Tennessee was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1796. Its United States Senate seats were declared vacant in March 1862 owing to its secession from the Union. They were again filled from July 1866. Tennessee's current Senators are Republicans Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn.
Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States. Tennessee is bordered by eight states, with Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the west, and Missouri to the northwest. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, and the Mississippi River forms the state's western border. Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, with a 2017 population of 667,560 and a 2017 metro population of 1,903,045. Tennessee's second largest city is Memphis, which had a population of 652,236 in 2017.
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol Building, in Washington, D.C.
Class 1 Class 1 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012. The next election will be in 2018. | C o n g r e s s | Class 2 Class 2 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. The next election will be in 2020. | ||||||||||
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# | Senator | Party | Years in office | Electoral history | T e r m | T e r m | Electoral history | Years in office | Party | Senator | # | |
Vacant | June 1, 1796 – August 2, 1796 | Tennessee did not elect its Senators until two months after statehood. | 1 | 4th | 1 | Tennessee did not elect its Senators until two months after statehood. | June 1, 1796 – August 2, 1796 | Vacant | ||||
1 | William Cocke | Democratic-Republican | August 2, 1796 – September 26, 1797 | Elected in 1796. | Elected in 1796. Expelled for conspiracy with the Kingdom of Great Britain. | August 2, 1796 – July 8, 1797 | Democratic-Republican | William Blount | 1 | |||
Appointed to begin the term due to legislature's failure to elect. [1] Lost re-election. | 2 | 5th | ||||||||||
July 8, 1797 – September 26, 1797 | Vacant | |||||||||||
2 | Andrew Jackson | Democratic-Republican | September 26, 1797 – April 1, 1798 | Elected to finish Cocke's term. Resigned. | Elected to finish Blount's term. Resigned when elected to the Class 1 seat. | September 26, 1797 – March 3, 1799 | Democratic-Republican | Joseph Anderson | 2 | |||
Vacant | April 1, 1798 – October 6, 1798 | |||||||||||
3 | Daniel Smith | Democratic-Republican | October 6, 1798 – March 3, 1799 | Appointed to finish Jackson's term. Retired. | ||||||||
4 | Joseph Anderson | Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1803 | Elected December 12, 1798 to finish Jackson's term. | 6th | 2 | Elected December 12, 1798. Retired or lost re-election. | March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1805 | Democratic-Republican | William Cocke | 3 | |
7th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | March 4, 1803 – September 22, 1803 | Anderson's re-election was late. | 3 | 8th | ||||||||
Joseph Anderson | Democratic-Republican | September 22, 1803 – March 3, 1809 | Re-elected late September 22, 1803. | |||||||||
9th | 3 | Elected early September 23, 1803. Resigned. | March 4, 1805 – March 31, 1809 | Democratic-Republican | Daniel Smith | 4 | ||||||
10th | ||||||||||||
March 4, 1809 – April 11, 1809 | Appointed to begin the term due to legislature's failure to elect. [1] | 4 | 11th | |||||||||
April 1, 1809 – April 11, 1809 | Vacant | |||||||||||
April 11, 1809 – March 3, 1815 | Re-elected late in 1809. Retired. | Elected to finish Smith's term. | April 11, 1809 – October 8, 1811 | Democratic-Republican | Jenkin Whiteside | 5 | ||||||
12th | 4 | Re-elected early October 28, 1809. Resigned. | ||||||||||
Elected October 1, 1811 to finish Whiteside's term. [2] Resigned. | October 8, 1811 – February 11, 1814 | Democratic-Republican | George W. Campbell | 6 | ||||||||
13th | ||||||||||||
