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Senate Democratic Caucus | |
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Part of | United States Senate |
Chair and Floor Leader | Chuck Schumer (NY) |
Floor Whip | Dick Durbin (IL) |
Vice Chairs | Mark Warner (VA) Elizabeth Warren (MA) |
Secretary | Tammy Baldwin (WI) |
Ideology | Modern liberalism |
Political position | Center-left |
Affiliation | Democratic Party |
Colors | Blue |
Seats | 51 / 100 |
Website | |
democrats.senate.gov | |
This article is part of a series on the |
United States Senate |
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History of the United States Senate |
Members |
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Politics and procedure |
Places |
The Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate, sometimes referred to as the Democratic Conference, is the formal organization of all senators who are part of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. For the makeup of the 118th Congress, the caucus additionally includes four independent senators (Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Angus King of Maine, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia) who caucus with the Democrats, bringing the current total to 51 members. The central organizational front for Democrats in the Senate, its primary function is communicating the party's message to all of its members under a single banner. The present chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus is Chuck Schumer of New York.
Current leadership
Effective with the start of the 118th Congress, the conference leadership is as follows:
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York) (Caucus Leader)
- Senate Majority Whip: Dick Durbin (Illinois)
- President pro tempore: Patty Murray (Washington)
- Caucus Vice Chairs: Mark Warner (Virginia) and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts)
- Policy Committee Chair: Debbie Stabenow (Michigan)
- Steering Committee Chair: Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota)
- Outreach Committee Chair: Bernie Sanders (Vermont)
- Outreach Committee Vice Chair: Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada)
- Policy Committee Vice Chair: Joe Manchin (West Virginia) and Cory Booker (New Jersey)
- Caucus Secretary: Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin)
- Caucus Deputy Secretary: Brian Schatz (Hawaii)
- Campaign Committee Chair: Gary Peters (Michigan)
- Chief Deputy Whip: Jeff Merkley (Oregon)
History
The conference was formally organized on March 6, 1903, electing a chair to preside over its members and a secretary to keep minutes. Until that time, this caucus was often disorganized, philosophically divided and had neither firm written rules of governance nor a clear mission.
Chairs of the Senate Democratic Caucus
Since Oscar Underwood's election in 1920, the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus has also concurrently served as the floor leader as part of an unwritten tradition.
Congress | Leader | State | Took office | Left office | Majority Leader | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
43rd | John W. Stevenson (1812β1886) |
Kentucky | December 1873 | March 4, 1877 | No data | ||
44th | |||||||
45th | William A. Wallace (1827β1896) |
Pennsylvania | March 4, 1877 | March 4, 1881 | |||
46th | |||||||
47th | George H. Pendleton (1825β1889) |
Ohio | March 4, 1881 | March 4, 1885 | |||
48th | |||||||
49th | James B. Beck (1822β1890) |
Kentucky | March 4, 1885 | May 3, 1890 | |||
50th | |||||||
51st | |||||||
Arthur Pue Gorman (1839β1906) |
Maryland | May 3, 1890 | April 29, 1898 | Unknown | |||
52nd | |||||||
53rd | Himself 1893β1895 | ||||||
54th | Unknown | ||||||
55th | |||||||
David Turpie (1828β1909) |
Indiana | April 29, 1898 | March 4, 1899 | ||||
56th | James Kimbrough Jones (1839β1908) |
Arkansas | December 1899 | March 4, 1903 | |||
57th | |||||||
58th | Arthur Pue Gorman (1839β1906) |
Maryland | March 4, 1903 | June 4, 1906 | |||
59th | |||||||
Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn (1838β1918) |
Kentucky | June 4, 1906 | March 4, 1907 | ||||
60th | Charles Allen Culberson (1855β1925) |
Texas | December 1907 | December 9, 1909 | |||
61st | |||||||
Hernando Money (1839β1912) |
Mississippi | December 9, 1909 | March 4, 1911 | ||||
62nd | Thomas S. Martin (1847β1919) |
Virginia | April 1911 | March 4, 1913 | |||
63rd | John W. Kern (1849β1917) |
Indiana | March 4, 1913 | March 4, 1917 | Himself 1913β1917 | ||
64th | |||||||
65th | Thomas S. Martin (1847β1919) |
Virginia | March 4, 1917 | November 12, 1919 | Himself 1917β1919 | ||
66th | Lodge 1919β1924 | ||||||
Gilbert Hitchcock (1859β1934) |
Nebraska | November 12, 1919 | April 27, 1920 | ||||
Oscar Underwood (1862β1929) |
Alabama | April 27, 1920 | December 3, 1923 | ||||
67th | |||||||
68th | |||||||
Joseph Taylor Robinson (1872β1937) |
Arkansas | December 3, 1923 | July 14, 1937 | Curtis 1924β1929 | |||
69th | |||||||
70th | |||||||
71st | Watson 1929β1933 | ||||||
72nd | |||||||
73rd | Himself 1933β1937 | ||||||
74th | |||||||
75th | |||||||
Alben W. Barkley (1877β1956) |
Kentucky | July 14, 1937 | January 3, 1949 | Himself 1937β1947 | |||
76th | |||||||
77th | |||||||
