Senior/Junior Senators

[King]

I was curious about this:

Which state has the most senior delegation (longest years of service combined from both Senators)?

Which state has the most junior delegation (shortest years of service combined from both Senators)?

[Alcon]

Well, for what it's worth, there's always one Senior and one Junior Senator...but I know what you mean. Calculating it now.

[ian]

MA is the longest, isn't it?
GA is the shortest, I think

[Alcon]

I think MA is first, but HI is also 50+.

[Sam Spade]

I think MA is first, but HI is also 50+.

What about West Virginia for the longest?  Hasn't Rockefeller been there for a while too.

[Alcon]

I think MA is first, but HI is also 50+.

What about West Virginia for the longest?  Hasn't Rockefeller been there for a while too.

72 years. That's it.

[Q]

GA, SC, and NC have all elected new senators in both 2002 and 2004.  As to which delegation has the least seniority, that would depend on the previous occupations of the current senators.

[nini2287]

DeMint, Burr, Isakson, Graham and Chambliss' previous occupations were all House member, while Dole's was cabinet member, and if I remember how the seniority works, House members are more senior than cabinet members, so NC is the most junior delegation.

[jimrtex]

Longest Serving Delegations (start of 109th Congress).

WV (Byrd&Rockefeller) 66y
MA (Kennedy&Kerry) 62y2m
HI (Inouye&Akaka) 56y9m
NM (Domenici&Bingamon) 54y
MD (Sarbanes&Mikulski) 46y
VT (Leahy&Jeffords) 46y
IA (Grassley&Harkin) 44y
MT (Baucus&Burns) 42y1m
MS (Cochran&Lott) 42y
CT (Dodd&Lieberman) 40y
UT (Hatch&Bennett) 40y

Longest serving current junior senator:

NM Bingamon 22y
MA Kerry 20y
IA Harkin 20y
WV Rockefeller 20y
MD Mikulski 18y
CT Lieberman 16y
VT Jeffords 16y
MS Lott 16y
MT Burns 16y
HI Akaka 14y9m

Longest service as junior senator, by current senators:

DE Biden 28y*
WV Byrd 26y*
NM Bingamon 22y
MA Kerry 20y
IA Harkin 20y
WV Rockefeller 20y
MD Mikulski 18y
CT Lieberman 16y
VT Jeffords 16y
MS Lott 16y
MT Burns 16y
(displaced from top 10 since start of session)
MI Levin 16y*
UT Hatch 16y*

*Is now senior senator.

Longest service as junior senator, all time:

SC Hollings 36y2m
MS Stennis 31y1m
ME Frye 30y0m
AR Fulbright 29y11m
DE Biden 28y
WA Jackson 28y
NC Overman 27y9m
OR Packwood 26y8m
WV Byrd 26y
VT Morrill 24y2m

Longest service as junior senator for state, current junior senators:

MA Kerry 20y+
PA Santorum 10y*+
DE Biden 28y
MD Mikulski 18y+
MI Levin 16y
IA Harkin 20y+
CA Boxer 12y+
WV Byrd 26y
NM Bingamon 22y+
HI Akaka 14y9m+

*Santorum surpassed old record holder Spector 3 months into current term.
*Boxer surpassed old record holder, at start of current term.
+ Continue to extend record.

Nearing longest service as junior senator for state, current junior senators:

WI Feingold 12y (18y at end of current term, if Kohl is re-elected in 2006)
WV Rockefeller 20y (26y if re-elected in 2008, and Byrd re-electdd in 2006).
MT Burns 16y (17y0m on January 12, 2006)
ID Crapo 6y (10y5 in June 2009 if Craig is re-elected in 2008)
UT Bennett 12y (16y in Jan 2009, if Hatch re-elected in 2006)
AZ Kyl 10y (13y10m in November 2008, if re-elected in 2006)

Longest service as senior senator, current senators:

MA Kennedy 38y (Brooke, Tsongas, Kerry)
AK Stevens 36y1m (Gravel, Murkowski, Murkowski)
NM Domenici 28y (Bingamon)
HI Inouye 28y (Matsunage, Akaka)
IN Lugar 24y (Quayle, Coats, E Bayh)
VA Warner 22y (Trible, Robb, Allen)
IA Grassley 20y (Harkin)
WV Byrd 20y (Rockefeller)
MD Sarbanes 18y (Mikulski)
CT Dodd 16y (Lieberman)
VT Leahy 16y (Jeffords)
MS Cochran 16y (Lott)
NV Reid 16y (Bryan, Ensign)
MT Baucus 16y (Burns)

[Joe Biden 2020]

For what its worth, before the end of the 108th Congress, Oklahoma would have ranked in the middle with about 32y combined between Nickles (24y) and Inhofe (8y).

