1881 United States Senate election in New York caucus of the Democratic State legislators met on January 17, State Senator Charles A. Fowler (14th D.) presided. They re-nominated the incumbent U.S. Senator Francis Kernan by acclamation. Thomas C. Platt was the choice of both the State Senate and the Assembly, and was declared elected. Notes: Platt remained in office for only ten weeks, until May 16, 1881, when he resigned together with his boss Roscoe Conkling in protest against the distribution of federal patronage in New York by President James A. Garfield, a Half-Breed, without being consulted, what Conkling said was a breach of a pledge given by
1881 United States Senate special elections in New York pledged by the State Convention to vote for the nomination of former President Ulysses S. Grant, but had broken his pledge and orchestrated the nomination of another candidate. Conkling and Platt then stood for re-election thus trying to rebuke the President and be vindicated by the State Legislature. At the State election in November 1879, 25 Republicans and 7 Democrats were elected for a two-year term (1880–1881) in the State Senate. At the State election in November 1880, 81 Republicans and 47 Democrats were elected for the session of 1881 to the Assembly. The 104th New York State Legislature met