This is a complete list of members of the United States Senate during the 99th United States Congress listed by seniority, from January 3, 1985, to January 3, 1987.
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] [4]
Senators who were sworn in during the two-year congressional term (up until the last senator who was not sworn in early after winning the November 1986 election) are listed at the end of the list with no number.
The most senior junior senator was Ernest Hollings of South Carolina. The most junior senior senator was Slade Gorton of Washington.
| Class | Terms of service of senators that expired in years |
|---|---|
| Class 3 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1987 (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 1989 (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, WI, WV, and WY.) [6] |
| Class 2 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1991 (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.) [7] |
| Rank | Senator (party-state) | Seniority date | Other factors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John C. Stennis (D-MS) | November 17, 1947 | |
| 2 | Russell B. Long (D-LA) | December 31, 1948 | |
| 3 | Strom Thurmond (R-SC) | November 7, 1956 | |
| 4 | William Proxmire (D-WI) | August 28, 1957 | |
| 5 | Robert Byrd (D-WV) | January 3, 1959 | |
| 6 | Quentin Northrup Burdick (D-ND) | August 8, 1960 | |
| 7 | Claiborne Pell (D-RI) | January 3, 1961 | |
| 8 | Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | November 7, 1962 | |
| 9 | Daniel Inouye (D-HI) | January 3, 1963 | |
| 10 | Fritz Hollings (D-SC) | November 9, 1966 | |
| 11 | Mark Hatfield (R-OR) | January 10, 1967 | |
| 12 | Ted Stevens (R-AK) | December 24, 1968 | |
| 13 | Thomas Eagleton (D-MO) | December 28, 1968 | |
| 14 | Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) | January 3, 1969 | Previously a senator |
| 15 | Charles Mathias (R-MD) | Former representative (8 years) - Maryland 21st in population (1960) | |
| 16 | Bob Dole (R-KS) | Former representative (8 years) - Kansas 29th in population (1960) | |
| 17 | Alan Cranston (D-CA) | California 2nd in population (1960) | |
| 18 | Bob Packwood (R-OR) | Oregon 32nd in population (1960) | |
| 19 | Bill Roth (R-DE) | January 1, 1971 | |
| 20 | Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX) | January 3, 1971 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 21 | Lowell Weicker (R-CT) | Former representative (2 years) | |
| 22 | Lawton Chiles (D-FL) | ||
| 23 | Robert Stafford (R-VT) | September 16, 1971 | |
| 24 | Sam Nunn (D-GA) | November 8, 1972 | |
| 25 | Bennett Johnston Jr. (D-LA) | November 14, 1972 | |
| 26 | James A. McClure (R-ID) | January 3, 1973 | Former representative |
| 27 | Jesse Helms (R-NC) | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) | |
| 28 | Pete Domenici (R-NM) | New Mexico 37th in population (1970) | |
| 29 | Joe Biden (D-DE) | Delaware 46th in population (1970) | |
| 30 | Paul Laxalt (R-NV) | December 18, 1974 | |
| 31 | Jake Garn (R-UT) | December 21, 1974 | |
| 32 | John Glenn (D-OH) | December 24, 1974 | |
| 33 | Wendell H. Ford (D-KY) | December 28, 1974 | |
| 34 | Dale Bumpers (D-AR) | January 3, 1975 | Former governor |
| 35 | Gary Hart (D-CO) | Colorado 30th in population (1970) | |
| 36 | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | Vermont 48th in population (1970) | |
| 37 | John Danforth (R-MO) | December 27, 1976 | |
| 38 | Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) | December 28, 1976 | |
| 39 | Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) | December 29, 1976 | Previously a senator |
| 40 | John Chafee (R-RI) | ||
| 41 | Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D-MI) | December 30, 1976 | |
| 42 | Spark Matsunaga (D-HI) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (14 years) |
| 43 | John Melcher (D-MT) | Former representative (7 years, 7 months) | |
| 44 | H. John Heinz III (R-PA) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 45 | Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 46 | Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) | New York 2nd in population (1970) | |
