Elections in Massachusetts |
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Elections to the Massachusetts Senate were held during 1787 to elect 40 State Senators. Candidates were elected at the county level, with some counties electing multiple Senators.
For election, a candidate needed the support of a majority of those voting. If a seat remained vacant because no candidate received such majority, the Massachusetts General Court was empowered to fill it by a majority vote of its members.
The primary issue in this race was the ongoing ratification of the United States Constitution by a separate ratifying convention; the reaction divided the state (and nation) between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, though the factions did not appear as strictly formal political parties until 1789.
The elections were also held during the midst of Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts against the national government, formed in opposition to the ongoing debt crisis.
See also: List of former districts of the Massachusetts Senate |
The apportionment of seats by population was as follows:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Thomas Smith | 358 | 68.32% | |
Scattering | All others | 166 | 31.68% | |
Total votes | 524 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Thompson J. Skinner (incumbent) | 659 | 78.45% | |
Unknown | Elijah Dwight | 503 | 59.88% | |
Total votes | 840 | 100.00% |
Both candidates were elected.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Holder Slocum | 1,507 | 74.49% | |
Unknown | Abraham White | 1,504 | 74.35% | |
Unknown | Phanuel Bishop | 1,111 | 54.92% | |
Total votes | 2,023 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Josiah Thacher | 286 | 63.56% | |
Scattering | All others | 164 | 36.44% | |
Total votes | 450 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Matthew Mayhew | 155 | 43.78% | |
Unknown | Thomas Cooke | 137 | 38.70% | |
Scattering | All others | 62 | 17.51% | |
Total votes | 354 | 100.00% |
Because Mayhew failed to achieve a majority, the election was put to the General Court, which certified his election with near unanimity.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Matthew Mayhew | 178 | 90.82% | |
Total votes | 196 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Federalist | Benjamin Goodhue (incumbent) | 1,493 | 63.83% | |
Unknown | Aaron Wood | 1,313 | 56.14% | |
Unknown | Peter Coffin | 1,241 | 53.06% | |
Unknown | Israel Hutchinson | 1,124 | 48.05% | |
Federalist | Tristram Dalton (incumbent) | 1,105 | 47.24% | |
Unknown | Samuel Holton | 882 | 38.70% | |
Unknown | John Manning | 858 | 37.71% | |
Unknown | Jonathan Greenleaf | 850 | 36.34% | |
Unknown | Stephen Choate | 808 | 34.54% | |
Total votes | 2,339 | 100.00% |
Dalton, Choate, and Greenleaf would subsequently be elected by the General Court.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Federalist | Tristram Dalton (incumbent) | 207 | 95.83% | |
Unknown | Stephen Choate | 121 | 56.02% | |
Unknown | Jonathan Greenleaf | 121 | 56.02% | |
Total votes | 216 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Federalist | Caleb Strong (incumbent) | 696 | 50.51% | |
Unknown | John Hastings | 620 | 44.99% | |
Unknown | Oliver Phelps | 517 | 37.52% | |
Unknown | William Shepard | 477 | 34.62% | |
Unknown | David Smead | 362 | 26.27% | |
Unknown | David Sexton | 339 | 24.60% | |
Unknown | John Bliss | 313 | 22.71% | |
Total votes | 1,378 | 100.00% |
Hastings, Smead, and Phelps were subsequently elected by the General Court.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | John Hastings | 218 | 99.09% | |
Unknown | Oliver Phelps | 158 | 71.82% | |
Unknown | David Smead | 145 | 65.90% | |
Total votes | 220 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Samuel Thompson | 307 | 56.43% | |
Scattering | All others | 237 | 43.57% | |
Total votes | 544 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Joseph B. Varnum (incumbent) | 2,005 | 75.95% | |
Unknown | Isaac Stearns | 1,892 | 71.67% | |
Unknown | Ebenezer Bridge | 1,403 | 53.14% | |
Unknown | Walter MacFarland | 1,300 | 49.24% | |
Unknown | Joseph Hosmer | 924 | 35.00% | |
Unknown | Marshal Spring | 831 | 31.48% | |
Unknown | Eleazer Brooks | 720 | 27.27% | |
Total votes | 2,640 | 100.00% |
Based on returns from Weston, Ezra Sergant, Abraham Fuller, James Prescot, Joseph Curtis, Thomas Fairweather, Joseph Roberts, John Brooks, and Abner Sanderson also received votes, but how many they received county-wide is unknown.[13]
Hosmer and MacFarland were subsequently elected by the General Court.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Joseph Hosmer | 127 | 58.26% | |
Unknown | Walter MacFarland | 116 | 53.21% | |
Total votes | 218 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Nathan Mitchel | 890 | 63.44% | |
Unknown | Noah Fearing | 537 | 38.28% | |
Unknown | Charles Turner | 401 | 28.58% | |
Unknown | Nathan Cushing | 369 | 26.30% | |
Unknown | Abraham Holmes | 350 | 24.95% | |
Total votes | 1,403 | 100.00% |
Turner and Cushing were subsequently elected by the General Court.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Nathan Cushing | 143 | 64.71% | |
Unknown | Charles Turner | 118 | 53.39% | |
Total votes | 221 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Stephen Metcalf | 2,087 | 65.75% | |
Federalist | Cotton Tufts | 1,976 | 62.26% | |
Anti-Federalist | Samuel Adams | 1,704 | 53.69% | |
Federalist | William Phillips Jr. | 1,590 | 50.09% | |
Unknown | Thomas Dawes | 1,137 | 35.82% | |
Unknown | Benjamin Austin Jr. | 1,056 | 33.27% | |
Anti-Federalist | James Warren | 1,031 | 32.48% | |
Unknown | Elijah Dunbar | 994 | 31.32% | |
Total votes | 3,174 | 100.00% |
Austin and Dunbar were subsequently elected by the General Court. (No result is listed for Dunbar's election.)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Benjamin Austin Jr. | 129 | 61.72% | |
Total votes | 209 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Jonathan Grout (incumbent) | 2,341 | 67.72% | |
Unknown | Samuel Curtis | 2,290 | 66.24% | |
Unknown | Abel Wilder | 1,841 | 53.25% | |
Unknown | Joseph Stone | 1,635 | 47.30% | |
Anti-Federalist | Amos Singletary | 1,133 | 32.77% | |
Unknown | Seth Washburn | 991 | 28.67% | |
Unknown | Peter Penniman | 892 | 25.80% | |
Total votes | 3,457 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anti-Federalist | Amos Singletary | 110 | 52.13% | |
Unknown | Seth Washburn | 109 | 51.66% | |
Total votes | 211 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | John Frost | 271 | 48.13% | |
Unknown | Tristram Jordan | 232 | 41.21% | |
Unknown | Ichabod Goodwin | 149 | 26.47% | |
Unknown | Edward Cutts | 110 | 19.54% | |
Total votes | 563 | 100.00% |
No candidate received a majority. Cutts and Jordan were subsequently elected by the General Court.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | Edward Cutts | 112 | 52.13% | |
Unknown | Tristram Jordan | 109 | 51.66% | |
Total votes | 211 | 100.00% |