Classes of United States senators
Updated: 11/6/2025, 2:10:48 AM Wikipedia source
The 100 seats in the United States Senate are divided into three classes for the purpose of determining which seats will be up for election in any two-year cycle, with only one class being up for election at a time. With senators being elected to fixed terms of six years, the classes allow about a third of the seats to be up for election in any presidential or midterm election year instead of having all 100 be up for election at the same time every six years. The seats are also divided in such a way that any given state's two senators are in different classes so that each seat's term ends in different years. Class 1 and class 2 consist of 33 seats each, while class 3 consists of 34 seats. Elections for class 1 seats took place in 2024, and elections for classes 2 and 3 will take place in 2026 and 2028, respectively. The three classes were established by Article I, Section 3, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The actual division was originally performed by the Senate of the 1st Congress in May 1789 by lot. Whenever a new state subsequently joined the union, its two Senate seats were assigned to two different classes by a random draw, while keeping the three classes as close to the same number as possible. The classes only apply to the regular fixed-term elections of the Senate. A special election to fill a vacancy, usually either due to the incumbent resigning or dying while in office, may happen in any given year regardless of the seat's class. A senator's description as junior or senior senator is also not related to their class. Rather, a state's senior United States senator is the one with the greater seniority in the Senate, which is mostly based on length of service.
Tables
| Class | Most recentelection year | Next scheduledelection year |
| Class 1 | 2024 | 2030 |
| Class 2 | 2020 | 2026 |
| Class 3 | 2022 | 2028 |
| Year | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
| Type | Presidential | Off-year | Midterm | Off-year | Presidential |
| President | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| Senate | Class I (33 seats) | No | Class II (33 seats) | No | Class III (34 seats) |
| House | All 435 seats | No | All 435 seats | No | All 435 seats |
| Gubernatorial | 11 states, 2 territories DE, IN, MO, MT, NH, NC, ND, UT, VT, WA, WV, AS, PR | 2 states NJ, VA | 36 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WI, WY, DC (Mayor), GU, MP, VI | 3 states KY, LA, MS | 11 states, 2 territories DE, IN, MO, MT, NH, NC, ND, UT, VT, WA, WV, AS, PR |
| Lieutenant gubernatorial | 5 states, 1 territory DE, MO, NC, VT, WA, AS | 1 state VA | 10 states AL, AR, CA, GA, ID, NV, OK, RI, TX, VT | 2 states LA, MS | 5 states, 1 territory DE, MO, NC, VT, WA, AS |
| Secretary of state | 7 states MO, MT, NC, OR, VT, WA, WV | None | 26 states AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NM, ND, OH, RI, SC, TX, VT, WI, WY | 3 statesKY, LA, MS | 7 states MO, MT, NC, OR, VT, WA, WV |
| Attorney general | 10 states IN, MO, MT, NC, OR, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV | 1 state VA | 30 states, DC, & 2 territories AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NM, NY, ND, OH, OK, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, WI, DC, GU, MP | 3 states KY, LA, MS | 10 states IN, MO, MT, NC, OR, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV |
| State treasurer | 9 states MO, NC, ND, OR, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV | None | 23 states AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL (CFO), ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MA, NE, NV, NM, OH, OK, RI, SC, VT, WI, WY | 3 states KY, LA, MS | 9 states MO, NC, ND, OR, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV |
| State comptroller/controller | None | None | 7 states CA, CT, IL, MD, NV, NY, SC | None | None |
| State auditor | 9 states MT, NC, ND, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV, GU | None | 15 states AL, AR, DE, IN, IA, MA, MN, MO, NE, NM, OH, OK, SD, VT, WY | 2 states KY, MS | 9 states MT, NC, ND, PA, UT, VT, WA, WV, GU |
| Superintendent of public instruction | 4 states MT, NC, ND, WA | 1 state WI | 7 states AZ, CA, GA, ID, OK,SC, WY | None | 4 states MT, NC, ND, WA |
| Agriculture commissioner | 2 states NC, WV | None | 6 statesAL, FL, GA, IA, ND, SC | 3 statesKY, LA, MS | 2 states NC, WV |
| Insurance commissioner | 3 states NC, ND, WA, | None | 5 statesDE, CA GA, KS, OK, | 2 statesLA, MS | 3 states NC, ND, WA, |
| Other commissioners & elected officials | 1 state NC (Labor) | None | 9 statesAZ (Mine Inspector), AR (Land), GA (Land), NM (Land), ND (Tax), OK (Labor), OR (Labor), SD (Land), TX (Land) | None | 1 state NC (Labor) |
| State legislatures | 44 states, DC, & 5 territories AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, DC, AS, GU, MP, PR, VI | 2 states VA, NJ | 46 states, DC, & 4 territories AK, AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, DC, AS, GU, MP, VI | 4 states LA, MS, NJ, VA | 44 states, DC, & 5 territories AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY, DC, AS, GU, MP, PR, VI |