| 47 | Richard Lugar (R-IN) | Indiana 11th in population (1970) | |
| 48 | Jim Sasser (D-TN) | Tennessee 17th in population (1970) | |
| 49 | Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | Arizona 22nd in population (1970) | |
| 50 | Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | Utah 36th in population (1970) | |
| 51 | Malcolm Wallop (R-WY) | Wyoming 49th in population (1970) | |
| 52 | David Durenberger (R-MN) | November 8, 1978 | |
| 53 | Max Baucus (D-MT) | December 15, 1978 | |
| 54 | Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) | December 23, 1978 | |
| 55 | Thad Cochran (R-MS) | December 27, 1978 | |
| 56 | Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN) | December 30, 1978 | |
| 57 | Alan K. Simpson (R-WY) | January 1, 1979 | |
| 58 | John Warner (R-VA) | January 2, 1979 | |
| 59 | David Pryor (D-AR) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (6 years, 2 months) |
| 60 | William Cohen (R-ME) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 61 | William L. Armstrong (R-CO) | Former representative (4 years) - Colorado 30th in population (1970) | |
| 62 | Larry Pressler (R-SD) | Former representative (4 years) - South Dakota 44th in population (1970) | |
| 63 | David L. Boren (D-OK) | Former governor - Oklahoma 27th in population (1970) | |
| 64 | J. James Exon (D-NE) | Former governor - Nebraska 35th in population (1970) | |
| 65 | Carl Levin (D-MI) | Michigan 7th in population (1970) | |
| 66 | Bill Bradley (D-NJ) | New Jersey 8th in population (1970) | |
| 67 | Howell Heflin (D-AL) | Alabama 21st in population (1970) | |
| 68 | Gordon J. Humphrey (R-NH) | New Hampshire 41st in population (1970) | |
| 69 | George J. Mitchell (D-ME) | May 17, 1980 | |
| 70 | Warren Rudman (R-NH) | December 31, 1980 | |
| 71 | Paula Hawkins (R-FL) | January 1, 1981 | |
| 72 | Jeremiah Denton (R-AL) | January 2, 1981 | |
| 73 | Mark Andrews (R-ND) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (16 years) |
| 74 | Steve Symms (R-ID) | Former representative (12 years) | |
| 75 | James Abdnor (R-SD) | Former representative (8 years) | |
| 76 | Chris Dodd (D-CT) | Former representative (6 years) - Connecticut 24th in population (1970) | |
| 77 | Chuck Grassley (R-IA) | Former representative (6 years) - Iowa 25th in population (1970) | |
| 78 | Dan Quayle (R-IN) | Former representative (4 years) - Indiana 11th in population (1970) | |
| 79 | Bob Kasten (R-WI) | Former representative (4 years) - Wisconsin 16th in population (1970) | |
| 80 | Al D'Amato (R-NY) | New York 2nd in population (1970) | |
| 81 | Arlen Specter (R-PA) | Pennsylvania 3rd in population (1970) | |
| 82 | Alan J. Dixon (D-IL) | Illinois 5th in population (1970) | |
| 83 | John Porter East [8] (R-NC) | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) | |
| 84 | Mack Mattingly (R-GA) | Georgia 15th in population (1970) | |
| 85 | Slade Gorton (R-WA) | Washington 22nd in population (1970) | |
| 86 | Don Nickles (R-OK) | Oklahoma 27th in population (1970) | |
| 87 | Frank Murkowski (R-AK) | Alaska 50th in population (1970) | |
| 88 | Frank Lautenberg [9] (D-NJ) | December 27, 1982 | |
| 89 | Paul Trible (R-VA) | January 3, 1983 | Former representative |
| 90 | Pete Wilson (R-CA) | California 1st in population (1980) | |
| 91 | Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) | New Mexico 37th in population (1980) | |
| 92 | Chic Hecht (R-NV) | Nevada 43rd in population (1980) | |
| 93 | Daniel J. Evans (R-WA) | September 12, 1983 | |
| 94 | John Kerry (D-MA) | January 2, 1985 | |
| 95 | Paul Simon (D-IL) | January 3, 1985 | Former representative (10 years) - Illinois 5th in population (1980) |
| 96 | Tom Harkin (D-IA) | Former representative (10 years) - Iowa 27th in population (1980) | |
| 97 | Al Gore (D-TN) | Former representative (8 years) | |
| 98 | Phil Gramm (R-TX) | Former representative (6 years) | |
| 99 | Mitch McConnell (R-KY) | ||
| 100 | Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) | January 15, 1985 [10] | |
| 101 | Jim Broyhill (R-NC) | July 14, 1986 | |
| 102 | Terry Sanford (D-NC) | November 5, 1986 |