U.S. Senate, 1871 Election

General

Date:	January 17, 1871
Cycle:	1871
Office:	U.S. Senate
State:	Minnesota
District:	Statewide

Candidate	Gender	Party	Votes	Percent	Margin
William Windom Incumbent	Man	Republican	43	71.67	+48.33
Richard A. (R.A.) Jones	Man	Democrat	14	23.33
Morton S. Wilkinson	Man	Republican	1	1.67
Cornelius F. (C.F.) Buck	Man	Democrat	1	1.67
Thomas (Thos.) Wilson	Man	Republican	1	1.67

Elected by the state legislature with each chamber voting separately. Windom was the only candidate nominated and received a unanimous vote in the state Senate of all 13 members present. Windom won 30 of 47 votes in the state House with 14 for Jones and one each for Wilkerson, Buck, and Wilson. The legislature declared Windom the duly elected U.S. Senator in a joint convention on January 18, 1871.

Windom was a former five-term U.S. Representative (At-large, 1859-1863; CD 01, 1863-1869).

Jones was an attorney from Rochester and sitting state Representative (HD 12, 1871-1872; HD 10, 1872-1873, 1879-1881).

Wilkinson was an attorney from Stillwater, former territorial Representative (HD 02, 1849-1850), Ramsey County Register of Deeds (1851-1853), and U.S. Senator (1859-1865).

Buck was an attorney from Winona, Democratic nominee for the 1st CD in 1870, and sitting state Senator (SD 11, 1870-1872).

Wilson was a former Associate Justice (1864-1865) and Chief Justice (1865-1869) of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Related Reports

Michele Bachmann and a Brief History of Minnesota US Reps Running for Senate (January 8, 2018)

Sources

Journal of the Senate of the Thirteenth Session of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota, 1871 (p. 30). Journal of the House of Representatives of the Thirteenth Session of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota, 1871 (p. 38, 46).