the first ballot.Oregon 1860 45–50 A coalition between the Republicans and Douglas Democrats remained elusive until the following day. On October 2, the Republican members switched their votes from Holbrook to Baker, who had withdrawn his candidacy for the Class 3 seat. Fifteen Douglas Democrats joined the Republicans to elect Baker, in exchange for Republicans vote to elect the Douglas Democratic candidate for the Class 3 seat, James Nesmith.Carey 1922 644 Holbrook, who thought fusion ill-advised and mistrusted Baker's Republican credentials, cast a blank ballot all through the voting on October 2.Johannsen 1955 125 General election Ballots 1–10 (October 1) + 1860 United States Senate special election in OregonOregon 1860 45–50 Party Candidate Legislative ballot 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Douglas Democratic La Fayette Grover 16 9 15 14 21 colspan=2 21 7 Republican Amory Holbrook 11 11 13 11 11 12 12 10 11 11 Douglas Democratic George H. Williams 11 12 13 7 7 24 4 10 21 Breckinridge Democratic George L. Curry 8 12 9 5 5 21 6 8 3 7 Douglas Democratic Joseph W. Drew 2 2 2 4 2 4 5 2 Breckinridge Democratic Delazon Smith 1 colspan=9 Douglas Democratic James Nesmith colspan=8 10 Breckinridge Democratic J. H. Reed colspan=8 5 4 Scattering colspan=2 4 4 2 2 2 colspan=2 7 Total votes 49 49 43 47 50 46 48 48 48 50 Votes needed to win 25 25 22 24 26 24 25 25 25 26 Ballots 11–14 (October 2) + 1860 United States Senate special election in OregonOregon 1860 51–53 Party Candidate Legislative ballot 11th 12th 13th 14th Republican Edward D. Baker 23 24 21 26 Douglas Democratic George H. Williams 1 2 20 Breckinridge Democratic George L. Curry 23 24 25 2 Breckinridge Democratic Lansing Stout colspan=3 1 Republican Amory Holbrook 2 1 colspan=2 Blank 1 1 1 1 Total votes 50 50 50 50 Votes needed to win 26 26 26 26 Notes Bibliography Primary sources Oregon Journal of the Proceedings of the Senate of the Legislative Assembly of Oregon [...] 1860 none Salem, OR https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0003090933&seq=1 Secondary sources Carey Charles Henry History of Oregon 1922 Pioneer Historical Publishing Company Chicago https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_Oregon/ox2iAeFUGXQC Johannsen Robert W. Frontier Politics and the Sectional Conflict: The Pacific Northwest on the Eve of the Civil War 1955 University of Washington Press Seattle https://archive.org/details/frontierpolitics0000unse 1860 Oregon United States Senate Oregon 1860 Oregon 1860 United States Senate 1860