The United States Senate election of 1880 was an election which conicided with the presidential election of 1880

United States presidential election, 1880

The United States presidential election of 1880 was largely seen as a referendum on the end of Reconstruction in Southern states carried out by the Republicans. There were no pressing issues of the day save tariffs, with the Republicans supporting higher tariffs and the Democrats supporting lower...

, and which had the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 lose five seats in the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, causing it and the Republican Party to have the same number of seats, leading to a Senate without a clear majority Party; but the Republican Party did hold the Vice-Presidency.

As this election was prior to ratification of the seventeenth amendment

Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...

, Senators were chosen by State legislatures.

Results

47th Congress

47th United States Congress

The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration...

 (1881–1883)

• Majority Party: Republican (37)
• Minority Party: Democratic (37)
• Other Parties: Independent (1); Readjuster
  Readjuster Party
  The Readjuster Party was a political coalition formed in Virginia in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the American Civil War. Readjusters aspired "to break the power of wealth and established privilege" and to promote public education, a program which attracted biracial support....
  
   (1)
• Total Seats: 76

Change in Senate composition

EWLINE Senate composition in the 46th Congress 46th United States Congress The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of...  D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D     D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   I   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R

EWLINE Senate composition in the 47th Congress 47th United States Congress The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration...  D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D     D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   I   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   D   J   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R   R

Key:    D  =Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...    J  =Readjuster    R  =Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...    I  =Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

See also

• United States presidential election, 1880
  United States presidential election, 1880
  The United States presidential election of 1880 was largely seen as a referendum on the end of Reconstruction in Southern states carried out by the Republicans. There were no pressing issues of the day save tariffs, with the Republicans supporting higher tariffs and the Democrats supporting lower...
  
  
• United States House of Representatives elections, 1880