United States Senate
The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the House of Representatives.
118th Congress
Partisan breakdown
The following chart shows the partisan balance in the Senate.
| Partisan composition, U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| 118th Congress | ||
| Party | Members | |
| Democratic | 48 | |
| Republican | 49 | |
| Independent | 3[1] | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Leadership
- See also: 118th United States Congress
Constitutionally mandated officers
- President of the Senate: The vice president of the United States is also the president of the Senate. While they cannot normally vote on Senate matters, they preside over the Senate and act as a tie-breaker. They also receive and announce the tally of the electoral college vote for president and vice president before the Senate.[2]
- President Pro Tempore: Fills in for the president of the Senate when they are absent. They are also the third in the line of succession for the presidency. In recent years the role has largely been given to popular senators from the majority party.[3]
Political leaders
- Political leaders include the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, as well as the Majority Whip and the Minority Whip.[4]
Elected Senate officers
- The Chaplain: The Senate chaplain provides spiritual services and counseling to Senate members, family, and staff.[5]
- Party Secretaries: Each party elects a party secretary to aid in communication of Senate business.[6]
- The Secretary of the Senate: The secretary of the Senate performs a wide range of administrative duties, from record keeping, to procurement, and information technology.[7]
- The Sergeant at Arms: The sergeant at arms is the chief law enforcement officer of the Senate. They hold the jurisdiction to take senators to the Senate Chamber to form a quorum, enforce Senate rules, and arrest the president of the United States if so ordered by the Senate. The sergeant at arms is in charge of maintaining security for the Senate Chamber, the Senate wing of the capital, and other Senate buildings. Finally, they keep the gavel used to start daily Senate business.[8]
Special elections
Special elections will be held during the 118th Congress to replace members of Congress who leave office for any reason.
Senators
Members of the Senate are called senators. Each of the 50 states is given two Senate seats. Washington D.C. and territories, such as Puerto Rico and Guam, do not receive any delegates to the Senate.
Each senator serves for a six-year term. There are no term limits for senators.[9]
Qualifications
According to the U.S. Constitution, senators must meet the following requirements:[10]
- At least 30 years old
- A U.S. citizen for at least nine years
- A resident of the state he or she represents
Additionally, all 50 states maintain requirements related to running for election. These filing requirements vary and can include:
- A filing fee
- A petition with a minimum number of valid signatures
| “ | Section. 3 Clause 1: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. Clause 2: Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. Clause 3: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. Clause 4: The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. Clause 5: The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. Clause 6: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Clause 7: Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.[11] |
” |
| —The U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 3 | ||
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Committees
There are 20 main committees and 71 subcommittees in the U.S. Senate. There are also four joint committees with the U.S. House of Representative. In general, the committees have legislative jurisdiction, with specific topics dealt out to the subcommittees. The majority party chairs and receives the most seats on committees. However, senators are limited to the number of committees they may take part in.
Legislation goes through committees before it reaches the full Senate for debate and approval.[12]
U.S. Senate
- Committee on Aging (Special)
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Committee on Appropriations
- Committee on Armed Services
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Committee on Budget
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Committee on Ethics (Select)
- Committee on Finance
- Committee on Foreign Relations
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Committee on Indian Affairs
- Committee on Intelligence (Select)
- Committee on Judiciary
- Committee on Rules and Administration
- Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
- Committee on Veterans Affairs
Joint committees
Elections
- See also: Classes of United States Senators
Every two years, 33 or 34 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election. Seats in the U.S. Senate for the purposes of determining the year of an election are defined as Class I, Class II, and Class III. Elections for these seats take place in this rotation:
- 2018; 2024: Class I.
- 2020; 2026: Class II.
- 2022; 2028: Class III.
2024
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2024
Elections to the U.S. Senate will be held on November 5, 2024, and 33 of the 100 seats are up for regular election. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies that occur in the 118th Congress.
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of October 18, 2023 | After the 2024 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 48[13] | ||
| Republican Party | 49 | ||
| Independent | 3[13] | ||
| Vacancies | 0 | ||
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
2022
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2022
Elections to the U.S. Senate were held on November 8, 2022. A total of 34 of the 100 seats were up for regular election.
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After the 2022 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 48[13] | 48 | |
| Republican Party | 50 | 49 | |
| Independent | 2[13] | 3 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
2020
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2020
Elections to the U.S. Senate were held on November 3, 2020. A total of 33 of the 100 seats were up for regular election.
