This is a complete list of United States senators during the 111th United States Congress listed by seniority from January 3, 2009, to January 3, 2011. It is a historical listing and contains people who had not served the entire two-year Congress, such as Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.
Order of service is based on the commencement of the senator's first term. Following this is former service as a U.S. senator (only giving the senator seniority within their new incoming class), service as vice president, a U.S. representative, a cabinet secretary, a state governor. Others are separated by his or her state's population. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Senators who were sworn in during the middle of the two-year Congress (up until the last senator who was not sworn in early after winning the November 2010 election) are listed at the end of the list with no number. However, Roland Burris and Al Franken are listed as numbers 99 and 100. Burris was appointed at the end of the previous Congress, but was blocked from taking his seat until January 12, 2009, and Franken won the United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008, but was unable to take his seat until July 7, 2009 due to an election contest.
John Kerry was the most senior junior senator from the opening of the 111th Congress until the death of Ted Kennedy in August 2009, whereupon Tom Harkin took on the distinction. Amy Klobuchar was the most junior senior senator in the first eighteen days of the Congress until Mark Udall, a freshman, became Colorado's senior senator upon Ken Salazar's resignation in late January 2009 to become Interior Secretary.
| Class | Terms of service of senators that expired in years |
|---|---|
| Class 3 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 2011 (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MO, NC, ND, NV, NH, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, UT, VT, WA, and WI.) [6] |
| Class 1 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 2013 (AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WI, and WY.) [7] |
| Class 2 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 2015 (AK, AL, AR, CO, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, and WY.) [8] |
| Rank | Senator (party-state) | Seniority date | Other factors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Byrd [a] (D-WV) | January 3, 1959 | |
| 2 | Ted Kennedy [b] (D-MA) | November 7, 1962 | |
| 3 | Daniel Inouye (D-HI) | January 3, 1963 | |
| 4 | Joe Biden [c] (D-DE) | January 3, 1973 | |
| 5 | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | January 3, 1975 | |
| 6 | Richard Lugar (R-IN) | January 3, 1977 | Indiana 11th in population (1970) |
| 7 | Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | Utah 36th in population (1970) | |
| 8 | Max Baucus (D-MT) | December 15, 1978 | |
| 9 | Thad Cochran (R-MS) | December 27, 1978 | |
| 10 | Carl Levin (D-MI) | January 3, 1979 | |
| 11 | Chris Dodd (D-CT) | January 3, 1981 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Connecticut 24th in population (1970) |
| 12 | Chuck Grassley (R-IA) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Iowa 25th in population (1970) | |
| 13 | Arlen Specter (R, D [d] -PA) | ||
| 14 | Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) | January 3, 1983 | |
| 15 | John Kerry (D-MA) | January 2, 1985 | |
| 16 | Tom Harkin (D-IA) | January 3, 1985 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives |
| 17 | Mitch McConnell (R-KY) | ||
| 18 | Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) | January 15, 1985 | |
| 19 | Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) | January 3, 1987 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years) |
| 20 | Richard Shelby (R-AL) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (8 years) | |
| 21 | John McCain (R-AZ) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years); Arizona 29th in population (1980) | |
| 22 | Harry Reid (D-NV) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years); Nevada 43rd in population (1980) | |
| 23 | Kit Bond (R-MO) | Former governor | |
| 24 | Kent Conrad (D-ND) | ||
| 25 | Herb Kohl (D-WI) | January 3, 1989 | Wisconsin 16th in population (1980) |
| 26 | Joe Lieberman (I [e] -CT) | Connecticut 25th in population (1980) | |
| 27 | Daniel Akaka (D-HI) | May 16, 1990 | |
| 28 | Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) | November 10, 1992 | |
| 29 | Byron Dorgan (D-ND) | December 15, 1992 | |
| 30 | Barbara Boxer (D-CA) | January 3, 1993 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years) |
| 31 | Judd Gregg (R-NH) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (8 years) | |
| 32 | Russ Feingold (D-WI) | Wisconsin 16th in population (1990) | |
| 33 | Patty Murray (D-WA) | Washington 18th in population (1990) | |
| 34 | Bob Bennett (R-UT) | Utah 35th in population (1990) | |
| 35 | Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) | June 14, 1993 | |
| 36 | Jim Inhofe (R-OK) | November 17, 1994 | |
| 37 | Olympia Snowe (R-ME) | January 3, 1995 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (16 years) |
| 38 | Jon Kyl (R-AZ) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (8 years) | |
| 39 | Ron Wyden (D-OR) | February 6, 1996 | |
| 40 | Sam Brownback (R-KS) | November 7, 1996 | |
| 41 | Pat Roberts (R-KS) | January 3, 1997 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (16 years) |
| 42 | Dick Durbin (D-IL) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years) | |
| 43 | Tim Johnson (D-SD) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years) | |
