To Thomas Jefferson from Stevens Thomson Mason, 17 October 1800
From Stevens Thomson Mason
Rasberry Plain Octr 17th 1800
Dear Sir
You will probably have heard the issue of the Maryland Elections before this reaches you the aristocrats have sustained a great defeat. the numbers are 46 Reps, 34 Arists, at least. this Statement results from authentic returns that have been received. 5 Counties we have not heard from. we have some, but no great hopes, from them. should they however only give two Republicans, there will be a majority upon a joint ballot of both Houses in the choise of a Successor to Lloyd and in the appointment of their Governor & Council. The Tories of George Town and the Anglo federalist of Washington quite overpowered my brother JTM. they beat him more than two to one. The plan of taking the choice of Electors from the people is however, compleated upset. there will be certainly 5 and most probably 6 Republican Electors. I subjoin the returns of the different elections I am Dear Sir with great regard and respect Your Obt Servt
Stes. Thon Mason
RC (DLC); with election returns written perpendicularly at foot of page; endorsed by TJ as received 3 Nov. and so recorded in SJL.
No great hopes: the Republicans failed to gain any of the twenty seats in the five counties not yet heard from and thus could not control appointments. William Hindman, a Federalist who had served in Congress from 1793 until his defeat in the election of 1798, succeeded James Lloyd, who had resigned his Senate seat (, 9:62; Philadelphia Aurora, 24 Oct. 1800). My brother: according to returns published in the Virginia Argus on 14 Oct., John Thomson Mason received 560 votes while the four Federalist candidates each polled over 1,100.
A letter from TJ to Mason of 13 Sep. 1800, recorded in SJL, has not been found.