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
- Alexander, Lamar, Senior Senator for Tennessee, 2003-2020
- Baldwin, Tammy, Junior Senator for Wisconsin, 2013-2024
- Barrasso, John, Junior Senator for Wyoming, 2007-2024
- Bennet, Michael, Senior Senator for Colorado, 2009-2022
- Blackburn, Marsha, Junior Senator for Tennessee, 2019-2024
- Blumenthal, Richard, Senior Senator for Connecticut, 2011-2022
- Blunt, Roy, Senior Senator for Missouri, 2011-2022
- Booker, Cory, Junior Senator for New Jersey, 2013-2020
- Boozman, John, Senior Senator for Arkansas, 2011-2022
- Braun, Mike, Junior Senator for Indiana, 2019-2024
- Brown, Sherrod, Senior Senator for Ohio, 2007-2024
- Burr, Richard, Senior Senator for North Carolina, 2005-2022
- Cantwell, Maria, Junior Senator for Washington, 2001-2024
- Capito, Shelley, Junior Senator for West Virginia, 2015-2020
- Cardin, Benjamin, Senior Senator for Maryland, 2007-2024
- Carper, Thomas, Senior Senator for Delaware, 2001-2024
- Casey, Robert “Bob”, Senior Senator for Pennsylvania, 2007-2024
- Cassidy, Bill, Senior Senator for Louisiana, 2015-2020
- Collins, Susan, Senior Senator for Maine, 1997-2020
- Coons, Chris, Junior Senator for Delaware, 2010-2020
- Cornyn, John, Senior Senator for Texas, 2002-2020
- Cortez Masto, Catherine, Senior Senator for Nevada, 2017-2022
- Cotton, Tom, Junior Senator for Arkansas, 2015-2020
- Cramer, Kevin, Junior Senator for North Dakota, 2019-2024
- Crapo, Michael, Senior Senator for Idaho, 1999-2022
- Cruz, Ted, Junior Senator for Texas, 2013-2024
- Daines, Steve, Junior Senator for Montana, 2015-2020
- Duckworth, Tammy, Junior Senator for Illinois, 2017-2022
- Durbin, Richard, Senior Senator for Illinois, 1997-2020
- Enzi, Michael, Senior Senator for Wyoming, 1997-2020
- Ernst, Joni, Junior Senator for Iowa, 2015-2020
- Feinstein, Dianne, Senior Senator for California, 1992-2024
- Fischer, Deb, Senior Senator for Nebraska, 2013-2024
- Gardner, Cory, Junior Senator for Colorado, 2015-2020
- Gillibrand, Kirsten, Junior Senator for New York, 2009-2024ho
- Graham, Lindsey, Senior Senator for South Carolina, 2003-2020
- Grassley, Charles “Chuck”, Senior Senator for Iowa, 1981-2022
- Harris, Kamala, Junior Senator for California, 2017-2022
- Hassan, Margaret “Maggie”, Junior Senator for New Hampshire, 2017-2022
- Hawley, Joshua, Junior Senator for Missouri, 2019-2024
- Heinrich, Martin, Junior Senator for New Mexico, 2013-2024
- Hirono, Mazie, Junior Senator for Hawaii, 2013-2024
- Hoeven, John, Senior Senator for North Dakota, 2011-2022
- Hyde-Smith, Cindy, Junior Senator for Mississippi, 2018-2020
- Inhofe, James “Jim”, Senior Senator for Oklahoma, 1994-2020
- Isakson, John “Johnny”, Senior Senator for Georgia, 2005-2022
- Johnson, Ron, Senior Senator for Wisconsin, 2011-2022
- Jones, Doug, Junior Senator for Alabama, 2018-2020
- Kaine, Timothy “Tim”, Junior Senator for Virginia, 2013-2024
- Kennedy, John, Junior Senator for Louisiana, 2017-2022
- King, Angus, Junior Senator for Maine, 2013-2024
- Klobuchar, Amy, Senior Senator for Minnesota, 2007-2024
- Lankford, James, Junior Senator for Oklahoma, 2015-2022
- Leahy, Patrick, Senior Senator for Vermont, 1975-2022
- Lee, Mike, Senior Senator for Utah, 2011-2022
- Manchin, Joe, Senior Senator for West Virginia, 2010-2024
- Markey, Edward “Ed”, Junior Senator for Massachusetts, 2013-2020
- McConnell, Mitch, Senior Senator for Kentucky, 1985-2020
- McSally, Martha, Junior Senator for Arizona, 2019-2020
- Menendez, Robert “Bob”, Senior Senator for New Jersey, 2006-2024
- Merkley, Jeff, Junior Senator for Oregon, 2009-2020
- Moran, Jerry, Junior Senator for Kansas, 2011-2022
- Murkowski, Lisa, Senior Senator for Alaska, 2003-2022
- Murphy, Christopher, Junior Senator for Connecticut, 2013-2024
- Murray, Patty, Senior Senator for Washington, 1993-2022
- Paul, Rand, Junior Senator for Kentucky, 2011-2022
- Perdue, David, Junior Senator for Georgia, 2015-2020
- Peters, Gary, Junior Senator for Michigan, 2015-2020
- Portman, Robert “Rob”, Junior Senator for Ohio, 2011-2022
- Reed, John “Jack”, Senior Senator for Rhode Island, 1997-2020
- Risch, James, Junior Senator for Idaho, 2009-2020
- Roberts, Pat, Senior Senator for Kansas, 1997-2020
- Romney, Mitt, Junior Senator for Utah, 2019-2024
- Rosen, Jacky, Junior Senator for Nevada, 2019-2024
- Rounds, Mike, Junior Senator for South Dakota, 2015-2020
- Rubio, Marco, Senior Senator for Florida, 2011-2022
- Sanders, Bernard “Bernie”, Junior Senator for Vermont, 2007-2024
- Sasse, Benjamin, Junior Senator for Nebraska, 2015-2020
- Schatz, Brian, Senior Senator for Hawaii, 2012-2022
- Schumer, Charles “Chuck”, Senior Senator for New York, 1999-2022
- Scott, Rick, Junior Senator for Florida, 2019-2024
- Scott, Tim, Junior Senator for South Carolina, 2013-2022
- Shaheen, Jeanne, Senior Senator for New Hampshire, 2009-2020
- Shelby, Richard, Senior Senator for Alabama, 1987-2022
- Sinema, Kyrsten, Senior Senator for Arizona, 2019-2024
- Smith, Tina, Junior Senator for Minnesota, 2018-2020
- Stabenow, Debbie, Senior Senator for Michigan, 2001-2024
- Sullivan, Dan, Junior Senator for Alaska, 2015-2020
- Tester, Jon, Senior Senator for Montana, 2007-2024
- Thune, John, Senior Senator for South Dakota, 2005-2022
- Tillis, Thom, Junior Senator for North Carolina, 2015-2020
- Toomey, Patrick “Pat”, Junior Senator for Pennsylvania, 2011-2022
- Udall, Tom, Senior Senator for New Mexico, 2009-2020
- Van Hollen, Chris, Junior Senator for Maryland, 2017-2022
- Warner, Mark, Senior Senator for Virginia, 2009-2020
- Warren, Elizabeth, Senior Senator for Massachusetts, 2013-2024
- Whitehouse, Sheldon, Junior Senator for Rhode Island, 2007-2024
- Wicker, Roger, Senior Senator for Mississippi, 2007-2024
- Wyden, Ron, Senior Senator for Oregon, 1996-2022
- Young, Todd, Senior Senator for Indiana, 2017-2022