| 44 | Jack Reed (D-RI) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years) | |
| 45 | Mary Landrieu (D-LA) | Louisiana 21st in population (1990) | |
| 46 | Jeff Sessions (R-AL) | Alabama 22nd in population (1990) | |
| 47 | Susan Collins (R-ME) | Maine 38th in population (1990) | |
| 48 | Mike Enzi (R-WY) | Wyoming 50th in population (1990) | |
| 49 | Chuck Schumer (D-NY) | January 3, 1999 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (18 years) |
| 50 | Jim Bunning (R-KY) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (12 years) | |
| 51 | Mike Crapo (R-ID) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years) | |
| 52 | Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years) | |
| 53 | George Voinovich (R-OH) | Former governor; Ohio 7th in population (1990) | |
| 54 | Evan Bayh (D-IN) | Former governor; Indiana 15th in population (1990) | |
| 55 | Bill Nelson (D-FL) | January 3, 2001 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (12 years) |
| 56 | Tom Carper (D-DE) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years) | |
| 57 | Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years); Michigan 8th in population (1990) | |
| 58 | John Ensign (R-NV) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years); Nevada 39th in population (1990) | |
| 59 | Maria Cantwell (D-WA) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2 years) | |
| 60 | Ben Nelson (D-NE) | Former governor | |
| 61 | Hillary Clinton [f] [g] (D-NY) | ||
| 62 | John Cornyn (R-TX) | December 2, 2002 | |
| 63 | Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) | December 20, 2002 | |
| 64 | Frank Lautenberg [h] (D-NJ) | January 3, 2003 | Previously a Senator |
| 65 | Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (8 years); Georgia 10th in population (2000) | |
| 66 | Lindsey Graham (R-SC) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (8 years); South Carolina 26th in population (2000) | |
| 67 | Lamar Alexander (R-TN) | Former cabinet member | |
| 68 | Mark Pryor (D-AR) | ||
| 69 | Richard Burr (R-NC) | January 3, 2005 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years) |
| 70 | Jim DeMint (R-SC) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); South Carolina 26th in population (2000) | |
| 71 | Tom Coburn (R-OK) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Oklahoma 27th in population (2000) | |
| 72 | John Thune (R-SD) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); South Dakota 46th in population (2000) | |
| 73 | Johnny Isakson (R-GA) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (5 years, 10 months) | |
| 74 | David Vitter (R-LA) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (5 years, 7 months) | |
| 75 | Mel Martínez [i] (R-FL) | Former cabinet member | |
| 76 | Ken Salazar [j] (D-CO) | ||
| 77 | Bob Menendez (D-NJ) | January 17, 2006 | |
| 78 | Ben Cardin (D-MD) | January 3, 2007 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (20 years) |
| 79 | Bernie Sanders (I-VT) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (16 years) | |
| 80 | Sherrod Brown (D-OH) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years) | |
| 81 | Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA) | Pennsylvania 6th in population (2000) | |
| 82 | Jim Webb [k] (D-VA) | Virginia 12th in population (2000) | |
| 83 | Bob Corker (R-TN) | Tennessee 16th in population (2000) | |
| 84 | Claire McCaskill (D-MO) | Missouri 17th in population (2000) | |
| 85 | Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) | Minnesota 21st in population (2000) | |
| 86 | Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) | Rhode Island 43rd in population (2000) | |
| 87 | Jon Tester (D-MT) | Montana 44th in population (2000) | |
| 88 | John Barrasso (R-WY) | June 25, 2007 | |
| 89 | Roger Wicker (R-MS) | December 31, 2007 | |
| 90 | Mark Udall (D-CO) | January 3, 2009 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years); Colorado 24th in population (2000) |
| 91 | Tom Udall (D-NM) | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years); New Mexico 36th in population (2000) | |
| 92 | Mike Johanns (R-NE) | Former cabinet member | |
| 93 | Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) | Former governor (6 years) | |
| 94 | Mark Warner (D-VA) | Former governor (4 years) | |
| 95 | Jim Risch (R-ID) | Former governor (7 months) | |
| 96 | Kay Hagan (D-NC) | North Carolina 11th in population (2000) | |
| 97 | Jeff Merkley (D-OR) | Oregon 28th in population (2000) | |
| 98 | Mark Begich (D-AK) | Alaska 48th in population (2000) | |
| 99 | Roland Burris [l] (D-IL) | January 12, 2009 | |
| Ted Kaufman [c] (D-DE) | January 15, 2009 | ||
| Michael Bennet [j] (D-CO) | January 21, 2009 | ||
| Kirsten Gillibrand [f] (D-NY) | January 26, 2009 | ||
| 100 | Al Franken [m] (D-MN) | July 7, 2009 | |
| George LeMieux [i] (R-FL) | September 10, 2009 | ||
| Paul G. Kirk [b] (D-MA) | September 24, 2009 | ||
| Scott Brown [b] (R-MA) | February 4, 2010 | ||
| Carte Goodwin [a] (D-WV) | July 16, 2010 | ||
| Joe Manchin [a] (D-WV) | November 15, 2010 | Former governor | |
| Chris Coons [c] (D-DE) | |||
| Mark Kirk [l] (R-IL) | November 29, 2010 |
The senior senators by class were Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) from Class 1, Joe Biden (D-Delaware) from Class 2, and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) from Class 3. Biden resigned on January 15, 2009 with Max Baucus (D-Montana) became the most senior senator from Class 2, Byrd died on June 28, 2010 with Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) became the most senior senator from Class 1.