U.S. Senators_ Definition, History, & Facts

US Senator is a member of the US Senate representing one of the states. The Senate consists of 100 senators (two from each state). Senators are elected for a term of 6 years. In accordance with the US Constitution, all seats in the Senate are divided into three classes in order to establish the term of elections: every two years, elections are held for senators belonging to one of the classes, each of which has 33 or 34 seats, that is, a third of the total composition of the chamber. Initially, senators were elected by the legislative assemblies of the respective states until the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted in 1913, which allowed senators to be elected directly by state residents.

In September of 1788, the state of Pennsylvania elected William Maclay and Robert Morris to serve as the first two US senators.

A person who claims to be a senator must be at least 30 years old, be a US citizen for at least 9 years and, at the time of election, be a resident of the state from which he or she is elected.

The first woman elected to the Senate was Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas.

The salary of the US Senator in January 2006 was $165 thousand per year.

The list of active US senators includes participants in the upper house of the US Congress of the 116th convocation, whose term of office began on January 3, 2019.

All seats in the Senate are divided into “three classes.” Every two years, senators of one of the classes are elected (one-third of the entire chamber), which ensures the continuity of the legislative branch.

In the event of the senator’s early dismissal to a vacant seat, irregular snap elections for the corresponding class are held simultaneously with regular elections. The term of office of a senator elected in an irregular election will last 2 or 4 years, that is, it will end on the day that all other senators of his or she class expire.

Senators from each state are necessarily adjacent to two different classes. They are re-elected in their constituencies in regular elections, respectively, after 2 and 4 years in turn. At the same time, the case of the admission of a new state to the United States – in which exactly 2 classes there will be places for 2 new senators – is determined randomly, namely by tossing a coin.

A US senator can be a person who has reached the age of 30, who has been a US citizen at least 9 years and who is a resident of the state which he or she wishes to represent. In the early years of the Senate, the age limit was violated several times (but after 1818 there were no such cases). Joe Biden was elected senator at the age of 29, but by the time of the oath, he was 30.

A senator’s retirement benefits are based on his/her plan, age and how long he/she served.

Various states have their own senator’s election dates. For example, the next Montana senators will be elected on November 3, 2020.

By the way, in Summer 2019, Montana’s state Senate approved an automatic voter registration bill.

