Classes of United States Senators Information & Classes of United States Senators Links at HealthHaven.com

	This article is part of the series:; United States Senate
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The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats, with the groups staggered so that one of three classes is up for election every two years.

A senator's description as junior or senior senator is not related to his or her class. Rather, a state's senior senator is the one with the greater seniority in the Senate. This is mostly based on length of service.

[edit] Historical division

Respecting the members of the Senate, Article I, Section 3 of the U. S. Constitution specifies that:

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.

This was actually achieved several weeks after the first Senate assembled. From the Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789-1793:

Thursday, May 14, 1789. The committee appointed to consider and report a mode of carrying into effect the provision in the second clause of the third section of the first article of the Constitution, reported:
Whereupon, Resolved, That the Senators be divided into three classes:

The first to consist of Mr. Langdon, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Morris, Mr. Henry, Mr. Izard, and Mr. Gunn;

The second of Mr. Wingate, Mr. Strong, Mr. Paterson, Mr. Bassett, Mr. Lee, Mr. Butler and Mr. Few;

And the third of Mr. Dalton, Mr. Ellsworth, Mr. Elmer, Mr. Maclay, Mr. Read, Mr. Carroll, and Mr. Grayson.

That three papers of an equal size, numbered 1, 2, and 3, be, by the Secretary, rolled up and put into a box, and drawn by Mr. Langdon, Mr. Wingate, and Mr. Dalton, in behalf of the respective classes in which each of them are placed; and that the classes shall vacate their seats in the Senate according to the order of numbers drawn for them, beginning with number one: And that, when Senators shall take their seats from States that have not yet appointed Senators, they shall be placed by lot in the foregoing classes, but in such manner as shall keep the classes as nearly equal as may be in numbers.

And from the Journal of Friday, May 15, 1789:

The Senate proceeded to determine the classes, agreeably to the resolve of yesterday, on the mode of carrying into effect the provision of the second clause of the third section of the first article of the constitution, and the numbers being drawn, the classes were determined as follows:
Lot No. 1, drawn by Mr. Dalton, contained Mr. Dalton, Mr. Ellsworth, Mr. Elmer, Mr. Maclay, Mr. Read, Mr. Carroll, and Mr. Grayson, whose seats shall, accordingly, be vacated in the Senate, at the expiration of the second year.

Lot No. 2, drawn by Mr. Wingate, contained Mr. Wingate, Mr. Strong, Mr. Paterson, Mr. Bassett, Mr. Lee, Mr. Butler, and Mr. Few, whose seats shall, accordingly be vacated in the Senate, at the expiration of the fourth year.

Lot No. 3, drawn by Mr. Langdon, contained Mr. Langdon, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Morris, Mr. Henry, Mr. Izard, and Mr. Gunn, whose seats shall, accordingly, be vacated in the Senate, at the expiration of the sixth year.

Upon the expiration of a senator's term of any length, someone starts a new six-year term as senator (based on election by the state legislatures until the Seventeenth Amendment required direct popular election of Senators). When a new state is admitted to the Union, its two senators have terms that correspond to those of two different classes, among the three classes defined below. Which two classes is determined by a scheme that keeps the three classes as close to the same size as possible, i.e., one that avoids the largest class differing by more than one senator from the smallest class.

This means at least one of any new state's first pair of senators has a term of less than six years, and one term is either two or four years shorter than the other.

Should a 51st state be admitted to the Union, it would receive senators in Classes I and II, at which point all three Classes would have 34 senators.

[edit] Classes

Map shows the classes in each US State:
Classes 1 and 2 Classes 1 and 3 Classes 2 and 3

[edit] Class I

Class I consists of

the 33 current senators whose seats are scheduled for re-election in November 2012, and whose terms end in January 2013; and
earlier senators with terms ending in 2007, 2001, 1995, 1989, 1983, 1977, 1971, 1965, 1959, and back to 1791

States with a Class I senator: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

[edit] Class II

Class II consists of

the 33 current senators whose seats were scheduled for re-election in November 2014, and whose terms end in January 2015; and
earlier senators with terms that ended in 2009, 2003, 1997, 1991, 1985, 1979, 1973, 1967, 1961, and back to 1793

States with a Class II senator: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

[edit] Class III

Class III consists of

the 34 current senators whose seats are scheduled for re-election in November 2010, and whose terms end in January 2011; and
earlier senators with terms that ended in 2005, 1999, 1993, 1987, 1981, 1975, 1969, 1963, and back to 1795

States with a Class III senator: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

[edit] Current senators in each class by party

In the 111th United States Congress:

		Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Total
Last election:		2006	2008	2004	Total
	Republican	9	13	18	40
	Democratic	22	20	16	58
	Independent	2	0	0	2
Total:		33	33	34	100
Next election:		2012	2014	2010

[edit] External links

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