1872–73 United States Senate elections
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24 of the 74 seats in the United States Senate (with special elections) 38 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the elections: Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold Liberal Republican gain Legislature failed to elect | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1872–73 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states, coinciding with President Ulysses S. Grant's re-election. 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 1872 and 1873, 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 3.
The Republican Party, while still retaining a commanding majority, lost two seats. By the beginning of the Congress, however, they would lose three more: two as defections to the Liberal Republican Party, and one a resignation of Henry Wilson to become U.S. Vice President. This remains the last election in which Republicans held a 2/3 majority in the Senate.