List of current United States senators

  1. Alexander, Lamar, Senior Senator for Tennessee, 2003-2020
  2. Baldwin, Tammy, Junior Senator for Wisconsin, 2013-2024
  3. Barrasso, John, Junior Senator for Wyoming, 2007-2024
  4. Bennet, Michael, Senior Senator for Colorado, 2009-2022
  5. Blackburn, Marsha, Junior Senator for Tennessee, 2019-2024
  6. Blumenthal, Richard, Senior Senator for Connecticut, 2011-2022
  7. Blunt, Roy, Senior Senator for Missouri, 2011-2022
  8. Booker, Cory, Junior Senator for New Jersey, 2013-2020
  9. Boozman, John, Senior Senator for Arkansas, 2011-2022
  10. Braun, Mike, Junior Senator for Indiana, 2019-2024
  11. Brown, Sherrod, Senior Senator for Ohio, 2007-2024
  12. Burr, Richard, Senior Senator for North Carolina, 2005-2022
  13. Cantwell, Maria, Junior Senator for Washington, 2001-2024
  14. Capito, Shelley, Junior Senator for West Virginia, 2015-2020
  15. Cardin, Benjamin, Senior Senator for Maryland, 2007-2024
  16. Carper, Thomas, Senior Senator for Delaware, 2001-2024
  17. Casey, Robert “Bob”, Senior Senator for Pennsylvania, 2007-2024
  18. Cassidy, Bill, Senior Senator for Louisiana, 2015-2020
  19. Collins, Susan, Senior Senator for Maine, 1997-2020
  20. Coons, Chris, Junior Senator for Delaware, 2010-2020
  21. Cornyn, John, Senior Senator for Texas, 2002-2020
  22. Cortez Masto, Catherine, Senior Senator for Nevada, 2017-2022
  23. Cotton, Tom, Junior Senator for Arkansas, 2015-2020
  24. Cramer, Kevin, Junior Senator for North Dakota, 2019-2024
  25. Crapo, Michael, Senior Senator for Idaho, 1999-2022
  26. Cruz, Ted, Junior Senator for Texas, 2013-2024
  27. Daines, Steve, Junior Senator for Montana, 2015-2020
  28. Duckworth, Tammy, Junior Senator for Illinois, 2017-2022
  29. Durbin, Richard, Senior Senator for Illinois, 1997-2020
  30. Enzi, Michael, Senior Senator for Wyoming, 1997-2020
  31. Ernst, Joni, Junior Senator for Iowa, 2015-2020
  32. Feinstein, Dianne, Senior Senator for California, 1992-2024
  33. Fischer, Deb, Senior Senator for Nebraska, 2013-2024
  34. Gardner, Cory, Junior Senator for Colorado, 2015-2020
  35. Gillibrand, Kirsten, Junior Senator for New York, 2009-2024ho
  36. Graham, Lindsey, Senior Senator for South Carolina, 2003-2020
  37. Grassley, Charles “Chuck”, Senior Senator for Iowa, 1981-2022
  38. Harris, Kamala, Junior Senator for California, 2017-2022
  39. Hassan, Margaret “Maggie”, Junior Senator for New Hampshire, 2017-2022
  40. Hawley, Joshua, Junior Senator for Missouri, 2019-2024
  41. Heinrich, Martin, Junior Senator for New Mexico, 2013-2024
  42. Hirono, Mazie, Junior Senator for Hawaii, 2013-2024
  43. Hoeven, John, Senior Senator for North Dakota, 2011-2022
  44. Hyde-Smith, Cindy, Junior Senator for Mississippi, 2018-2020
  45. Inhofe, James “Jim”, Senior Senator for Oklahoma, 1994-2020
  46. Isakson, John “Johnny”, Senior Senator for Georgia, 2005-2022
  47. Johnson, Ron, Senior Senator for Wisconsin, 2011-2022
  48. Jones, Doug, Junior Senator for Alabama, 2018-2020
  49. Kaine, Timothy “Tim”, Junior Senator for Virginia, 2013-2024
  50. Kennedy, John, Junior Senator for Louisiana, 2017-2022
  51. King, Angus, Junior Senator for Maine, 2013-2024
  52. Klobuchar, Amy, Senior Senator for Minnesota, 2007-2024
  53. Lankford, James, Junior Senator for Oklahoma, 2015-2022
  54. Leahy, Patrick, Senior Senator for Vermont, 1975-2022
  55. Lee, Mike, Senior Senator for Utah, 2011-2022
  56. Manchin, Joe, Senior Senator for West Virginia, 2010-2024
  57. Markey, Edward “Ed”, Junior Senator for Massachusetts, 2013-2020
  58. McConnell, Mitch, Senior Senator for Kentucky, 1985-2020
  59. McSally, Martha, Junior Senator for Arizona, 2019-2020
  60. Menendez, Robert “Bob”, Senior Senator for New Jersey, 2006-2024
  61. Merkley, Jeff, Junior Senator for Oregon, 2009-2020
  62. Moran, Jerry, Junior Senator for Kansas, 2011-2022
  63. Murkowski, Lisa, Senior Senator for Alaska, 2003-2022
  64. Murphy, Christopher, Junior Senator for Connecticut, 2013-2024
  65. Murray, Patty, Senior Senator for Washington, 1993-2022
  66. Paul, Rand, Junior Senator for Kentucky, 2011-2022
  67. Perdue, David, Junior Senator for Georgia, 2015-2020
  68. Peters, Gary, Junior Senator for Michigan, 2015-2020
  69. Portman, Robert “Rob”, Junior Senator for Ohio, 2011-2022
  70. Reed, John “Jack”, Senior Senator for Rhode Island, 1997-2020
  71. Risch, James, Junior Senator for Idaho, 2009-2020
  72. Roberts, Pat, Senior Senator for Kansas, 1997-2020
  73. Romney, Mitt, Junior Senator for Utah, 2019-2024
  74. Rosen, Jacky, Junior Senator for Nevada, 2019-2024
  75. Rounds, Mike, Junior Senator for South Dakota, 2015-2020
  76. Rubio, Marco, Senior Senator for Florida, 2011-2022
  77. Sanders, Bernard “Bernie”, Junior Senator for Vermont, 2007-2024
  78. Sasse, Benjamin, Junior Senator for Nebraska, 2015-2020
  79. Schatz, Brian, Senior Senator for Hawaii, 2012-2022
  80. Schumer, Charles “Chuck”, Senior Senator for New York, 1999-2022
  81. Scott, Rick, Junior Senator for Florida, 2019-2024
  82. Scott, Tim, Junior Senator for South Carolina, 2013-2022
  83. Shaheen, Jeanne, Senior Senator for New Hampshire, 2009-2020
  84. Shelby, Richard, Senior Senator for Alabama, 1987-2022
  85. Sinema, Kyrsten, Senior Senator for Arizona, 2019-2024
  86. Smith, Tina, Junior Senator for Minnesota, 2018-2020
  87. Stabenow, Debbie, Senior Senator for Michigan, 2001-2024
  88. Sullivan, Dan, Junior Senator for Alaska, 2015-2020
  89. Tester, Jon, Senior Senator for Montana, 2007-2024
  90. Thune, John, Senior Senator for South Dakota, 2005-2022
  91. Tillis, Thom, Junior Senator for North Carolina, 2015-2020
  92. Toomey, Patrick “Pat”, Junior Senator for Pennsylvania, 2011-2022
  93. Udall, Tom, Senior Senator for New Mexico, 2009-2020
  94. Van Hollen, Chris, Junior Senator for Maryland, 2017-2022
  95. Warner, Mark, Senior Senator for Virginia, 2009-2020
  96. Warren, Elizabeth, Senior Senator for Massachusetts, 2013-2024
  97. Whitehouse, Sheldon, Junior Senator for Rhode Island, 2007-2024
  98. Wicker, Roger, Senior Senator for Mississippi, 2007-2024
  99. Wyden, Ron, Senior Senator for Oregon, 1996-2022
  100. Young, Todd, Senior Senator for Indiana, 2017-2022