1859 United States Senate election in Minnesota

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1859 United States Senate election in Minnesota | <- 1857 | December 15, 1859 | 1865 ->

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Majority vote of the Minnesota Legislature needed to win
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Nominee  | Morton S. Wilkinson | James Shields |
Party  | Republican | Democratic
Electoral vote  | 79 | 33
Percentage  | 69.9% | 29.2%

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| Senator before election

James Shields
Democratic

| Elected Senator

Morton S. Wilkinson
Republican

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The 1859 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place for the state's Class II seat on December 15, 1859 by the Minnesota legislature in a joint convention. Democratic incumbent James Shields drew the short-term Class II seat lot (expiring March 3, 1859) when he was elected on December 19, 1857 prior to Minnesota statehood.

## Candidates[edit]

### Democrat[edit]

* Willis A. Gorman, former Minnesota Territorial Governor (1853-1857)[1]
* James Shields, U.S. Senator since 1858, former Governor of Oregon Territory (1848-1849), former U.S. Senator from Illinois (1849-1855)[1]

### Republican[edit]

* Morton S. Wilkinson, Attorney from Stillwater, former Minnesota territorial Representative from the 2nd House District (1849-1850), former Ramsey County Register of Deeds (1851-1853)[1]

## Results[edit]

1859 Minnesota U.S. Senate Election[1]

Republican | Morton S. Wilkinson | 79 | 69.91
Democrat  | James Shields (inc.)  | 33  | 29.20
Democrat  | Willis A. Gorman  | 1  | 0.88
Total Votes | 133 | 100.0

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d University of Minnesota Libraries, University of Minnesota. "1859 Minnesota U.S. Senate Election". Minnesota Historical Election Archive. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.