# List of United States senators in the 97th Congress

This is a complete list of members of the United States Senate during the 97th United States Congress listed by seniority, from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 1983.
Order of service is based on the commencement of the senator's first term. Behind this is former service as a senator (only giving the senator seniority within his or her new incoming class), service as vice president, a House member, a cabinet secretary, or a governor of a state. The final factor is the population of the senator's state.
In this congress, Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) was the most senior junior senator and Gordon J. Humphrey (R-New Hampshire) was the most junior senior senator.
Senators who were sworn in during the middle of the two-year congressional term (up until the last senator who was not sworn in early after winning the November 1982 election) are listed at the end of the list with no number.

## Terms of service

| Class | Terms of service of senators that expired in years |
| Class 1 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1983 (AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, and WY.) |
| Class 2 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1985 (AK, AL, AR, CO, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, and WY.) |
| Class 3 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1987 (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MS, NC, ND, NH, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, and WY.) |

## U.S. Senate seniority list

U.S. Senate seniority :
| Rank | Senator (party-state) | Seniority date | Other factors |
| 1 | John C. Stennis (D-MS) | November 17, 1947 | |
| 2 | Russell B. Long (D-LA) | December 31, 1948 | |
| 3 | Henry M. Jackson (D-WA) | January 3, 1953 | |
| 4 | Strom Thurmond (R-SC) | November 7, 1956 | |
| 5 | William Proxmire (D-WI) | August 28, 1957 | |
| 6 | Jennings Randolph (D-WV) | November 5, 1958 | |
| 7 | Robert Byrd (D-WV) | January 3, 1959 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 8 | Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ) | January 3, 1959 | Former representative (4 years) |
| 9 | Howard Cannon (D-NV) | January 3, 1959 | |
| 10 | Quentin Northrup Burdick (D-ND) | August 8, 1960 | |
| 11 | Claiborne Pell (D-RI) | January 3, 1961 | |
| 12 | John Tower (R-TX) | June 15, 1961 | |
| 13 | Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | November 7, 1962 | |
| 14 | Daniel Inouye (D-HI) | January 3, 1963 | |
| 15 | Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (I-VA) | November 12, 1965 | |
| 16 | Ernest Hollings (D-SC) | November 9, 1966 |
| 17 | Charles H. Percy (R-IL) | January 3, 1967 | Illinois 4th in population (1960) |
| 18 | Howard Baker (R-TN) | January 3, 1967 | Tennessee 17th in population (1960) |
| 19 | Mark Hatfield (R-OR) | January 10, 1967 | |
| 20 | Ted Stevens (R-AK) | December 24, 1968 | |
| 21 | Thomas Eagleton (D-MO) | December 28, 1968 | |
| 22 | Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) | January 3, 1969 | Previously a senator |
| 23 | Charles Mathias (R-MD) | January 3, 1969 | Former representative (8 years) - Maryland 21st in population (1960) |
| 24 | Bob Dole (R-KS) | January 3, 1969 | Former representative (8 years) - Kansas 29th in population (1960) |
| 25 | Alan Cranston (D-CA) | January 3, 1969 | California 2nd in population (1960) |
| 26 | Bob Packwood (R-OR) | January 3, 1969 | Oregon 32nd in population (1960) |
| 27 | Bill Roth (R-DE) | January 1, 1971 | |
| 28 | Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX) | January 3, 1971 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 29 | Lowell Weicker (R-CT) | January 3, 1971 | Former representative (2 years) |
| 30 | Lawton Chiles (D-FL) | January 3, 1971 | |
| 31 | Robert Stafford (R-VT) | September 16, 1971 | |
| 32 | Sam Nunn (D-GA) | November 8, 1972 | |
| 33 | Bennett Johnston Jr. (D-LA) | November 14, 1972 | |
| 34 | James A. McClure (R-ID) | January 3, 1973 | Former representative |
| 35 | Jesse Helms (R-NC) | January 3, 1973 | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) |
| 36 | Walter Huddleston (D-KY) | January 3, 1973 | Kentucky 23rd in population (1970) |
| 37 | Pete Domenici (R-NM) | January 3, 1973 | New Mexico 37th in population (1970) |
| 38 | Joe Biden (D-DE) | January 3, 1973 | Delaware 46th in population (1970) |
| 39 | Paul Laxalt (R-NV) | December 18, 1974 | |
| 40 | Jake Garn (R-UT) | December 21, 1974 | |
| 41 | John Glenn (D-OH) | December 24, 1974 | |
| 42 | Wendell H. Ford (D-KY) | December 28, 1974 | |
| 43 | Dale Bumpers (D-AR) | January 3, 1975 | Former governor |
| 44 | Gary Hart (D-CO) | January 3, 1975 | Colorado 30th in population (1970) |
| 45 | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | January 3, 1975 | Vermont 48th in population (1970) |
| 46 | John Danforth (R-MO) | December 27, 1976 |
