The Longest-Held Republican US Senate Seats

Kansas, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming claim seven of the Top 10 spots on the list

While Republicans have an opportunity to pick up the second longest held Democratic U.S. Senate seat in 2014 with the retirement of Montana’s Max Baucus, the prospects of the GOP losing any of their gold-rated seats this cycle remains extremely slim.

Five of the Top 10 longest currently held GOP seats will be on the ballot in November 2014 – in Kansas, Idaho, Texas, Wyoming, and South Carolina – and have collectively been in the Republican column for 306 consecutive years.

Three states (Kansas, Utah, Wyoming) can each claim two Senate seats on this Top 10 list, with Kansas landing the top two spots.

A Smart Politics analysis finds that Republicans have held Kansas’ two Senate seats for a longer stretch than any of the 45 seats the party controls in the 113th Congress, with its Class II seat remaining in the GOP column for 94 years, 1 month, and 25 days and its Class III seat coming in at 74 years, 3 months, and 26 days.

Pat Roberts, who will seek a fourth term from the Sunflower State in 2014, is one of five Republican Senators who have held Kansas’ Class II seat across the last 94+ years dating back to March 1919.

In the Election of 1918, Kansas Governor Arthur Capper defeated one-term Democratic Senator William Thompson and reclaimed the seat for the GOP on March 4, 1919.

(Thompson and John Martin, who served in the 1890s, are the only two Democrats to hold this Kansas seat – for a combined eight years across the 152 years since statehood in 1861).

Capper served five terms in the nation’s upper legislative chamber until January 1949 and was followed by Andrew Schoeppel (1949-1962), James Pearson (1962-1978), Nancy Kassebaum (1978-1997), and Roberts (1997-present).

Kansas also holds the #2 spot on the Republican list with its Class III seat held by seven Republicans over nearly 75 years dating back to January 1939: Clyde Reed (1939-1949), Harry Darby (1949-1950), Frank Carlson (1950-1969), Bob Dole (1969-1996), Sheila Frahm (1996-1996), Sam Brownback (1996-2011), and Jerry Moran (2011-present).

Kansas has two of the six seats in the U.S. Senate that have been under GOP control since prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in July 1964, along with seats in Idaho, Utah, Texas, and Wyoming.

Idaho’s Class II seat, currently occupied by Jim Risch, has been held by Republicans ever since Henry Dworshak began his second stint in the chamber in October 1949.

Dworshak had won a special election in 1946 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator John Thomas, but then lost the 1948 general election by approximately 3,100 votes to Democrat Bert Miller.

However, Miller, a former State Attorney General and State Supreme Court justice, died after just nine months in office and Dworshak was appointed back to the seat on October 14, 1949.

Dworshak was elected in 1950, 1954, and 1960 to help build a streak that has lasted 63 years, 6 months, and 15 days and counting in the Gem State with Len Jordan (1962-1973), James McClure (1973-1991), Larry Craig (1991-2009), and Risch (2009-present) succeeding him in the chamber.

Utah won’t have a Senate race on the ballot in 2014, but, like Kansas, the state also holds two spots on the Top 10 list of the longest-held Republican seats.

The Beehive State’s Class III seat, currently held by Mike Lee, ranks #4, with the GOP in control of the seat since January 1951, or 62 years, 3 months, and 26 days.

In the Election of 1950, three-term Democrat Elbert Thomas, one of only two Democrats to hold the seat in state history, was defeated by Wallace Bennett who went on to serve in the chamber until December 1974.

Jake Garn (1974-1993), Wallace’s son Robert Bennett (1993-2011), and Lee (2011-present) have kept the seat in the Republican column over the subsequent decades.

Utah’s other Senate seat is tied for #10 on the GOP list with Orrin Hatch holding it for the Republicans since January 1977.

Also on the ballot in 2014 will be seats held by Republicans for 50+ years in Texas (June 1961, John Cornyn), Wyoming (November 1962, Mike Enzi), and South Carolina (September 1964, Lindsey Graham).

Enzi’s Class II seat in Wyoming ranks #6 on the GOP list at 50 years with John Barrasso’s Class III seat tied at #10 (January 1977).

It should be noted that the one seat Republicans are perhaps most fearful of losing in 2014 is the seat they have held for the shortest period of the 14 on the ballot.

Retiring Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss’ Class II seat has been in the GOP column since January 2003.

Length of Republican Control of Current U.S. Senate Seats

Rank	State	Class	Currently held by	Since
1	Kansas	2	Pat Roberts	March 1919
2	Kansas	3	Jerry Moran	January 1939
3	Idaho	2	Jim Risch	October 1949
4	Utah	3	Mike Lee	January 1951
5	Texas	2	John Cornyn	June 1961
6	Wyoming	2	Mike Enzi	November 1962
7	South Carolina	2	Lindsey Graham	September 1964
8	Arizona	3	John McCain	January 1969
8	Oklahoma	3	Tom Coburn	January 1969
10	Utah	1	Orrin Hatch	January 1977
10	Wyoming	1	John Barrasso	January 1977
12	Mississippi	2	Thad Cochran	December 1978
13	Maine	2	Susan Collins	January 1979
14	New Hampshire	3	Kelly Ayotte	December 1980
15	Alaska	3	Lisa Murkowski	January 1981
15	Idaho	3	Mike Crapo	January 1981
15	Iowa	3	Chuck Grassley	January 1981
18	Kentucky	2	Mitch McConnell	January 1985
19	Missouri	3	Roy Blunt	January 1987
20	Mississippi	1	Roger Wicker	January 1989
21	Texas	1	Ted Cruz	June 1993
22	Alabama	3	Richard Shelby	November 1994
23	Oklahoma	2	James Inhofe	November 1994
24	Tennessee	2	Lamar Alexander	December 1994
25	Arizona	1	Jeff Flake	January 1995
25	Tennessee	1	Bob Corker	January 1995
27	Alabama	2	Jeff Sessions	January 1997
27	Nebraska	2	Mike Johanns	January 1997
29	Kentucky	3	Rand Paul	January 1999
29	Ohio	3	Rob Portman	January 1999
31	Georgia	2	Saxby Chambliss	January 2003
32	Florida	3	Marco Rubio	January 2005
32	Georgia	3	Johnny Isakson	January 2005
32	Louisiana	3	David Vitter	January 2005
32	North Carolina	3	Richard Burr	January 2005
32	South Carolina	3	Tim Scott	January 2005
32	South Dakota	3	John Thune	January 2005
38	Illinois	3	Mark Kirk	November 2010
39	Arkansas	3	John Boozman	January 2011
39	Indiana	3	Dan Coats	January 2011
39	Nevada	1	Dean Heller	January 2011
39	North Dakota	3	John Hoeven	January 2011
39	Pennsylvania	3	Pat Toomey	January 2011
39	Wisconsin	3	Ron Johnson	January 2011
45	Nebraska	1	Deb Fischer	January 2013

Note: Excludes vacancies. Table compiled by Smart Politics.

Follow Smart Politics on Twitter.