This is a complete list of United States senators during the 117th United States Congress listed by seniority, from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2023. It is a historical listing and will contain people who have not served the entire two-year Congress should anyone resign, die, or be expelled.
In this Congress, the most junior senior senator was Kelly Loeffler until Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were sworn in on January 20, 2021, after which Ossoff became the most junior senior senator. The most senior junior senator is Maria Cantwell.
Order of service is based on the commencement of the senator's first term. Behind this is former service as a senator (only giving the senator seniority within his or her new incoming class), service as vice president, a House member, a cabinet secretary, or a governor of a state. The final factors are the population of the senator's state and the alphabetical position of the senator's surname. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Rank | Historical rank | Senator | Party | State | Seniority date | Other factors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1692 | Patrick Leahy | Democratic | Vermont | January 3, 1975 | |
2 | 1743 | Chuck Grassley | Republican | Iowa | January 3, 1981 | |
3 | 1766 | Mitch McConnell | Republican | Kentucky | January 3, 1985 | |
4 | 1775 | Richard Shelby | Republican | Alabama | January 3, 1987 | |
5 | 1801 | Dianne Feinstein | Democratic | California | November 10, 1992 | |
6 | 1812 | Patty Murray | Democratic | Washington | January 3, 1993 | |
7 | 1816 | Jim Inhofe | Republican | Oklahoma | November 17, 1994 | |
8 | 1827 | Ron Wyden | Democratic | Oregon | February 6, 1996 | |
9 | 1831 | Dick Durbin | Democratic | Illinois | January 3, 1997 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years) |
10 | 1835 | Jack Reed | Democratic | Rhode Island | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years) | |
11 | 1842 | Susan Collins | Republican | Maine | ||
12 | 1844 | Chuck Schumer | Democratic | New York | January 3, 1999 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (18 years) |
13 | 1846 | Mike Crapo | Republican | Idaho | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years) | |
14 | 1855 | Tom Carper | Democratic | Delaware | January 3, 2001 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years) |
15 | 1856 | Debbie Stabenow | Democratic | Michigan | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years) | |
16 | 1859 | Maria Cantwell [9] | Democratic | Washington | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2 years) | |
17 | 1867 | John Cornyn | Republican | Texas | December 1, 2002 | |
18 | 1868 | Lisa Murkowski | Republican | Alaska | December 20, 2002 | |
19 | 1870 | Lindsey Graham | Republican | South Carolina | January 3, 2003 | |
20 | 1876 | Richard Burr | Republican | North Carolina | January 3, 2005 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (10 years) |
21 | 1879 | John Thune | Republican | South Dakota | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years) | |
22 | 1885 | Bob Menendez | Democratic | New Jersey | January 18, 2006 | |
23 | 1886 | Ben Cardin | Democratic | Maryland | January 3, 2007 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (20 years) |
24 | 1887 | Bernie Sanders | Independent [10] | Vermont | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (16 years) | |
25 | 1888 | Sherrod Brown | Democratic | Ohio | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years) | |
26 | 1889 | Bob Casey, Jr. | Democratic | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania 6th in population (2000) | |
27 | 1893 | Amy Klobuchar | Democratic | Minnesota | Minnesota 21st in population (2000) | |
28 | 1894 | Sheldon Whitehouse | Democratic | Rhode Island | Rhode Island 43rd in population (2000) | |
29 | 1895 | Jon Tester | Democratic | Montana | Montana 44th in population (2000) | |
30 | 1896 | John Barrasso | Republican | Wyoming | June 25, 2007 | |
31 | 1897 | Roger Wicker | Republican | Mississippi | December 31, 2007 | |
32 | 1901 | Jeanne Shaheen | Democratic | New Hampshire | January 3, 2009 | Former governor (6 years) |
33 | 1902 | Mark Warner | Democratic | Virginia | Former governor (4 years) | |
34 | 1903 | Jim Risch | Republican | Idaho | Former governor (7 months) | |
35 | 1905 | Jeff Merkley | Democratic | Oregon | ||
36 | 1909 | Michael Bennet | Democratic | Colorado | January 21, 2009 | |
37 | 1910 | Kirsten Gillibrand | Democratic | New York | January 26, 2009 | |
38 | 1916 | Joe Manchin | Democratic | West Virginia | November 15, 2010 | Former governor |
39 | 1917 | Chris Coons | Democratic | Delaware | ||
40 | 1919 | Roy Blunt | Republican | Missouri | January 3, 2011 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years); Missouri 17th in population (2000) |
41 | 1920 | Jerry Moran | Republican | Kansas | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years); Kansas 32nd in population (2000) | |
42 | 1921 | Rob Portman | Republican | Ohio | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (12 years) | |
43 | 1922 | John Boozman | Republican | Arkansas | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (9 years) | |
44 | 1923 | Pat Toomey | Republican | Pennsylvania | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years) | |
45 | 1924 | John Hoeven | Republican | North Dakota | Former governor | |
46 | 1925 | Marco Rubio | Republican | Florida | Florida 4th in population (2000) | |
47 | 1926 | Ron Johnson | Republican | Wisconsin | Wisconsin 18th in population (2000) | |
48 | 1927 | Rand Paul | Republican | Kentucky | Kentucky 25th in population (2000) | |
49 | 1928 | Richard Blumenthal | Democratic | Connecticut | Connecticut 29th in population (2000) | |
50 | 1929 | Mike Lee | Republican | Utah | Utah 34th in population (2000) | |
51 | 1932 | Brian Schatz | Democratic | Hawaii | December 27, 2012 | |
52 | 1933 | Tim Scott | Republican | South Carolina | January 2, 2013 | |
