Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1838 and 1839, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock.

[3] William Duhurst Merrick won election to a full term by an unknown margin of votes, for the Class 1 seat.

Nathaniel P. Tallmadge had been elected as a Jacksonian Democratic in 1833 to this seat, and his term would expire on March 3, 1839.

On February 4, 1839, the State Legislature elected on joint ballot Spencer, Cooke, Hall and Haight to the offices they were nominated for, but on the next day they could not agree on a U.S.

(see Hammond, page 512) Although the Democratic State Senate majority did not object to be outvoted on joint ballot for the election of Whigs to State offices, they rejected the idea of electing a renegade Democratic to the U.S. Senate, and took refuge to the only means to defeat Tallmadge: They did not nominate anybody, following the precedents of 1819–1820 and 1825–1826, so that a joint ballot could not be held.

There were three elections to the same seat due to the July 4, 1838 resignation of Democrat Felix Grundy to become U.S. Attorney General.