# List of United States senators in the 96th Congress

This is a complete list of members of the United States Senate during the 96th United States Congress listed by seniority, from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1981.
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, Henry M. Jackson was the most senior junior senator and Donald W. Stewart was the most junior senior senator until May 7, 1980 when Edmund Muskie resigned to become Secretary of State. William Cohen was the most junior senior senator from that date until John Durkin resigned on December 29, 1980, after which it was Gordon Humphrey.
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 1980 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 3 | Terms of service of senators that expired in 1981 (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MO, NC, ND, NH, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, UT, VT, WA, and WI.) |
| 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.) |

## U.S. Senate seniority list

U.S. Senate seniority :
| Rank | Senator (party-state) | Seniority date | Other factors |
| 1 | Warren G. Magnuson (D-WA) | December 14, 1944 | |
| 2 | Milton Young (R-ND) | March 12, 1945 | |
| 3 | John C. Stennis (D-MS) | November 17, 1947 | |
| 4 | Russell B. Long (D-LA) | December 31, 1948 | |
| 5 | Henry M. Jackson (D-WA) | January 3, 1953 | |
| 6 | Strom Thurmond (R-SC) | November 7, 1956 | |
| 7 | Herman Talmadge (D-GA) | January 3, 1957 | Former governor |
| 8 | Frank Church (D-ID) | January 3, 1957 | |
| 9 | Jacob K. Javits (R-NY) | January 9, 1957 | |
| 10 | William Proxmire (D-WI) | August 28, 1957 | |
| 11 | Jennings Randolph (D-WV) | November 5, 1958 | |
| 12 | Robert Byrd (D-WV) | January 3, 1959 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 13 | Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ) | January 3, 1959 | Former representative (4 years) |
| 14 | Edmund Muskie (D-ME) | January 3, 1959 | Former governor |
| 15 | Howard Cannon (D-NV) | January 3, 1959 | |
| 16 | Quentin Northrup Burdick (D-ND) | August 8, 1960 | |
| 17 | Claiborne Pell (D-RI) | January 3, 1961 | |
| 18 | John Tower (R-TX) | June 15, 1961 | |
| 19 | Ted Kennedy (D-MA) | November 7, 1962 | |
| 20 | Abraham A. Ribicoff (D-CT) | January 3, 1963 | Former representative (4 years) - Former cabinet secretary |
| 21 | George McGovern (D-SD) | January 3, 1963 | Former representative (4 years) - South Dakota 40th in population (1960) |
| 22 | Daniel Inouye (D-HI) | January 3, 1963 | Former representative (4 years) - Hawaii 43rd in population (1960) |
| 23 | Birch Bayh (D-IN) | January 3, 1963 | |
| 24 | Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) | January 7, 1963 | |
| 25 | Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (I-VA) | November 12, 1965 | |
| 26 | Ernest Hollings (D-SC) | November 9, 1966 | |
| 27 | Charles H. Percy (R-IL) | January 3, 1967 | Illinois 4th in population (1960) |
| 28 | Howard Baker (R-TN) | January 3, 1967 | Tennessee 17th in population (1960) |
| 29 | Mark Hatfield (R-OR) | January 10, 1967 | |
| 30 | Ted Stevens (R-AK) | December 24, 1968 | |
| 31 | Thomas Eagleton (D-MO) | December 28, 1968 | |
| 32 | Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) | January 3, 1969 | Previously a senator |
| 33 | Richard Schweiker (R-PA) | January 3, 1969 | Former representative (8 years) - Pennsylvania 3rd in population (1960) |
| 34 | Charles Mathias (R-MD) | January 3, 1969 | Former representative (8 years) - Maryland 21st in population (1960) |
| 35 | Bob Dole (R-KS) | January 3, 1969 | Former representative (8 years) - Kansas 29th in population (1960) |
| 36 | Henry Bellmon (R-OK) | January 3, 1969 | Former governor |
| 37 | Alan Cranston (D-CA) | January 3, 1969 | California 2nd in population (1960) |
| 38 | Bob Packwood (R-OR) | January 3, 1969 | Oregon 32nd in population (1960) |
| 39 | Mike Gravel (D-AK) | January 3, 1969 | Alaska 50th in population (1960) |
| 40 | Adlai Stevenson III (D-IL) | November 17, 1970 | |
| 41 | Bill Roth (R-DE) | January 1, 1971 | |
| 42 | Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX) | January 3, 1971 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 43 | Lowell Weicker (R-CT) | January 3, 1971 | Former representative (2 years) |
| 44 | Lawton Chiles (D-FL) | January 3, 1971 | |
| 45 | Robert Stafford (R-VT) | September 16, 1971 | |
| 46 | Sam Nunn (D-GA) | November 8, 1972 | |
| 47 | Bennett Johnston Jr. (D-LA) | November 14, 1972 | |
| 48 | James A. McClure (R-ID) | January 3, 1973 | Former representative |
| 49 | Jesse Helms (R-NC) | January 3, 1973 | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) |