| 47 | Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) | December 28, 1976 |
| 48 | Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) | December 29, 1976 | Previously a senator |
| 49 | John Chafee (R-RI) | December 29, 1976 | |
| 50 | Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D-MI) | December 30, 1976 | |
| 51 | Samuel Hayakawa (R-CA) | January 2, 1977 | |
| 52 | Spark Matsunaga (D-HI) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (14 years) |
| 53 | John Melcher (D-MT) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (7 years, 7 months) |
| 54 | H. John Heinz III (R-PA) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 55 | Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 56 | Pat Moynihan (D-NY) | January 3, 1977 | New York 2nd in population (1970) |
| 57 | Richard Lugar (R-IN) | January 3, 1977 | Indiana 11th in population (1970) |
| 58 | Jim Sasser (D-TN) | January 3, 1977 | Tennessee 17th in population (1970) |
| 59 | Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | January 3, 1977 | Arizona 33rd in population (1970) |
| 60 | Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | January 3, 1977 | Utah 36th in population (1970) |
| 61 | Harrison Schmitt (R-NM) | January 3, 1977 | New Mexico 37th in population (1970) |
| 62 | Malcolm Wallop (R-WY) | January 3, 1977 | Wyoming 49th in population (1970) |
| 63 | David Durenberger (R-MN) | November 8, 1978 | |
| 64 | Max Baucus (D-MT) | December 15, 1978 | |
| 65 | Nancy Kassebaum Baker (R-KS) | December 23, 1978 | |
| 66 | Thad Cochran (R-MS) | December 27, 1978 | |
| 67 | Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN) | December 30, 1978 | |
| 68 | Alan K. Simpson (R-WY) | January 1, 1979 | |
| 69 | John Warner (R-VA) | January 2, 1979 | |
| 70 | David Pryor (D-AR) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (6 years, 2 months) |
| 71 | William Cohen (R-ME) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 72 | Paul Tsongas (D-MA) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (4 years) - Massachusetts 10th in population (1970) |
| 73 | William L. Armstrong (R-CO) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (4 years) - Colorado 30th in population (1970) |
| 74 | Larry Pressler (R-SD) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (4 years) - South Dakota 44th in population (1970) |
| 75 | David L. Boren (D-OK) | January 3, 1979 | Former governor - Oklahoma 27th in population (1970) |
| 76 | J. James Exon (D-NE) | January 3, 1979 | Former governor - Nebraska 35th in population (1970) |
| 77 | Carl Levin (D-MI) | January 3, 1979 | Michigan 7th in population (1970) |
| 78 | Bill Bradley (D-NJ) | January 3, 1979 | New Jersey 8th in population (1970) |
| 79 | Howell Heflin (D-AL) | January 3, 1979 | Alabama 21st in population (1970) |
| 80 | Roger Jepsen (R-IA) | January 3, 1979 | Iowa 25th in population (1970) |
| 81 | Gordon J. Humphrey (R-NH) | January 3, 1979 | New Hampshire 41st in population (1970) |
| 82 | George J. Mitchell (D-ME) | May 17, 1980 | |
| 83 | Warren Rudman (R-NH) | December 31, 1980 | |
| 84 | Paula Hawkins (R-FL) | January 1, 1981 | |
| 85 | Jeremiah Denton (R-AL) | January 2, 1981 | |
| 86 | Mark Andrews (R-ND) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (16 years) |
| 87 | Steve Symms (R-ID) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (12 years) |
| 88 | James Abdnor (R-SD) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (8 years) |
| 89 | Chris Dodd (D-CT) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (6 years) - Connecticut 24th in population (1970) |
| 90 | Chuck Grassley (R-IA) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (6 years) - Iowa 25th in population (1970) |
| 91 | Dan Quayle (R-IN) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (4 years) - Indiana 11th in population (1970) |
| 92 | Bob Kasten (R-WI) | January 3, 1981 | Former representative (4 years) - Wisconsin 16th in population (1970) |
| 93 | Al D'Amato (R-NY) | January 3, 1981 | New York 2nd in population (1970) |
| 94 | Arlen Specter (R-PA) | January 3, 1981 | Pennsylvania 3rd in population (1970) |
| 95 | Alan J. Dixon (D-IL) | January 3, 1981 | Illinois 5th in population (1970) |
| 96 | John Porter East (R-NC) | January 3, 1981 | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) |
| 97 | Mack Mattingly (R-GA) | January 3, 1981 | Georgia 15th in population (1970) |
| 98 | Slade Gorton (R-WA) | January 3, 1981 | Washington 22nd in population (1970) |
| 99 | Don Nickles (R-OK) | January 3, 1981 | Oklahoma 27th in population (1970) |
| 100 | Frank Murkowski (R-AK) | January 3, 1981 | Alaska 50th in population (1970) |
| | Nicholas F. Brady (R-NJ) | April 20, 1982 | |
| | Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) | December 27, 1982 | |
The most senior senators by class were John C. Stennis (D-Mississippi) from Class 1, Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina) from Class 2, and Russell B. Long (D-Louisiana) from Class 3.