February 12, 1814 – March 16, 1814 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Campbell's term. Retired when his successor was elected. | March 17, 1814 – October 10, 1815 | Democratic-Republican | Jesse Wharton | 7 | ||||||||
Vacant | March 4, 1815 – October 10, 1815 | 5 | 14th | |||||||||
5 | George W. Campbell | Democratic-Republican | October 10, 1815 – April 20, 1818 | Elected late in 1815. Resigned. | Elected to finish Campbell's term. Legislature failed to elect. | October 10, 1815 – March 3, 1823 | Democratic-Republican | John Williams | 8 | |||
15th | 5 | Appointed to begin the term. [3] Elected October 2, 1817 to finish the term. [3] Lost re-election. | ||||||||||
Vacant | April 20, 1818 – September 27, 1818 | |||||||||||
6 | John H. Eaton | Democratic-Republican | September 5, 1818 – March 4, 1821 | Appointed to continue Cambell's term. Elected October 9, 1819 to finish Cambell's term. [1] Legislature failed to elect. | ||||||||
16th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | March 4, 1821 – September 27, 1821 | 6 | 17th | |||||||||
John H. Eaton | Democratic-Republican | September 27, 1821 – March 9, 1829 | Re-elected late in 1821. | |||||||||
Jackson Democratic-Republican | 18th | 6 | Elected during the 1822/23 cycle. Resigned. | March 4, 1823 – October 14, 1825 | Jackson Democratic-Republican | Andrew Jackson | 9 | |||||
Jacksonian | 19th | Jacksonian | ||||||||||
October 15, 1825 – October 27, 1825 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Elected to finish Jackson's term. | October 28, 1825 – January 13, 1840 | Jacksonian | Hugh Lawson White | 10 | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1826. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of War. | 7 | 20th | ||||||||||
21st | 7 | Re-elected in 1829. | ||||||||||
Vacant | March 9, 1829 – October 19, 1829 | |||||||||||
7 | Felix Grundy | Jacksonian | October 19, 1829 – July 4, 1838 | Elected to finish Eaton's term. | ||||||||
22nd | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1833. Resigned to become U.S. Attorney General. | 8 | 23rd | ||||||||||
24th | 8 | Re-elected in 1835. [4] Resigned because he could not conscientiously obey the instructions of his constituents. | Anti-Jacksonian | |||||||||
Democratic | 25th | Whig | ||||||||||
Vacant | July 5, 1838 – September 16, 1838 | |||||||||||
8 | Ephraim H. Foster | Whig | September 17, 1838 – March 3, 1839 | Elected to finish Grundy's term. Re-elected but resigned to avoid disobeying instructions given him by the state legislature. | ||||||||
Vacant | March 3, 1839 – November 19, 1839 | 9 | 26th | |||||||||
9 | Felix Grundy | Democratic | November 19, 1839 – December 19, 1840 | Elected late in 1839. Died. | ||||||||
January 13, 1840 – February 25, 1840 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Elected to finish White's term. Retired. | February 25, 1840 – March 3, 1841 | Democratic | Alexander O. Anderson | 11 | ||||||||
Vacant | December 19, 1840 – December 25, 1840 | |||||||||||
10 | Alfred O. P. Nicholson | Democratic | December 25, 1840 – February 7, 1842 | Appointed to continue Grundy's term. Retired or lost re-election. | ||||||||
27th | 9 | Legislature failed to elect. | March 4, 1841 – October 17, 1843 | Vacant | ||||||||
Vacant | February 7, 1842 – October 17, 1843 | |||||||||||
28th | ||||||||||||
11 | Ephraim H. Foster | Whig | October 17, 1843 – March 3, 1845 | Elected to finish Grundy's term. Retired or lost re-election. | Elected to finish the vacant term. Lost re-election. | October 17, 1843 – March 3, 1847 | Whig | Spencer Jarnagin | 12 | |||
12 | Hopkins L. Turney | Democratic | March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1851 | Elected in 1844. Retired or lost re-election. | 10 | 29th | ||||||
30th | 10 | Legislature failed to elect. | March 4, 1847 – November 21, 1847 | Vacant | ||||||||
Elected late in 1847 | November 22, 1847 – March 3, 1859 | Whig | John Bell | 13 | ||||||||