| 50 | Walter Huddleston (D-KY) | January 3, 1973 | Kentucky 23rd in population (1970) |
| 51 | Pete Domenici (R-NM) | January 3, 1973 | New Mexico 37th in population (1970) |
| 52 | Joe Biden (D-DE) | January 3, 1973 | Delaware 46th in population (1970) |
| 53 | Paul Laxalt (R-NV) | December 18, 1974 | |
| 54 | Jake Garn (R-UT) | December 21, 1974 | |
| 55 | John Glenn (D-OH) | December 24, 1974 | |
| 56 | Wendell H. Ford (D-KY) | December 28, 1974 | |
| 57 | Richard Stone (D-FL) | January 1, 1975 | |
| 58 | John Culver (D-IA) | January 3, 1975 | Former representative |
| 59 | Dale Bumpers (D-AR) | January 3, 1975 | Former governor |
| 60 | Robert Burren Morgan (D-NC) | January 3, 1975 | North Carolina 12th in population (1970) |
| 61 | Gary Hart (D-CO) | January 3, 1975 | Colorado 30th in population (1970) |
| 62 | Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | January 3, 1975 | Vermont 48th in population (1970) |
| 63 | John Durkin (D-NH) | September 18, 1975 |
| 64 | John Danforth (R-MO) | December 27, 1976 |
| 65 | Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) | December 28, 1976 |
| 66 | Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) | December 29, 1976 | Previously a senator |
| 67 | John Chafee (R-RI) | December 29, 1976 | |
| 68 | Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D-MI) | December 30, 1976 | |
| 69 | Samuel Hayakawa (R-CA) | January 2, 1977 | |
| 70 | Spark Matsunaga (D-HI) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (14 years) |
| 71 | John Melcher (D-MT) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (7 years, 7 months) |
| 72 | H. John Heinz III (R-PA) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 73 | Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) | January 3, 1977 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 74 | Pat Moynihan (D-NY) | January 3, 1977 | New York 2nd in population (1970) |
| 75 | Richard Lugar (R-IN) | January 3, 1977 | Indiana 11th in population (1970) |
| 76 | Jim Sasser (D-TN) | January 3, 1977 | Tennessee 17th in population (1970) |
| 77 | Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | January 3, 1977 | Arizona 33rd in population (1970) |
| 78 | Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | January 3, 1977 | Utah 36th in population (1970) |
| 79 | Harrison Schmitt (R-NM) | January 3, 1977 | New Mexico 37th in population (1970) |
| 80 | Malcolm Wallop (R-WY) | January 3, 1977 | Wyoming 29th in population (1970) |
| 81 | David Durenberger (R-MN) | November 8, 1978 | Minnesota 19th in population (1970) |
| 82 | Donald W. Stewart (D-AL) | November 8, 1978 | Alabama 21st in population (1970) |
| 83 | Max Baucus (D-MT) | December 15, 1978 | |
| 84 | Nancy Kassebaum Baker (R-KS) | December 23, 1978 | |
| 85 | Thad Cochran (R-MS) | December 27, 1978 | |
| 86 | Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN) | December 30, 1978 | |
| 87 | Alan K. Simpson (R-WY) | January 1, 1979 | |
| 88 | John Warner (R-VA) | January 2, 1979 | |
| 89 | David Pryor (D-AR) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (6 years, 2 months) |
| 90 | William Cohen (R-ME) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (6 years) |
| 91 | Paul Tsongas (D-MA) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (4 years) - Massachusetts 10th in population (1970) |
| 92 | William L. Armstrong (R-CO) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (4 years) - Colorado 30th in population (1970) |
| 93 | Larry Pressler (R-SD) | January 3, 1979 | Former representative (4 years) - South Dakota 44th in population (1970) |
| 94 | David L. Boren (D-OK) | January 3, 1979 | Former governor - Oklahoma 27th in population (1970) |
| 95 | J. James Exon (D-NE) | January 3, 1979 | Former governor - Nebraska 35th in population (1970) |
| 96 | Carl Levin (D-MI) | January 3, 1979 | Michigan 7th in population (1970) |
| 97 | Bill Bradley (D-NJ) | January 3, 1979 | New Jersey 8th in population (1970) |
| 98 | Howell Heflin (D-AL) | January 3, 1979 | Alabama 21st in population (1970) |
| 99 | Roger Jepsen (R-IA) | January 3, 1979 | Iowa 25th in population (1970) |
| 100 | Gordon J. Humphrey (R-NH) | January 3, 1979 | New Hampshire 41st in population (1970) |
| | George J. Mitchell (D-ME) | May 17, 1980 | |
| | Warren Rudman (R-NH) | December 31, 1980 | |
| | Paula Hawkins (R-FL) | January 1, 1981 | |
| | Jeremiah Denton (R-AL) | January 2, 1981 | |
The most senior senators by class were John C. Stennis (D-Mississippi) from Class 1, Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina) from Class 2, and Warren G. Magnuson (D-Washington) from Class 3.