1880–81 United States Senate elections

The 1880–81 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with the presidential election of 1880. As these U.S. Senate 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 1880 and 1881, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. In these elections, terms were up for the senators in Class 1.

1880–81 United States Senate elections
Dates vary by state
(And other dates for special elections)
25 of the 76 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections)
39 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Henry B. Anthony William A. Wallace
(Lost re-election)
Party Republican Democratic
Leader since March 4, 1863 March 4, 1877
Leader's seat Rhode Island Pennsylvania
Seats before 32 42
Seats won 15 9
Seats after 37 + VP 37
Seat change 5 5
Seats up 10 14
  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Readjuster Independent
Seats before 0 1
Seats won 1 0
Seats after 1 1
Seat change 1
Seats up 0 0
  Fifth party
 
Party Anti-Monopoly
Seats before 1
Seats won 0
Seats after 0
Seat change 1
Seats up 1
Results of the elections:
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold
     Republican gain      Republican hold
     Readjuster gain
Majority Party before election


Democratic

 Elected Majority Party


Republican

The Democratic Party lost five seats. The newly elected Readjuster senator William Mahone caucused with the Republicans, and the Republican Vice President's tie-breaking vote gave the Republicans the slightest majority. This changed when Vice President Chester Arthur ascended to the Presidency on September 19, 1881: with the Vice Presidency vacant during the remainder of Arthur's term, the Senate became evenly divided for the first of three times in history.

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