31st | ||||||||||||
13 | James C. Jones | Whig | March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1857 | Elected in 1851. Retired. | 11 | 32nd | ||||||
33rd | 11 | Re-elected in 1853. Retired or lost re-election. | ||||||||||
34th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | March 4, 1857 – October 8, 1857 | Legislature failed to elect. | 12 | 35th | Know-Nothing | |||||||
14 | Andrew Johnson | Democratic | October 8, 1857 – March 4, 1862 | Elected in 1857 to finish the term. Resigned to become Military Governor of Tennessee. | ||||||||
36th | 12 | Elected in 1858. Withdrew in anticipation of secession. | March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 | Democratic | Alfred O. P. Nicholson | 14 | ||||||
37th | American Civil War | March 4, 1861 – July 24, 1866 | Vacant | |||||||||
Vacant | March 4, 1862 – July 24, 1866 | American Civil War | ||||||||||
13 | 38th | |||||||||||
39th | 13 | |||||||||||
15 | David T. Patterson | Unionist | July 24, 1866 – March 3, 1869 | Elected to finish the vacant term. Retired. | Elected to finish the vacant term. Retired. | July 24, 1866 – March 3, 1871 | Unionist | Joseph S. Fowler | 15 | |||
Democratic | 40th | Republican | ||||||||||
16 | William G. Brownlow | Republican | March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1875 | Elected in 1867 for the term beginning in 1869. Retired. | 14 | 41st | ||||||
42nd | 14 | Elected during the 1870/71 cycle. Retired. | March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1877 | Democratic | Henry Cooper | 16 | ||||||
43rd | ||||||||||||
17 | Andrew Johnson | Democratic | March 4, 1875 – July 31, 1875 | Elected in 1875. Died. | 15 | 44th | ||||||
18 | David M. Key | Democratic | August 18, 1875 – January 19, 1877 | Appointed to continue Johnson's term. Lost election to finish Johnson's term. | ||||||||
19 | James E. Bailey | Democratic | January 19, 1877 – March 3, 1881 | Elected to finish Johnson's term. Lost re-election. | ||||||||
45th | 15 | Elected in 1877. | March 4, 1877 – July 8, 1897 | Democratic | Isham G. Harris | 17 | ||||||
46th | ||||||||||||
20 | Howell Jackson | Democratic | March 4, 1881 – April 14, 1886 | Elected during the 1880/81 cycle. Resigned to become U.S. Circuit Judge. | 16 | 47th | ||||||
48th | 16 | Re-elected in 1883. | ||||||||||
49th | ||||||||||||
Vacant | April 14, 1886 – April 16, 1886 | |||||||||||
21 | Washington C. Whitthorne | Democratic | April 16, 1886 – March 3, 1887 | Appointed to finish Jackson's term. Retired or lost re-election. | ||||||||
22 | William B. Bate | Democratic | March 4, 1887 – March 9, 1905 | Elected in 1887. | 17 | 50th | ||||||
51st | 17 | Re-elected in 1889. | ||||||||||
52nd | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1893. | 18 | 53rd | ||||||||||
54th | 18 | Re-elected in 1895. Died. | ||||||||||
55th | ||||||||||||
July 9, 1897 – July 19, 1897 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Harris's term. Elected February 2, 1898 to finish Harris's term. [5] Retired. | July 20, 1897 – March 3, 1901 | Democratic | Thomas B. Turley | 18 | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1899 | 19 | 56th | ||||||||||
57th | 19 | Elected January 16, 1901. Lost renomination. [6] | March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1907 | Democratic | Edward W. Carmack | 19 | ||||||
58th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1905. Died. | 20 | 59th | ||||||||||
Vacant | March 10, 1905 – March 20, 1905 | |||||||||||
23 | James B. Frazier | Democratic | March 21, 1905 – March 3, 1911 | Elected to finish Bate's term. Lost re-election. | ||||||||
60th | 20 | Elected in January 15, 1907. [6] Died. | March 4, 1907 – March 31, 1912 | Democratic | Robert Love Taylor | 20 | ||||||
61st | ||||||||||||
24 | Luke Lea | Democratic | March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1917 | Elected January 23, 1911. Lost renomination. | 21 | 62nd | ||||||