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of January 3, 2019 | After the 2020 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 45 | 48[13] | |
| Republican Party | 53 | 50 | |
| Independent | 2 | 2[13] | |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
2018
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2018
Heading into the election, the Republican Party held a 51 seat majority in the chamber. Democrats held 47 seats, and the remaining two were held by independents who caucus with the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party faced greater partisan risk in 2018, as they were defending 25 seats (two of which were held by independents), while eight seats up for election in 2018 were held by Republican incumbents by comparison. The Democratic Party had to defend seats in 10 states that supported Donald Trump (R) over Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016.
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2018 | After the 2018 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 47 | 45 | |
| Republican Party | 51 | 53 | |
| Independent | 2 | 2 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
Battlegrounds
The following map displays which Senate seats were up for election in 2018 and identifies those races that were considered battleground elections. Mouse over a state for more detailed information.
| Results of United States Senate battlegrounds, 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Winner | Partisan change | Incumbent status |
| Arizona |  Jeff Flake |
 Kyrsten Sinema |
Yes | Incumbent didn't seek re-election |
| California | Dianne Feinstein |
Dianne Feinstein |
No | Won |
| Florida | Bill Nelson |
Rick Scott |
Yes | Lost |
| Indiana | Joe Donnelly |
Mike Braun |
Yes | Lost |
| Minnesota (special) | Tina Smith |
Tina Smith |
No | Won |
| Missouri | Claire McCaskill |
Josh Hawley |
Yes | Lost |
| Mississippi (special) | Cindy Hyde-Smith |
Cindy Hyde-Smith |
No | Won |
| Montana | Jon Tester |
Jon Tester |
No | Won |
| North Dakota | Heidi Heitkamp |
Kevin Cramer |
Yes | Lost |
| New Jersey | Bob Menendez |
Bob Menendez |
No | Won |
| New Mexico | Martin Heinrich |
Martin Heinrich |
No | Won |
| Nevada | Dean Heller |
Jacky Rosen |
Yes | Lost |
| Ohio | Sherrod Brown |
Sherrod Brown |
No | Won |
| Tennessee | Bob Corker |
Marsha Blackburn |
No | Incumbent didn't seek re-election |
| Texas | Ted Cruz |
Ted Cruz |
No | Won |
| West Virginia | Joe Manchin |
Joe Manchin |
No | Won |
2016
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2016
The 34 Class III U.S. Senate seats were up for election on November 8, 2016. Of those 34 seats, 24 were held by Republicans and 10 by Democratic senators. Democrats needed to take five seats to regain control of the majority that they lost in 2014. They fell short, ultimately picking up only two seats.
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 44 | 46 | |
| Republican Party | 54 | 52 | |
| Independent | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
2014
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2014
The 33 Class II U.S. Senate seats were up for election on November 4, 2014. Of those 33 seats, 20 were held by Democrats and 13 by Republican senators. Additionally, three special elections took place in 2014 to fill vacancies that occurred during the 113th Congress (Hawaii, Oklahoma and South Carolina). All three of these special elections took place on November 4, 2014, for a total of 36 Senate elections. Democrats lost nine seats and the majority in the Senate.
| U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dem. | 44 | |
| Rep. | 54 | |
| Ind. | 2 | |
| TOTAL | 100 | |
| UNDECIDED | 0 | |
| Click here for more details. | ||
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of 2014 Election | After the 2014 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 53 | 44 | |
| Republican Party | 45 | 54 | |
| Independent | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
2012
- See also: U.S. Senate elections, 2012
Elections to the U.S. Senate were held on November 6, 2012. Of the 33 seats up for election, 23 were held by Democrats and 10 by Republicans. The Democratic Party retained control over the chamber, winning 25 of the 33 seats. With Republican candidates winning only eight seats, this was the worst performance by a major party since the 1950s.[14]
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 51 | 53 | |
| Republican Party | 47 | 45 | |
| Independent | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
Wave elections (1918-2016)
- See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)
The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?
Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.
Applying this definition to four different election groups (U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governorships, and state legislatures) yields specific numbers of seats that Republicans needed to lose for 2018 to qualify as a wave election. Those are:
- 48 U.S. House seats,
- Seven U.S. Senate seats,
- Seven gubernatorial seats, or
- 494 state legislative seats.
