The 1843 United States Senate election in New York was held on February 7, 1843, by the New York State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator (Class 3) to represent the State of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 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...

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Background

Silas Wright, Jr., had been elected in 1833 to this seat after the resignation of William L. Marcy

William L. Marcy

William Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...

, and had been re-elected in 1837. Wright's term would expire on March 3, 1843.

At the State election in November 1842

New York gubernatorial election, 1842

The 1840 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1840 to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York.-Background:This was the first gubernatorial election in New York which was held on a single day. Until 1840, the State elections had been held during three days beginning...

, Democrat William C. Bouck

William C. Bouck

William Christian Bouck was an American politician from New York. He was the 13th Governor of New York from 1843 to 1844.-Life:...

 was elected Governor, 93 Democrats and 35 Whigs were elected to the Assembly, and 8 Democrats and 1 Whig were elected to the State Senate. The 66th State Legislature met from January 3 to April 18, 1843, at Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

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Candidates

The incumbent U.S. Senator Silas Wright, Jr., was re-nominated unanimously by a Democratic caucus on the eve of the election.

Congressman Millard Fillmore was the candidate of the Whig Party.

Ex-New York State Comptroller

New York State Comptroller

The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...

 John A. Collier and Ex-Lieutenant Governor of New York

Lieutenant Governor of New York

The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of New York State. It is the second highest ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four year term...

 Luther Bradish received scattering votes in the State Senate, and 15 scattering Whig votes were cast in the Assembly.

Result

Silas Wright, Jr., was the choice of both the Assembly and the Senate, and was declared elected.

1843 United States Senator election result

Office	House	Democrat		Whig		Whig		Whig
U.S. Senator	State Senate New York State Senate The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...  (32 members)	Silas Wright, Jr.	17	Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...	6	John A. Collier John A. Collier John Allen Collier was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:...	1	Luther Bradish Luther Bradish Luther Bradish was an American lawyer and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1839 to 1842.-Life:...	1
	State Assembly New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...  (128 members)	Silas Wright, Jr.	77	Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...	16

Aftermath

Wright continued in the U.S. Senate, and remained in office until November 1844 when he resigned after his election as Governor of New York

Governor of New York

The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...

. Henry A. Foster

Henry A. Foster

Henry Allen Foster was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a United States Senator from 1844 to 1845.-Life:His family moved to Cazenovia, New York when he was a boy...

 was appointed to fill the vacancy temporarily, but the State Legislature elected John Adams Dix

John Adams Dix

John Adams Dix was an American politician from New York. He served as Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, and the 24th Governor of New York. He was also a Union major general during the Civil War.-Early life and career:...

 for the remainder of Wright's term.

Sources

• The New York Civil List compiled in 1858 (see: pg. 63 for U.S. Senators; pg. 134 for State Senators 1843; pg. 227f for Members of Assembly 1843)
• Members of the 28th United States Congress
• Political History of the State of New York, from Jan. 1, 1841, to Jan. 1, 1847; Vol. III by Jabez Delano Hammond (State election, 1842: pg. 311f; U.S. Senate election, 1843: pg. 349)