List of appointed United States senators

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
"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."

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.
 * North Dakota
 * Oregon
 * Rhode Island
 * Wisconsin

Filling vacancies by gubernatorial appointment followed by a proximate special election
The following 8 states allow state governors to fill Senate vacancies through appointments. However, a special election must be held within a few months of the vacancy.


 * Alaska
 * Connecticut
 * Louisiana
 * Massachusetts
 * Mississippi
 * Texas
 * Vermont
 * Washington

Filling vacancies by gubernatorial appointment through the next election
The following 38 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.


 * Alabama
 * Arizona
 * Arkansas
 * California
 * Colorado
 * Delaware
 * Florida
 * Georgia
 * Hawaii
 * Idaho
 * Illinois
 * Indiana
 * Iowa
 * Kansas
 * Kentucky
 * 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 242 senators appointed to the United States Senate since the 1913 ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment, including 200 appointments made before the next scheduled or special election and 42 appointments made of senators-elect who have already been elected to the seat.

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

List of senators-elect appointed to the Senate
The following is a list of senators-elect appointed to the Senate after being elected. Only appointments made after the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment, which established the direct election of senators, are included.

Key