The midterm election results in 2018 met those levels in one category, as Democrats gained seven governorships. In congressional elections, Democrats had a net gain of 40 U.S. House seats while Republicans actually gained a net total of two U.S. Senate seats. Democrats gained a net 309 state legislative seats.
Click here to read the full report.
Analysis
Salary
As of 2024, most senators are paid $174,000 per year. Majority and minority leaders, as well as the president pro tempore, receive $193,400.[15]
Some historical facts about the salary of U.S. Senate members:
- In 1789, members of the Senate received $6 per diem[15]
- In 1874, members of the Senate earned $5,000 per year[15]
- In 1990, members of the Senate earned $98,400 per year[15]
- From 2000-2006, the salary of a member of the U.S. Senate increased every year, going from $141,300-$165,200 in that time span.[15]
Voting with the party
OpenCongress is a website that tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of their party caucus. In May 2014, there were 51 Democrats and 45 Republicans tracked.
Democrats:[16]
- The average (mean) Democrat voted with the party approximately 95.0 percent of the team.
- The average (median) Democrat voted with the party approximately 95.55 percent of the time.
- The top Democrat voted with the party approximately 98.8 percent of the time.
- The bottom Democrat voted with the party approximately 72.8 percent of the time.
Republicans:[17]
- The average (both mean & median) Republican voted with the party approximately 86.8 percent of the team.
- The top Republican voted with the party approximately 94.9 percent of the time.
- The bottom Republican voted with the party approximately 62.7 percent of the time.
116th Congress: Demographics
In the 116th Congress, the House and Senate both set records for female representation. The House had 102 women, comprising 23 percent of the chamber’s voting members. The Senate had 25 women, the most female representation in Senate history.[18][19]
The 116th Congress also had the largest number of Blacks (55), Hispanics/Latin Americans (44), Asians/Pacific Islanders (15), and Native Americans (4), making up 22 percent of Congress. The 116th Congress also had 10 members who openly identified as LGBTQ.[20][19][21]
The 116th Congress was slightly more religiously diverse than the 115th Congress. Four hundred and seventy-one members identified as Christian, 34 as Jewish, three as Muslim, three as Hindu, two as Buddhist, two as Unitarian Universalist, one as unaffiliated, and 18 declined to specify a religious affiliation when polled by Pew Research Center.[22]
Current members
Partisan balance
| Partisan composition, U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| 118th Congress | ||
| Party | Members | |
| Democratic | 48 | |
| Republican | 49 | |
| Independent | 3[23] | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | |
List of current U.S. Senate members
See also
- United States Congress
- United States House of Representatives
- 118th Congress
- United States Congress elections, 2024
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2024
- United States Senate elections, 2024
- United States Congress elections, 2022
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2022
- United States Senate elections, 2022
External links
- U.S. Senate website
- U.S. House of Representatives website
- CONGRESS.GOV Text archive of all congressional legislation.
Footnotes
- ↑ Two Independents caucus with the Democratic Party. Another independent, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, counts toward the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate)," April 12, 2012
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "President Pro Tempore," July 9, 2012
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "Senate Organization Chart for the 112th Congress," April 12, 2012
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "Senate Chaplain," April 12, 2012
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "Party Secretaries," April 12, 2012
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "Secretary of the Senate," April 12, 2012
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "Sergeant At Arms," April 12, 2012
- ↑ The U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 3
- ↑ U.S. Senate Official Website, "Learn," April 12, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The U.S. Senate, "About the Senate Committee System," October 7, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Independent Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Angus King (I-Maine) caucus with the Democratic Party. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ind" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Salon.com, "The House GOP can’t be beat: It’s worse than gerrymandering," January 13, 2013
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 U.S. Senate, "Salaries," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑ OpenCongress, "Voting With Party," archived March 5, 2016
- ↑ OpenCongress, "Voting With Party," archived February 5, 2016
- ↑ Pew Research, "A record number of women will be serving in the new Congress," December 18, 2018
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Business Insider, "This one graphic shows how much more diverse the House of Representatives will become in January," December 16, 2018
- ↑ Politico, "Congress's incoming class is younger, bluer, and more diverse than ever," November 28, 2018
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections presents our comprehensive guide to the 116th Congress members and districts," November 29, 2018
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "Faith on the Hill," January 3, 2019
- ↑ Two Independents caucus with the Democratic Party. Another independent, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, counts toward the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
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