Toucey was elected on the 33d ballot. The deeply divided Connecticut legislature was unable to find a candidate with majority support in 1850 or 1851, leaving the seat vacant for 14 months.

The issue that divided both the Connecticut Whigs and Democrats was the Compromise of 1850. Sen. Baldwin had taken a prominent role in the debates, in particular arguing against the Fugitive Slave Act. Fillmore supporters in the legislature (the Silver Gray Whigs) refused to vote for his re-election as a result. The Democrats were divided between those favoring a states' rights position and those whose primary interest was holding the Union together, but they were in the minority in the legislature. The Free Soil members of the legislature sometimes supported Baldwin, but they found him too moderate and often reverted to other Free Soil candidates instead.

Balloting began on 6/5/1850. The legislature of 1850 took 13 ballots over four days, and the high vote for any candidate was 8 less than a majority. The Whigs generally supported Baldwin. The Democrats supported Toucey on the first three ballots, then Ingham on ballots 4 and 5, followed by Waldo for ballots 6 through 12 and finally Catlin on the 13th. On 6/20, the legislature voted to stop balloting in the hopes that the upcoming election would adjust the membership of the legislature and make it possible for someone to obtain a majority of the vote for US Senate.

The legislature of 1851 had the same problem and could not find

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Toucey was elected on the 33d ballot. The deeply divided Connecticut legislature was unable to find a candidate with majority support in 1850 or 1851, leaving the seat vacant for 14 months.

The issue that divided both the Connecticut Whigs and Democrats was the Compromise of 1850. Sen. Baldwin had taken a prominent role in the debates, in particular arguing against the Fugitive Slave Act. Fillmore supporters in the legislature (the Silver Gray Whigs) refused to vote for his re-election as a result. The Democrats were divided between those favoring a states' rights position and those whose primary interest was holding the Union together, but they were in the minority in the legislature. The Free Soil members of the legislature sometimes supported Baldwin, but they found him too moderate and often reverted to other Free Soil candidates instead.

Balloting began on 6/5/1850. The legislature of 1850 took 13 ballots over four days, and the high vote for any candidate was 8 less than a majority. The Whigs generally supported Baldwin. The Democrats supported Toucey on the first three ballots, then Ingham on ballots 4 and 5, followed by Waldo for ballots 6 through 12 and finally Catlin on the 13th. On 6/20, the legislature voted to stop balloting in the hopes that the upcoming election would adjust the membership of the legislature and make it possible for someone to obtain a majority of the vote for US Senate.

The legislature of 1851 had the same problem and could not find anyone with sufficient support to win a majority. It took 19 ballots (ballots 14 through 32). The Democratic candidate on these ballots was usually Thomas H. Seymour, who placed first on ballots 14 to 18. Baldwin had the most support on ballots 20 through 26 and on several of these ballots was only three short of a majority. By this time, the Senate seat was vacant, but the governor chose not to appoint someone to fill the vacancy.

In the state elections in early 1852, the Democrats gained enough legislative seats to hold a majority over the Whigs and Free Soilers. On the first ballot of the session (33d for the seat), they elected Toucey. After the vote, he resigned, went home and packed a suitcase, and took a train to Washington DC where he took office the following day. The result of the 33d ballot is shown here.

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