April 1, 1912 – April 10, 1912 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Taylor's term. Retired when his successor was elected. | April 11, 1912 – January 24, 1913 | Republican | Newell Sanders | 21 | ||||||||
Elected to finish Taylor's term. Retired. | January 24, 1913 – March 3, 1913 | Democratic | William R. Webb | 22 | ||||||||
63rd | 21 | Elected in January 23, 1913. | March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1925 | Democratic | John K. Shields | 23 | ||||||
64th | ||||||||||||
25 | Kenneth McKellar | Democratic | March 4, 1917 – January 3, 1953 | Elected in 1916. | 22 | 65th | ||||||
66th | 22 | Re-elected in 1918. Lost renomination. | ||||||||||
67th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1922. | 23 | 68th | ||||||||||
69th | 23 | Elected in 1924. Died. | March 4, 1925 – August 24, 1929 | Democratic | Lawrence D. Tyson | 24 | ||||||
70th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1928. | 24 | 71st | ||||||||||
August 25, 1929 – September 1, 1929 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Tyson's term. Elected November 4, 1930 to finish Tyson's term. [5] Retired. | September 2, 1929 – March 3, 1931 | Democratic | William E. Brock | 25 | ||||||||
72nd | 24 | Elected in 1930. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State. | March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933 | Democratic | Cordell Hull | 26 | ||||||
73rd | Appointed to continue Hull's term. Elected November 7, 1934 to finish Hull's term. [5] | March 4, 1933 – April 23, 1937 | Democratic | Nathan L. Bachman | 27 | |||||||
Re-elected in 1934. | 25 | 74th | ||||||||||
75th | 25 | Re-elected in 1936. Died. | ||||||||||
April 24, 1937 – May 5, 1937 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Bachman's term. Retired when his successor was elected. | May 6, 1937 – November 8, 1938 | Democratic | George L. Berry | 28 | ||||||||
Elected to finish Bachman's term. Although eligible and elected, did not take his seat as he preferred to remain as District Attorney General. Nevertheless, service begins when eligible and elected, not upon the taking of an oath. | November 9, 1938 – January 3, 1949 | Democratic | Tom Stewart | 29 | ||||||||
76th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1940. | 26 | 77th | ||||||||||
78th | 26 | Re-elected in 1942. Lost renomination. | ||||||||||
79th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1946. Lost renomination. | 27 | 80th | ||||||||||
81st | 27 | Elected in 1948. | January 3, 1949 – August 10, 1963 | Democratic | Estes Kefauver | 30 | ||||||
82nd | ||||||||||||
26 | Albert A. Gore | Democratic | January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1971 | Elected in 1952. | 28 | 83rd | ||||||
84th | 28 | Re-elected in 1954. | ||||||||||
85th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1958. | 29 | 86th | ||||||||||
87th | 29 | Re-elected in 1960. Died. | ||||||||||
88th | ||||||||||||
August 10, 1963 – August 20, 1963 | Vacant | |||||||||||
Appointed to continue Kefauver's term Retired | August 20, 1963 – November 3, 1964 | Democratic | Herbert S. Walters | 31 | ||||||||
Elected to finish Kefauver's term. Lost renomination. | November 4, 1964 – January 2, 1967 | Democratic | Ross Bass | 32 | ||||||||
Re-elected in 1964. Lost re-election. | 30 | 89th | ||||||||||
90th | 30 | Elected in 1966. | January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1985 | Republican | Howard H. Baker Jr. | 33 | ||||||
91st | ||||||||||||
27 | Bill Brock | Republican | January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1977 | Elected in 1970. Lost re-election. | 31 | 92nd | ||||||
93rd | 31 | Re-elected in 1972. | ||||||||||
94th | ||||||||||||
28 | Jim Sasser | Democratic | January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1995 | Elected in 1976. | 32 | 95th | ||||||
96th | 32 | Re-elected in 1978. Retired. | ||||||||||
