This is a complete list of members of the United States Senate during the 95th United States Congress listed by seniority, from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1979.
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 factor is the population of the senator's state. [1] [2] [3]
In this congress, John C. Stennis was the most senior junior senator until James Eastland resigned on December 27, 1978, after which it was Henry M. Jackson. Four senators held the distinction of most junior senior senator during this Congress: John Glenn from the start of the congress until John L. McClellan's death on November 28, 1977, Dale Bumpers from then until Lee Metcalf's death on January 12, 1978, John Melcher from then until Wendell Anderson's resignation on December 29, 1978, and finally David Durenberger through the end of the Congress.
Senators who were sworn in during the middle of the two-year congressional term (up until the last senator who was not sworn in early after winning the November 1978 election) are listed at the end of the list with no number.
| Class | Terms of service of senators that expired in years |
|---|---|
| Class 2 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1979 (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.) [4] |
| Class 3 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1981 (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MO, NC, ND, NH, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, UT, VT, WA, and WI.) [5] |
| Class 1 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1983 (AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IN, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WI, and WY.) [6] |
| Rank | Senator (party-state) | Seniority date | Other factors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Eastland (D-MS) | January 3, 1943 | Previously a senator |
| 2 | John Little McClellan [7] (D-AR) | Former representative (4 years) | |
| 3 | Warren G. Magnuson (D-WA) | December 14, 1944 | Former representative (7 years) |
| 4 | Milton Young (R-ND) | March 12, 1945 | |
| 5 | John Sparkman (D-AL) | November 6, 1946 | Former representative (9 years) |
| 6 | John C. Stennis (D-MS) | November 17, 1947 | |
| 7 | Russell B. Long (D-LA) | December 31, 1948 | |
| 8 | Henry M. Jackson (D-WA) | January 3, 1953 | Former representative (12 years) |
| 9 | Carl Curtis (R-NE) | January 1, 1955 | Former representative (15 years) |
| 10 | Clifford P. Case (R-NJ) | January 3, 1955 | Former representative (8 years) |
| 11 | Strom Thurmond (R-SC) | November 7, 1956 | Former governor, Previously a senator |
| 12 | Herman Talmadge (D-GA) | January 3, 1957 | Former governor |
| 13 | Frank Church (D-ID) | ||
| 14 | Jacob K. Javits (R-NY) | January 9, 1957 | Former representative (7 years) |
| 15 | William Proxmire (D-WI) | August 28, 1957 | |
| 16 | Jennings Randolph (D-WV) | November 5, 1958 | Former representative (14 years) |
| 17 | Robert Byrd (D-WV) | January 3, 1959 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 18 | Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ) | Former representative (4 years) | |
| 19 | Edmund Muskie (D-ME) | Former governor | |
| 20 | Howard Cannon (D-NV) | ||
| 21 | Quentin Northrup Burdick (D-ND) | August 8, 1960 | Former representative |
| 22 | Lee Metcalf [8] (D-MT) | January 3, 1961 | Former representative |
| 23 | Claiborne Pell (D-RI) | ||
| 24 | John Tower (R-TX) | June 15, 1961 | |
| 25 | James B. Pearson (R-KS) | January 31, 1962 | |
| 26 | Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | November 7, 1962 | Massachusetts 9th in population (1960) |
| 27 | Thomas J. McIntyre (D-NH) | New Hampshire 45th in population (1960) | |
| 28 | Abraham A. Ribicoff (D-CT) | January 3, 1963 | Former representative (4 years) - Former cabinet secretary - Former governor |
| 29 | George McGovern (D-SD) | Former representative (4 years) - South Dakota 40th in population (1960) | |
| 30 | Daniel Inouye (D-HI) | Former representative (4 years) - Hawaii 43rd in population (1960) | |
| 31 | Birch Bayh (D-IN) | ||
| 32 | Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) | January 7, 1963 | Former representative |
| 33 | Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (I-VA) | November 12, 1965 | |
| 34 | Robert P. Griffin (R-MI) | May 11, 1966 | |
| 35 | Ernest Hollings (D-SC) | November 9, 1966 | Former governor |
| 36 | Clifford Hansen (R-WY) | January 3, 1967 | Former governor |
| 37 | Charles H. Percy (R-IL) | Illinois 4th in population (1960) | |
| 38 | Edward Brooke (R-MA) | Massachusetts 9th in population (1960) | |
| 39 | Howard Baker (R-TN) | Tennessee 17th in population (1960) | |
| 40 | Mark Hatfield (R-OR) | January 10, 1967 | Former governor |
| 41 | Ted Stevens (R-AK) | December 24, 1968 | |
| 42 | Thomas Eagleton (D-MO) | December 28, 1968 | |