53 | 1934 | Tammy Baldwin | Democratic | Wisconsin | January 3, 2013 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years) |
54 | 1937 | Chris Murphy | Democratic | Connecticut | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Connecticut 29th in population (2010) | |
55 | 1938 | Mazie Hirono | Democratic | Hawaii | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Hawaii 42nd in population (2010) | |
56 | 1939 | Martin Heinrich | Democratic | New Mexico | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years) | |
57 | 1940 | Angus King | Independent | Maine | Former governor (8 years) | |
58 | 1941 | Tim Kaine | Democratic | Virginia | Former governor (4 years) | |
59 | 1942 | Ted Cruz | Republican | Texas | Texas 2nd in population (2010) | |
60 | 1943 | Elizabeth Warren | Democratic | Massachusetts | Massachusetts 15th in population (2010) | |
61 | 1944 | Deb Fischer | Republican | Nebraska | Nebraska 38th in population (2010) | |
62 | 1948 | Ed Markey | Democratic | Massachusetts | July 16, 2013 | |
63 | 1949 | Cory Booker | Democratic | New Jersey | October 31, 2013 | |
64 | 1951 | Shelley Moore Capito | Republican | West Virginia | January 3, 2015 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years) |
65 | 1952 | Gary Peters | Democratic | Michigan | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Michigan 9th in population (2010) | |
66 | 1953 | Bill Cassidy | Republican | Louisiana | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Louisiana 25th in population (2010) | |
67 | 1955 | James Lankford | Republican | Oklahoma | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years) | |
68 | 1956 | Tom Cotton | Republican | Arkansas | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2 years); Arkansas 32nd in population (2010) | |
69 | 1957 | Steve Daines | Republican | Montana | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2 years); Montana 44th in population (2010) | |
70 | 1958 | Mike Rounds | Republican | South Dakota | Former governor | |
71 | 1960 | Thom Tillis | Republican | North Carolina | North Carolina 10th in population (2010) | |
72 | 1961 | Joni Ernst | Republican | Iowa | Iowa 30th in population (2010) | |
73 | 1962 | Ben Sasse | Republican | Nebraska | Nebraska 38th in population (2010) | |
74 | 1963 | Dan Sullivan | Republican | Alaska | Alaska 47th in population (2010) | |
75 | 1964 | Chris Van Hollen | Democratic | Maryland | January 3, 2017 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (14 years) |
76 | 1965 | Todd Young | Republican | Indiana | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years) | |
77 | 1966 | Tammy Duckworth | Democratic | Illinois | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years) | |
78 | 1967 | Maggie Hassan | Democratic | New Hampshire | Former governor | |
79 | 1968 | Kamala Harris [11] | Democratic | California | California 1st in population (2010) | |
80 | 1969 | John Neely Kennedy | Republican | Louisiana | Louisiana 25th in population (2010) | |
81 | 1970 | Catherine Cortez Masto | Democratic | Nevada | Nevada 35th in population (2010) | |
82 | 1972 | Tina Smith | Democratic | Minnesota | January 3, 2018 | |
83 | 1974 | Cindy Hyde-Smith | Republican | Mississippi | April 2, 2018 | |
84 | 1975 | Marsha Blackburn | Republican | Tennessee | January 3, 2019 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (16 years) |
85 | 1976 | Kyrsten Sinema | Democratic | Arizona | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); Arizona 16th in population (2010) | |
86 | 1977 | Kevin Cramer | Republican | North Dakota | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (6 years); North Dakota 48th in population (2010) | |
87 | 1979 | Jacky Rosen | Democratic | Nevada | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2 years) | |
88 | 1980 | Mitt Romney | Republican | Utah | Former governor | |
89 | 1981 | Mike Braun | Republican | Indiana | Indiana 15th in population (2010) | |
90 | 1982 | Josh Hawley | Republican | Missouri | Missouri 18th in population (2010) | |
91 | 1983 | Rick Scott | Republican | Florida | January 8, 2019 | |
92 | 1984 | Kelly Loeffler [12] | Republican | Georgia | January 6, 2020 | |
93 | 1985 | Mark Kelly | Democratic | Arizona | December 2, 2020 | |
94 | 1986 | Ben Ray Luján | Democratic | New Mexico | January 3, 2021 | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (12 years) |
95 | 1987 | Cynthia Lummis | Republican | Wyoming | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (8 years) | |
96 | 1988 | Roger Marshall | Republican | Kansas | Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 years) | |
97 | 1989 | John Hickenlooper | Democratic | Colorado | Former governor | |
98 | 1990 | Bill Hagerty | Republican | Tennessee | Tennessee 17th in population (2010) | |
99 | 1991 | Tommy Tuberville | Republican | Alabama | Alabama 23rd in population (2010) | |
100 | 1992 | Alex Padilla [11] [a] | Democratic | California | January 20, 2021 | California 1st in population (2010) |
101 | 1993 | Jon Ossoff [14] | Democratic | Georgia | Georgia 9th in population (2010); 'O' 15th letter of the alphabet | |
102 | 1994 | Raphael Warnock [12] | Democratic | Georgia | Georgia 9th in population (2010); 'W' 23rd letter of the alphabet |
United States senators are conventionally ranked by the length of their tenure in the Senate. The senator in each U.S. state with the longer time in office is known as the senior senator; the other is the junior senator. This convention has no official standing, though seniority confers several benefits, including preference in the choice of committee assignments and physical offices. When senators have been in office for the same length of time, a number of tiebreakers, including previous offices held, are used to determine seniority. By tradition, the longest serving senator of the majority party is named president pro tempore of the Senate, the second-highest office in the Senate and the third in the line of succession to the presidency of the United States.