97th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1982. | 33 | 98th | ||||||||||
99th | 33 | Elected in 1984. | January 3, 1985 – January 2, 1993 | Democratic | Albert A. Gore Jr. | 34 | ||||||
100th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 1988. Lost re-election. | 34 | 101st | ||||||||||
102nd | 34 | Re-elected in 1990. Resigned to become Vice President of the United States. | ||||||||||
January 2, 1993 – January 5, 1993 | Vacant | |||||||||||
103rd | ||||||||||||
Appointed to continue Gore's term. Retired when his successor was elected. | January 5, 1993 – December 2, 1994 | Democratic | Harlan Mathews | 35 | ||||||||
Elected to finish Gore's term. | December 2, 1994 – January 3, 2003 | Republican | Fred Thompson | 36 | ||||||||
29 | Bill Frist | Republican | January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007 | Elected in 1994. | 35 | 104th | ||||||
105th | 35 | Re-elected in 1996. Retired. | ||||||||||
106th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 2000. Retired. | 36 | 107th | ||||||||||
108th | 36 | Elected in 2002. | January 3, 2003 – Present | Republican | Lamar Alexander | 37 | ||||||
109th | ||||||||||||
30 | Bob Corker | Republican | January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2019 | Elected in 2006. | 37 | 110th | ||||||
111th | 37 | Re-elected in 2008. | ||||||||||
112th | ||||||||||||
Re-elected in 2012. Retired. | 38 | 113th | ||||||||||
114th | 38 | Re-elected in 2014. Retiring. | ||||||||||
115th | ||||||||||||
31 | Marsha Blackburn | Republican | January 3, 2019 – Present | Elected in 2018. | 39 | 116th | ||||||
117th | 39 | To be determined in the 2020 election. | ||||||||||
118th | ||||||||||||
To be determined in the 2024 election. | 40 | 119th | ||||||||||
# | Senator | Party | Years in office | Electoral history | T e r m | T e r m | Electoral history | Years in office | Party | Senator | # | |
Class 1 | Class 2 |
As of January 2019 [update] , there are five living former U.S. Senators from Tennessee; three from Class 1 and one from Class 2. The most recent Senator to die was Fred Thompson (1994–2003) on November 1, 2015, who is also the most recently serving Senator to die.
Freddie Dalton Thompson was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. Thompson, a Republican, served in the United States Senate representing Tennessee from 1994 to 2003, and was a Republican presidential candidate in 2008.
Senator | Term of office | Class | Date of birth (and age) |
---|---|---|---|
Bill Brock | 1971–1977 | 1 | November 23, 1930 |
Jim Sasser | 1977–1995 | 1 | September 30, 1936 |
Al Gore | 1985–1993 | 2 | March 31, 1948 |
Bill Frist | 1995–2007 | 1 | February 22, 1952 |
Bob Corker | 2007–2019 | 1 | August 24, 1952 |
Robert Carlyle Byrd was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd previously served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959. He is the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history. In addition, he was, at the time of his death, the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress, a record later surpassed by Representative John Dingell of Michigan. Byrd was the last remaining member of the U.S. Senate to have served during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, and the last remaining member of Congress to have served during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. Byrd is also the only West Virginian to have served in both chambers of the state legislature and both chambers of Congress.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States and a Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city, located on the Potomac River bordering Maryland and Virginia, is one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.
The United States Government Publishing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive departments, and independent agencies.