2,445 US Representatives Who Served with John Dingell

From Watkins Abbitt to John Zwach, Dingell has worked alongside nearly 2,500 different elected men and women over the last 21,000 days in the nation’s lower legislative chamber

Michigan congressman John Dingell received a lot of press on Friday as he passed the late West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd for the most days served in Congress in U.S. history.

As of Monday, Dingell reached 21,000 days of service, or 57 years, 5 months, and 28 days.

Representative Dingell won a special election in December 1955 after the death of his father, 12-term Representative John Sr., and has won reelection 29 times since.

(Note: Dingell was actually not sworn in until January 3, 1956, but House tradition counts his seniority start date – and his 21,000 days – at his election date, not his swearing-in date).

Along the way, Dingell has seen many faces come and go in the nation’s lower legislative chamber.

And just how many Representatives has the Dean of the U.S. House served with over the last 21,000 days?

A Smart Politics analysis of data culled from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress finds John Dingell has served alongside 2,445 different U.S. Representatives thus far during his 57+ years in the House.

Excluding delegates, Dingell has served with:

· 2,223 men and 222 women.

· 1,253 Democrats, 1,174 Republicans, and 18 Representatives who either switched parties or served as independents.

Dingell has thus far served with 88 Representatives from his home state of Michigan which ranks as the eighth most of any state over these nearly 57 and one-half years.

In first is California with 210 Representatives who have shared the House floor with Dingell followed by New York with 196, Pennsylvania with 139, Texas with 127, Illinois with 122, Ohio with 115, Florida with 91, Michigan with 88, New Jersey with 70, and North Carolina with 68.

That’s a lot of names for one man to remember from California alone – although Dingell might be able to recall all of the Representatives he has served with from Alaska, which has had only four Representatives since statehood in 1959 and perhaps even Delaware, Vermont, and Wyoming (eight each).

Number of U.S. Representatives to Serve with John Dingell by State

State	#
California	210
New York	196
Pennsylvania	139
Texas	127
Illinois	122
Ohio	115
Florida	91
Michigan	88
New Jersey	70
North Carolina	68
Georgia	66
Indiana	66
Virginia	52
Tennessee	50
Maryland	48
Missouri	48
Massachusetts	47
Louisiana	46
Washington	46
Wisconsin	44
Minnesota	43
Connecticut	42
Alabama	39
Iowa	39
Colorado	38
Kansas	37
South Carolina	37
Kentucky	36
Oklahoma	33
Arizona	31
Arkansas	28
Mississippi	27
Oregon	26
Nebraska	24
Utah	22
Maine	20
West Virginia	20
New Mexico	19
Idaho	18
New Hampshire	18
Nevada	16
South Dakota	15
Hawaii	13
Montana	13
North Dakota	13
Rhode Island	12
Delaware	8
Vermont	8
Wyoming	8
Alaska	4
Total	2,446*

* Edgar Foreman served from both Texas and New Mexico and is therefore counted in the tally for each state. Note: Excludes delegates. Table compiled by Smart Politics.

The congressman with whom Dingell has served alongside the longest is fellow Democratic Wolverine State U.S. Representative John Conyers – currently serving Michigan’s 13th CD.

Conyers has been in office since January 1963 winning 25 U.S. House contests and has served with Dingell for the last 48 years, 5 months, 7 days and counting.

The member of the U.S. House with whom Dingell served the fewest number of days was 11-term Republican Chauncey Reed of Illinois in the 84th Congress.

Reed died on February 9, 1956, or 37 days after Dingell was sworn into office.

(Note: New York Democratic Representative Sidney Fine resigned 20 days after Dingell’s election to Congress on January 2, 1956 – but the two did not technically serve in the House together as Dingell was sworn in one day later).

And will Dingell add to this 2,445 tally in 2015?

Presuming he wants to serve for a 31st term, there seems to be no stopping southeastern Michigan’s record-holding congressman.

Dingell has been elected by an average margin of victory of 46.9 points across the 30 contests of his congressional career.

During the Republican tsunami of 2010, he faced his most competitive race ever with a 16.7-point victory that cycle, but rebounded with a 38.9-point win in the newly drawn 12th CD in 2012.

Over these 30 contests Dingell has averaged 72.6 percent of the vote while his Republican opponents have averaged just 25.6 percent.

Since Dingell’s first victory in the special election of 1955 to fill his father’s seat after his death, he has defeated a total of 77 challengers: 28 Republicans, 14 Libertarians, and five candidates from the U.S. Taxpayers, American Independent, and Socialist Workers parties, four from the Natural Law Party, three from the Green, Socialist Labor, and Prohibition parties, two from the U.S. Labor party, and five other independent or third party candidates.

John Dingell Margin of Victory in U.S. House Races, 1955-2012

Year	District	Dingell	GOP	3rd	MoV
2012	12	67.9	29.0	3.1	38.9
2010	15	56.8	40.1	3.1	16.7
2008	15	70.7	25.0	4.3	45.7
2006	15	88.0	0.0	12.0	83.9
2004	15	70.9	26.6	2.5	44.3
2002	15	72.2	25.7	2.1	46.5
2000	16	71.0	26.5	2.5	44.5
1998	16	66.6	31.0	2.4	35.6
1996	16	62.0	35.7	2.3	26.3
1994	16	59.1	39.8	1.1	19.3
1992	16	65.1	31.4	3.5	33.7
1990	16	66.6	31.9	1.5	34.7
1988	16	97.4	0.0	2.6	97.4
1986	16	77.8	22.2	0.0	55.6
1984	16	63.7	35.7	0.5	28.0
1982	16	73.7	25.3	1.0	48.4
1980	16	69.9	28.2	1.9	41.7
1978	16	76.5	22.0	1.5	54.5
1976	16	75.9	22.7	1.4	53.2
1974	16	77.7	20.5	1.8	57.2
1972	16	68.1	29.8	2.1	38.3
1970	16	79.1	20.9	0.0	58.2
1968	16	73.9	25.9	0.2	48.0
1966	16	62.7	37.3	0.0	25.4
1964	16	73.4	26.5	0.1	46.9
1962	15	83.0	17.0	0.0	66.0
1960	15	79.4	20.3	0.3	59.1
1958	15	78.5	21.2	0.3	57.3
1956	15	74.1	25.8	0.1	48.3
1955	15	76.1	23.6	0.3	52.5
Average		72.6	25.6	1.8	46.9

Table compiled by Smart Politics with data culled from the Office of the Clerk of U.S. House of Representatives.

For a complete list of the nearly 2,500 U.S. Representatives to serve with John Dingell click here.

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