Now, Oklahoma is down to a combined 8y10m between Inhofe (8y5m) and Coburn (5m).

Our Senior Senator, Jim Inhofe, is up for re-election in 2008.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

For what its worth, before the end of the 108th Congress, Oklahoma would have ranked in the middle with about 32y combined between Nickles (24y) and Inhofe (8y).

Now, Oklahoma is down to a combined 8y10m between Inhofe (8y5m) and Coburn (5m).

Our Senior Senator, Jim Inhofe, is up for re-election in 2008.

SC went from 83.5y to 2y in 2 years.

[J. J.]

For what its worth, before the end of the 108th Congress, Oklahoma would have ranked in the middle with about 32y combined between Nickles (24y) and Inhofe (8y).

Now, Oklahoma is down to a combined 8y10m between Inhofe (8y5m) and Coburn (5m).

Our Senior Senator, Jim Inhofe, is up for re-election in 2008.

SC went from 83.5y to 2y in 2 years.

There is a technical name for the cause of that; it is called "aging."  :-)

[jimrtex]

Longest All Time Combined Seniority (start of 109th Congress)

SC Thurmond 47y6m/Hollings 36y2 (83y8m)
MS Eastland 36y2m/Stennis 31y1m (67y3m)
WV Byrd 46y/Rockefeller 20y (66y+)
WA Magnuson 36y1/Jackson 28y (64y1m)
MA Kennedy 42y2m/Kerry 20y (62y2m+)
AR McClellan 31y11m/Fulbright 29y11m (61y10m)
ME E Hale 30y/Frye 30y (60y)
LA Ellender 35y6m/R Long 23y7m (59y1m)
DE Roth 30y/Biden 28y (58y)
NC Simmons 29y11m/Overman 27y11m (57y10m)

+ Currently serving.
Longest All Time By State (start of current session), plus current tandems that are closing in on the record.

NH Cotton/McIntyre 34y
MA Kennedy/Kerry 62y+
RI Pell/J Chaffee 56y
CT Platt/Hawley 50y (C Dodd/Lieberman 40+)
NY Moynihan/D'Amato 40y
NJ Case/Williams 44y
PA Spector/Santorum 34y+
DE Roth/Biden 58y
MD Sarbanes/Mikulski 46y
VA HF Byrd/Robertson 52y
NC Simmons/Overman 58y
SC Thurmond/Hollings 84y
GA Russell/Talmadge 52y
VT Edmunds/Morrill 51y (Leahy/Jeffords 46y+)
KY Ford/McConnell 38y (McConnell 26y+)
TN McKellor/Stewart 40y
OH Glenn/Metzenbaum 39y
LA Ellender/R Long 59y
IN Lugar/E Bayh 34y+
MS Eastland/Stennis 67y
IL Douglas/Dirksen 34y
AL Hill/Sparkman 53y
ME E Hale/Frye 60y
MO Cockrell/Vest 52y
AR McClellan/Fulbright 62y
MI Riegle/Levin 34y (Levin/Stabenow30y+)
FL Fletcher/Trammell 47y
TX Sheppard/Connally 40y
IA Grassley/Harkin 44y+
WI Proxmire/Nelson 41y
CA Johnson/Downey 35y (Feinstein/Boxer 24y+)
MN K Nelson/Clapp 38y
OR Hatfield/Packwood 55y
KS Dole/Kassebaum 44y
WV Byrd/Rockefeller 66y+
NV Jones/Stewart 56y
NE Hruska/Curtis 44y
CO Teller/Wolcott 33y   
      Teller/Patterson 33y
ND Young/Q Burdick 56y
SD Mundt/McGovern 34y
MT Baucus/Burns 42y+
WA Magnuson/Jackson 64y
ID Borah/Pope 38y
WY Warren/Kendrick 50y
UT Smoot/King 46y (Hatch/R Bennett 40y+)
OK Nickles/Imhofe 34y
NM Domenici/Bingamon 54y+
AZ Hayden/Goldwater 50y
AK Stevens/Murkowski
HI Inouye/Akaka+