| 43 | Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) | January 3, 1969 | Previously a senator |
| 44 | Richard Schweiker (R-PA) | Former representative (8 years) - Pennsylvania 3rd in population (1960) | |
| 45 | Charles Mathias (R-MD) | Former representative (8 years) - Maryland 21st in population (1960) | |
| 46 | Bob Dole (R-KS) | Former representative (8 years) - Kansas 29th in population (1960) | |
| 47 | Henry Bellmon (R-OK) | Former governor | |
| 48 | Alan Cranston (D-CA) | California 2nd in population (1960) | |
| 49 | James Allen [9] (D-AL) | Alabama 19th in population (1960) | |
| 50 | Bob Packwood (R-OR) | Oregon 32nd in population (1960) | |
| 51 | Mike Gravel (D-AK) | Alaska 50th in population (1960) | |
| 52 | Adlai Stevenson III (D-IL) | November 17, 1970 | |
| 53 | Bill Roth (R-DE) | January 1, 1971 | Former representative |
| 54 | Hubert Humphrey [10] (D-MN) | January 3, 1971 | Previously a senator – former VP |
| 55 | Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 56 | Lowell Weicker (R-CT) | Former representative (2 years) | |
| 57 | Lawton Chiles (D-FL) | ||
| 58 | Robert Stafford (R-VT) | September 16, 1971 | Former governor, Former representative (10 years) |
| 59 | Sam Nunn (D-GA) | November 8, 1972 | |
| 60 | Bennett Johnston Jr. (D-LA) | November 14, 1972 | |
| 61 | William Hathaway (D-ME) | January 3, 1973 | Former representative (8 years) |
| 62 | William L. Scott (R-VA) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 63 | James A. McClure (R-ID) | Former representative (4 years) | |
| 64 | James Abourezk (D-SD) | Former representative (2 years) | |
| 65 | Dewey F. Bartlett (R-OK) | Former governor | |
| 66 | Jesse Helms (R-NC) | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) | |
| 67 | Walter Huddleston (D-KY) | Kentucky 23rd in population (1970) | |
| 68 | Richard C. Clark (D-IA) | Iowa 25th in population (1970) | |
| 69 | Floyd K. Haskell (D-CO) | Colorado 30th in population (1970) | |
| 70 | Pete Domenici (R-NM) | New Mexico 37th in population (1970) | |
| 71 | Joe Biden (D-DE) | Delaware 46th in population (1970) | |
| 72 | Paul Laxalt (R-NV) | December 18, 1974 | |
| 73 | Jake Garn (R-UT) | December 21, 1974 | |
| 74 | John Glenn (D-OH) | December 24, 1974 | |
| 75 | Wendell H. Ford (D-KY) | December 28, 1974 | |
| 76 | Richard Stone (D-FL) | January 1, 1975 | |
| 77 | John Culver (D-IA) | January 3, 1975 | Former representative |
| 78 | Dale Bumpers (D-AR) | Former governor | |
| 79 | Robert Burren Morgan (D-NC) | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) | |
| 80 | Gary Hart (D-CO) | Colorado 30th in population (1970) | |
| 81 | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | Vermont 48th in population (1970) | |
| 82 | John Durkin (D-NH) | September 18, 1975 | |
| 83 | John Danforth (R-MO) | December 27, 1976 | |
| 84 | Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) | December 28, 1976 | |
| 85 | Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) | December 29, 1976 | Previously a senator |
| 86 | John Chafee (R-RI) | ||
| 87 | Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D-MI) | December 30, 1976 | Former representative |
| 88 | Wendell Anderson (D-MN) | ||
| 89 | Samuel Hayakawa (D-CA) | January 2, 1977 | |
| 90 | Spark Matsunaga (D-HI) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (14 years) |
| 91 | John Melcher (D-MT) | Former representative (7 years, 7 months) | |
| 92 | H. John Heinz III (R-PA) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 93 | Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 94 | Pat Moynihan (D-NY) | New York 2nd in population (1970) | |
| 95 | Richard Lugar (R-IN) | Indiana 11th in population (1970) | |
| 96 | Jim Sasser (D-TN) | Tennessee 17th in population (1970) | |
| 97 | Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | Arizona 33rd in population (1970) | |
| 98 | Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | Utah 36th in population (1970) | |
| 99 | Harrison Schmitt (R-NM) | New Mexico 37th in population (1970) | |
| 100 | Malcolm Wallop (R-WY) | Wyoming 29th in population (1970) | |
| Kaneaster Hodges (D-AR) | December 10, 1977 | ||
| Paul G. Hatfield (D-MT) | January 22, 1978 | ||
| Muriel Humphrey (D-MN) | January 25, 1978 | ||
| Maryon Allen (D-AL) | June 12, 1978 | ||
| David Durenberger (R-MN) | November 8, 1978 | Minnesota 19th in population (1970) | |
| Donald W. Stewart (D-AL) | Alabama 21st in population (1970) | ||
| Max Baucus (D-MT) | December 15, 1978 | Former representative | |
| Nancy Kassebaum Baker (R-KS) | December 23, 1978 | ||
| Thad Cochran (R-MS) | December 27, 1978 | Former representative | |
| Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN) | December 30, 1978 | ||
| Alan K. Simpson (R-WY) | January 1, 1979 | ||
| John Warner (R-VA) | January 2, 1979 |