| State boards of education | 8 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, CO, KS, MI, NE, OH, TX, UT, DC, GU, MP, VI | None | 8 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, CO, KS, MI, NE, OH, TX, UT, DC, GU, MP, VI | None | 8 states, DC, & 3 territories AL, CO, KS, MI, NE, OH, TX, UT, DC, GU, MP, VI |
| Other state, local, and tribal offices | Varies | ||||
| Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 | Total | |
| Democratic | 17 | 13 | 15 | 45 |
| Republican | 14 | 20 | 19 | 53 + VP |
| Independent | 2 (caucus with Democrats) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Last election | 2024 | 2020 | 2022 | |
| Next election | 2030 | 2026 | 2028 | |
| Total | 33 | 33 | 34 | 100 |
| State | Class 1 | Class 2 | Class 3 | Cook PVI |
| Alabama | — | Tommy Tuberville (R) | Katie Britt (R) | R+15 |
| Alaska | — | Dan Sullivan (R) | Lisa Murkowski (R) | R+6 |
| Arizona | Ruben Gallego (D) | — | Mark Kelly (D) | R+2 |
| Arkansas | — | Tom Cotton (R) | John Boozman (R) | R+15 |
| California | Adam Schiff (D) | — | Alex Padilla (D) | D+12 |
| Colorado | — | John Hickenlooper (D) | Michael Bennet (D) | D+6 |
| Connecticut | Chris Murphy (D) | — | Richard Blumenthal (D) | D+8 |
| Delaware | Lisa Blunt Rochester (D) | Chris Coons (D) | — | D+8 |
| Florida | Rick Scott (R) | — | Ashley Moody (R) | R+5 |
| Georgia | — | Jon Ossoff (D) | Raphael Warnock (D) | R+1 |
| Hawaii | Mazie Hirono (D) | — | Brian Schatz (D) | D+13 |
| Idaho | — | Jim Risch (R) | Mike Crapo (R) | R+18 |
| Illinois | — | Dick Durbin (D) | Tammy Duckworth (D) | D+6 |
| Indiana | Jim Banks (R) | — | Todd Young (R) | R+9 |
| Iowa | — | Joni Ernst (R) | Chuck Grassley (R) | R+6 |
| Kansas | — | Roger Marshall (R) | Jerry Moran (R) | R+8 |
| Kentucky | — | Mitch McConnell (R) | Rand Paul (R) | R+15 |
| Louisiana | — | Bill Cassidy (R) | John Kennedy (R) | R+11 |
| Maine | Angus King (I) | Susan Collins (R) | — | D+4 |
| Maryland | Angela Alsobrooks (D) | — | Chris Van Hollen (D) | D+15 |
| Massachusetts | Elizabeth Warren (D) | Ed Markey (D) | — | D+14 |
| Michigan | Elissa Slotkin (D) | Gary Peters (D) | — | EVEN |
| Minnesota | Amy Klobuchar (D) | Tina Smith (D) | — | D+3 |
| Mississippi | Roger Wicker (R) | Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) | — | R+11 |
| Missouri | Josh Hawley (R) | — | Eric Schmitt (R) | R+9 |
| Montana | Tim Sheehy (R) | Steve Daines (R) | — | R+10 |
| Nebraska | Deb Fischer (R) | Pete Ricketts (R) | — | R+10 |
| Nevada | Jacky Rosen (D) | — | Catherine Cortez Masto (D) | R+1 |
| New Hampshire | — | Jeanne Shaheen (D) | Maggie Hassan (D) | D+2 |
| New Jersey | Andy Kim (D) | Cory Booker (D) | — | D+4 |
| New Mexico | Martin Heinrich (D) | Ben Ray Luján (D) | — | D+4 |
| New York | Kirsten Gillibrand (D) | — | Chuck Schumer (D) | D+8 |
| North Carolina | — | Thom Tillis (R) | Ted Budd (R) | R+2 |
| North Dakota | Kevin Cramer (R) | — | John Hoeven (R) | R+18 |
| Ohio | Bernie Moreno (R) | — | Jon Husted (R) | R+5 |
| Oklahoma | — | Markwayne Mullin (R) | James Lankford (R) | R+17 |
| Oregon | — | Jeff Merkley (D) | Ron Wyden (D) | D+8 |
| Pennsylvania | Dave McCormick (R) | — | John Fetterman (D) | R+1 |
| Rhode Island | Sheldon Whitehouse (D) | Jack Reed (D) | — | D+8 |
| South Carolina | — | Lindsey Graham (R) | Tim Scott (R) | R+8 |
| South Dakota | — | Mike Rounds (R) | John Thune (R) | R+15 |
| Tennessee | Marsha Blackburn (R) | Bill Hagerty (R) | — | R+14 |
| Texas | Ted Cruz (R) | John Cornyn (R) | — | R+6 |
| Utah | John Curtis (R) | — | Mike Lee (R) | R+11 |
| Vermont | Bernie Sanders (I) | — | Peter Welch (D) | D+17 |
| Virginia | Tim Kaine (D) | Mark Warner (D) | — | D+4 |
| Washington | Maria Cantwell (D) | — | Patty Murray (D) | D+10 |
| West Virginia | Jim Justice (R) | Shelley Moore Capito (R) | — | R+21 |
| Wisconsin | Tammy Baldwin (D) | — | Ron Johnson (R) | R+1 |
References
- "The Senate and the United States Constitution"https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Constitution_Senate.htm
- "Frequently Asked Questions about a New Congress"https://www.senate.gov/general/common/generic/NewCongress_faq.htm
- ABC 10https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/the-us-senate-is-divided-into-classes-what-that-means/103-605093800
- Senate Historyhttps://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/senators-receive-class-assignments.htm
- "Annals of Congress"http://www.constitution.org/ac/01-1s.htm
- Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789–1793http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28sj00143%29%29
- Poughkeepsie Journalhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/114420016/
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/30/archives/gop-wins-governorship-in-hawaiis-first-state-vote-g-o-p-wins-race.html
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/1959/08/25/archives/congress-hails-3-new-members-from-50th-state-galleries-of-both.html
- Sabato's Crystal Ballhttp://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/senate-class-population-imbalance/
- Cook Political Reporthttps://www.cookpolitical.com/cook-pvi/2023-partisan-voting-index/118-district-map-and-list