Women in the U.S. Senate

Female_Senators.jpgAs of the 2006 elections, there are 16 women (an all-time high) serving in the 100-person body, including freshmen Senators Claire McCaskill and Amy Klobuchar. The Senatorial representation of three states (California, Washington and Maine) is entirely female. California's current two senators (Boxer and Feinstein) are the first two women to be elected to the U.S. Senate in the same election (in 1992) from the same state. Six of the women currently serving as Senators have also been elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives—a distinction once held by only Margaret Chase Smith—Mikulski, Snowe, Boxer, Lincoln, Stabenow, and Cantwell.

NameParty-StateDates Served
Rebecca Latimer FeltonDem. GA1922
Hattie Wyatt Caraway  Dem. AK1931 - 1945
Rose McConnel LongDem. LA1936 - 1937
Dixie Bibb GravesDem. AL1937 - 1938
Gladys PyleRep. SD1938 - 1939
Vera Cahalan BushfieldRep. SD1948
Margaret Chase SmithRep. ME1949 - 1973
Eva Kelley BowringRep. NE1954
Hazel Hempel AbelRep. NE1954
Maurine Brown NeubergerDem. OR1960 - 1967
Elaine S. EdwardsDem. LA1972
Muriel HumphreyDem. MN1978
Maryon AllenDem. AL1978
Nancy Landon KassebaumRep. KS1978 - 1997
Paula HawkinsRep. FL1981 - 1987
Barbara MikulskiDem. MD1987 - 
Jocelyn BurdickDem. ND1992
Dianne FeinsteinDem. CA1993 - 
Barbara BoxerDem. CA1993 -
Carol Moseley-BraunDem. IL1993 - 1999
Patty MurrayDem. WA1993 -
Kay Bailey HutchisonRep. TX1993 - 
Olympia Jean Snowe Rep. ME1995 -
Sheila FrahmRep. KS1996
Mary LandrieuDem. LA1997 -
Susan CollinsRep. ME1997 -
Blanche LincolnDem. AR1999 - 
Debbie StabenowDem. MI2001 -
Jean CarnahanDem. MO2001 - 2003
Hillary Rodham ClintonDem. NY2001 -
Maria CantwellDem. WA2001 -
Elizabeth DoleRep. NC2003 -
Lisa MurkowskiRep. AK2003 -