78th | |||||||
79th | |||||||
80th | White 1947β1949 | ||||||
81st | Scott W. Lucas (1892β1968) |
Illinois | January 3, 1949 | January 3, 1951 | Himself 1949β1951 | ||
82nd | Ernest McFarland (1894β1984) |
Arizona | January 3, 1951 | January 3, 1953 | Himself 1951β1953 | ||
83rd | Lyndon B. Johnson (1908β1973) |
Texas | January 3, 1953 | January 3, 1961 | Taft 1953 | ||
Knowland 1953β1955 | |||||||
84th | Himself 1955β1961 | ||||||
85th | |||||||
86th | |||||||
87th | Mike Mansfield (1903β2001) |
Montana | January 3, 1961 | January 3, 1977 | Himself 1961β1977 | ||
88th | |||||||
89th | |||||||
90th | |||||||
91st | |||||||
92nd | |||||||
93rd | |||||||
94th | |||||||
95th | Robert Byrd (1917β2010) |
West Virginia | January 3, 1977 | January 3, 1989 | Himself 1977β1981 | ||
96th | |||||||
97th | Baker 1981β1985 | ||||||
98th | |||||||
99th | Dole 1985β1987 | ||||||
100th | Himself 1987β1989 | ||||||
101st | George J. Mitchell (born 1933) |
Maine | January 3, 1989 | January 3, 1995 | Himself 1989β1995 | ||
102nd | |||||||
103rd | |||||||
104th | Tom Daschle (born 1947) |
South Dakota | January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2005 | Dole 1995β1996 | ||
Lott 1996β2001 | |||||||
105th | |||||||
106th | |||||||
107th | Himself 2001 | ||||||
Lott 2001 | |||||||
Himself 2001β2002 | |||||||
Lott 2002β2003 | |||||||
108th | Frist 2003β2007 | ||||||
109th | Harry Reid (1939β2021) |
Nevada | January 3, 2005 | January 3, 2017 | |||
110th | Himself 2007β2015 | ||||||
111th | |||||||
112th | |||||||
113th | |||||||
114th | McConnell 2015β2021 | ||||||
115th | Chuck Schumer (born 1950) |
New York | January 3, 2017 | Incumbent | |||
116th | |||||||
117th | |||||||
Himself 2021βpresent | |||||||
118th |
Notes
- ^ Died in office.
- ^ Resigned from office.
- ^ Although the Senate Majority Leader for this Congress is unknown, the Republican Party had a majority.
- Acting chair.
- ^ Resigned to become Vice President of the United States.
Vice chair
After the victory of Democrats in the midterm elections of 2006, an overwhelming majority in the conference wanted to reward Chuck Schumer, then the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, with a position in the leadership hierarchy. In response, then-Democratic Leader Harry Reid created the position of vice-chair when Democrats formally took control in 2007. Schumer ascended to Reid's position following his retirement after the 2016 elections. The position was then split, with one co-chair awarded to Mark Warner and the other awarded to Elizabeth Warren.
- Chuck Schumer (2007β2017)
- Mark Warner and Elizabeth Warren (2017βpresent)
Caucus secretary
The United States Senate Democratic Conference Secretary, also called the Caucus Secretary was previously considered the number-three position, behind the party's floor leader and the party's whip, until in 2006, when Democratic leader Harry Reid created the new position of Vice-Chairman of the caucus. Now, the secretary is the fourth-highest ranking position. The conference secretary is responsible for taking notes and aiding the party leadership when senators of the party meet or caucus together.
The first conference secretary was Sen. Edward W. Carmack of Tennessee, who was elected in March 1903.
The current conference secretary is Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who assumed the office in January 2017.
Officeholder | State | Term |
---|---|---|
Edward W. Carmack | TN | 1903β1907 |
Robert Owen | OK | 1907β1911 |
William E. Chilton | WV | 1911β1913 |
Willard Saulsbury Jr. | DE | 1913β1916 |
Key Pittman Acting |
NV | 1916β1917 |
William H. King | UT | 1917β1927 |
Hugo Black | AL | 1927β1937 |
Joshua B. Lee | OK | 1937β1943 |
Francis T. Maloney | CT | 1943β1945 |
Brien McMahon | CT | 1945β1952 |
Thomas Hennings | MO | 1953β1960 |
George Smathers | FL | 1960β1966 |
Robert Byrd | WV | 1967β1971 |
Ted Moss | UT | 1971β1977 |
Daniel Inouye | HI | 1977β1989 |
David Pryor | AR | 1989β1995 |
Barbara Mikulski | MD | 1995β2005 |
Debbie Stabenow | MI | 2005β2007 |
Patty Murray | WA | 2007β2017 |
Tammy Baldwin | WI | 2017βpresent |
Deputy Caucus Secretary
On December 8, 2022, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii was elected to the newly created position of Deputy Caucus Secretary, assuming the office at the beginning of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023. This was an elevation from his previous leadership role as Senate Democratic Chief Deputy Whip.
References
- Bolton, Alexander (January 20, 2021). "Schumer becomes new Senate majority leader". The Hill. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- "Conference Secretaries". U.S. Senate.
- "Senate Democratic Caucus Organized". U.S. Senate.
- "Schumer reelected as Senate majority leader". The Hill.
Bibliography
- Donald A. Ritchie (ed) (1999). Minutes of the Senate Democratic Conference: Fifty-eighth through Eighty-eighth Congress, 1903-1964. Washington, D.C. GPO. Available online in PDF or text format.
External links
- Official Home of the Senate Democratic Caucus on the Internet
- Senate Party Leadership β much of this article's content was adapted from this useful public domain resource
- First Formal Organization of the Senate Democratic Caucus