Senators by State 2024

According to the United States Constitution, each state is represented by two senators that serve in the United States Senate. While the number of representatives in the House of Representatives depends on the population of the state, all states have the same number of senators regardless of population. As a result, the most populous states in the country have the same representation in the Senate as the least populated states.

With 50 states in the country and two senators for each state, there are 100 senators in the United States Senate.

Senators serve terms of six years; if they wish to continue serving after that time, they must be re-elected by the citizens of their states. However, not all senators begin their term at the same time. Imagine if every single senator came up for election at the same time. The Senate could be filled with senators brand new to the job, all at the same time! To make sure that this situation does not happen and that there are always experienced senators present, there are elections every two years. One-third of Senate seats go up for election every two years, so there is always some continuity in terms of who is serving in the Senate.

Senators by Party

Most senators belong to either the Democratic or Republican parties. If a state is heavily Republican, its citizens will likely elect Republican senators. If a state's population is heavily Democrat, its citizens will likely elect Democrat senators. Nevertheless, the greatest predictor of whether or not a senator will be re-elected is not if his or her party corresponds with the more popular party within the state.

The greatest predictor of whether or not a senator will be re-elected is if he or she is already a sitting senator. Why? Because most people do not know what policies their senators have voted on or what their political views are. They may know the senators’ names, and they are likely to vote for them because they recognize those names. Incumbency is the greatest asset a senator can have in order to be re-elected.

On rare occasions, senators change parties after they are already in office. A Democrat senator may become a Republican, and a Republican senator may become a Democrat. These switches can be very controversial among voters and can also impact whether or not the senator is re-elected. Some senators, however, are not Democratic or Republican. They are either Independent (no party affiliation) or belong to a different, smaller party.

Current Senate Makeup

After the 2022 midterm elections and as of early 2023, there are currently 48 Democratic senators, 47 Republican senators, and 3 Independent senators. The three Independents (Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Angus S. King Jr of Maine, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona) caucus and vote generally with the Democrats, giving them a majority in the Senate. Sinema ran and was elected as a Democrat, but changed her affiliation after being elected.