1857 United States Senate special election in California

1857 United States Senate special election in California

January 13, 1857
Majority vote of both houses needed to win
Nominee William M. Gwin Henry A. Crabb Aaron A. Sargent Party Democratic Know Nothing Republican Joint session 82 17 11 Percentage 72.57% 15.04% 9.73%
Senator before election None (Legislature failed to elect) Elected Senator William M. Gwin Democratic

The 1857 United States Senate special election in California was held on January 13, 1857, by the California State Legislature to elect a U.S. Senator (Class 3) to represent the State of California in the United States Senate. Legislators had previously attempted to elect a Senator in 1855, but could not reach a majority for a single candidate. In a special joint session, former Democratic Senator William M. Gwin was re-elected over Know Nothing State Senator Henry A. Crabb and Republican Nevada County District Attorney Aaron A. Sargent.

Results

Election in the Legislature (joint session)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William M. Gwin	82	72.57%
	Know Nothing	Henry A. Crabb	17	15.04%
	Republican	Aaron A. Sargent	11	9.73%
	Republican	Edward Stanly	2	1.77%
		Scattering	1	0.88%
Total votes			113	100.00%