This article lists all appointed United States senators since the 1913 ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which established the direct election of senators, as well as means of filling vacant Senate seats.
Text of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Gubernatorial appointment governing Senate vacancies
Filling vacancies by special election The following states require Senate vacancies to be filled only by elections and do not allow state governors to fill them through appointments. Kentucky North Dakota Rhode Island Wisconsin
Filling vacancies by gubernatorial appointment followed by a proximate special election The following 10 states allow state governors to fill Senate vacancies through appointments. However, a special election must be held within a few months of the vacancy.
Alabama Alaska Connecticut Louisiana Massachusetts Mississippi Oregon Texas Vermont Washington
Filling vacancies by gubernatorial appointment through the next election The following 36 states allow state governors to fill Senate vacancies through appointments. An appointed senator may serve out the balance of the term or until after the next statewide general election.
Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Michigan Minnesota Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah Virginia West Virginia Wyoming
Appointments of senators-elect to the Senate
In the past, retiring or defeated senators often resigned after the general election but before the expiration of their term due to various reasons.
One of the common reason was to allow state governors to appoint their successors to the vacated seat. This enabled their successors to gain extra seniority over other freshmen senators for the purposes of obtaining choice committee assignments. This practice ended in 1980 after both parties established new party rules that no longer gave seniority to senators who entered Congress early by being appointed to fill the vacancy just before the end of a Congress. Seniority still counted in obtaining choice of office and parking space assignments.
In the election years of 1966, 1974, and 1978, changes to pension laws made it advantageous for senators to resign before December 31, rather than wait until their term expired in early January, contributing to the increase in the number of appointed senators.
In addition, 3 senators died after the election of their successors, allowing their successors to be appointed and take office early. Joseph M. McCormick (Illinois) James J. Couzens (Michigan) Philip Hart (Michigan)
Number of appointed senators since the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment There have been a total of 255 senators appointed to the United States Senate since the 1913 ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment, including 208 appointments made before the next scheduled or special election and 47 appointments made of senators-elect who have already been elected to the seat.
Number of appointed senators by stateStateAppointment madeTotalBefore electionAfter election Alabama617 Alaska202 Arizona202 Arkansas303 California7512 Colorado404 Connecticut303 Delaware314 Florida628 Georgia606 Hawaii202 Idaho617 Illinois314 Indiana404 Iowa202 Kansas415 Kentucky8210 Louisiana415 Maine101 Maryland000 Massachusetts516 Michigan426 Minnesota718 Mississippi314 Missouri538 Montana314 Nebraska628 Nevada516 New Hampshire527 New Jersey9211 New Mexico505 New York303 North Carolina707 North Dakota415 Ohio7310 Oklahoma202 Oregon415 Pennsylvania505 Rhode Island213 South Carolina8210 South Dakota314 Tennessee505 Texas415 Utah011 Vermont505 Virginia426 Washington336 West Virginia404 Wisconsin000 Wyoming516Total20847255
List of individuals appointed to the Senate The following is a list of individuals appointed to the Senate preceding an election. Only appointments made after the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment, which established the direct election of senators, are included. The Senate Historical Office does not maintain records of senators who were appointed before the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment.
For a list of senators-elect appointed to the Senate after being elected, see List of senators-elect appointed to the Senate.
Key Democratic PartyRepublican PartyNorth Dakota Nonpartisan LeagueMinnesota Farmer–Labor PartyMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor PartyNorth Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League PartyIndependence Party of Minnesota
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