List of United States senators from Tennessee

Tennessee was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1796. Its United States Senate seats were declared vacant in March 1862 owing to its secession from the Union. They were again filled from July 1866. Tennessee's current senators are Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty. Kenneth McKellar was Tennessee's longest-serving senator (1917–1953).

Current delegation

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R)

Senator Bill Hagerty (R)

List of senators

#	Senator	Party	Dates in office	Electoral history	T	C	T	Electoral history	Dates in office	Party	Senator	#
Class 1 Class 1 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018. The next election will be in 2024.						C	Class 2 Class 2 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. The next election will be in 2026.
Vacant			Jun 1, 1796 – Aug 2, 1796	Tennessee did not elect its senators until two months after statehood.	1	4th	1	Tennessee did not elect its senators until two months after statehood.	Jun 1, 1796 – Aug 2, 1796	Vacant
1	William Cocke	Democratic-Republican	Aug 2, 1796 – Sep 26, 1797	Elected in 1796.	1	4th		Elected in 1796. Expelled for conspiracy with the Kingdom of Great Britain.	Aug 2, 1796 – Jul 8, 1797	Democratic-Republican	William Blount	1
				Appointed to begin the term due to legislature's failure to elect.^[1] Lost re-election.	2	5th			Aug 2, 1796 – Jul 8, 1797	Democratic-Republican	William Blount	1
									Jul 8, 1797 – Sep 26, 1797	Vacant
2	Andrew Jackson	Democratic-Republican	Sep 26, 1797 – Apr 1, 1798	Elected to finish Cocke's term. Resigned.				Elected to finish Blount's term. Resigned when elected to the class 1 seat.	Sep 26, 1797 – Mar 3, 1799	Democratic-Republican	Joseph Anderson	2
Vacant			Apr 1, 1798 – Oct 6, 1798
3	Daniel Smith	Democratic-Republican	Oct 6, 1798 – Mar 3, 1799	Appointed to finish Jackson's term. Retired.
4	Joseph Anderson	Democratic-Republican	Mar 4, 1799 – Mar 3, 1803	Elected in 1798 to finish Jackson's term.		6th	2	Elected in 1798. Retired or lost re-election.	Mar 4, 1799 – Mar 3, 1805	Democratic-Republican	William Cocke	3
	Joseph Anderson	Democratic-Republican	Mar 4, 1799 – Mar 3, 1803	Elected in 1798 to finish Jackson's term.		7th
	Vacant		Mar 4, 1803 – Sep 22, 1803	Legislature failed to elect.	3	8th
	Joseph Anderson	Democratic-Republican	Sep 22, 1803 – Mar 3, 1809	Re-elected late in 1803.		8th
						9th	3	Elected early in 1803. Resigned.	Mar 4, 1805 – Mar 31, 1809	Democratic-Republican	Daniel Smith	4
						10th
			Mar 4, 1809 – Apr 11, 1809	Appointed to begin the term due to legislature's failure to elect.^[1]	4	11th
			Mar 4, 1809 – Apr 11, 1809						Apr 1, 1809 – Apr 11, 1809	Vacant
			Apr 11, 1809 – Mar 3, 1815	Re-elected late in 1809. Retired.				Elected to finish Smith's term.	Apr 11, 1809 – Oct 8, 1811	Democratic-Republican	Jenkin Whiteside	5
						12th	4	Re-elected early in 1809. Resigned.	Apr 11, 1809 – Oct 8, 1811	Democratic-Republican	Jenkin Whiteside	5
						12th		Elected in 1811 to finish Whiteside's term.^[2] Resigned.	Oct 8, 1811 – Feb 11, 1814	Democratic-Republican	George W. Campbell	6
						13th		Elected in 1811 to finish Whiteside's term.^[2] Resigned.	Oct 8, 1811 – Feb 11, 1814	Democratic-Republican	George W. Campbell	6
									Feb 12, 1814 – Mar 16, 1814	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Whiteside's term. Retired when his successor was elected.	Mar 17, 1814 – Oct 10, 1815	Democratic-Republican	Jesse Wharton	7
Vacant			Mar 4, 1815 – Oct 10, 1815		5	14th			Mar 17, 1814 – Oct 10, 1815	Democratic-Republican	Jesse Wharton	7
5	George W. Campbell	Democratic-Republican	Oct 10, 1815 – Apr 20, 1818	Elected late in 1815. Resigned.		14th		Elected to finish Whiteside's term. Legislature failed to elect.	Oct 10, 1815 – Mar 3, 1823	Democratic-Republican	John Williams	8
5	George W. Campbell	Democratic-Republican	Oct 10, 1815 – Apr 20, 1818	Elected late in 1815. Resigned.		15th	5	Appointed to begin the term.^[3] Elected in 1817 to finish the term.^[3] Lost re-election.
Vacant			Apr 20, 1818 – Sep 27, 1818
6	John Eaton	Democratic-Republican	Sep 5, 1818 – Mar 4, 1821	Appointed to continue Campbell's term. Elected in 1819 to finish Campbell's term.^[1]
	John Eaton	Democratic-Republican	Sep 5, 1818 – Mar 4, 1821			16th
	Vacant		Mar 4, 1821 – Sep 27, 1821	Legislature failed to elect.	6	17th
	John Eaton	Democratic-Republican	Sep 27, 1821 – Mar 9, 1829	Re-elected late in 1821.		17th
		Democratic-Republican				18th	6	Elected in 1823. Resigned.	Mar 4, 1823 – Oct 14, 1825	Democratic-Republican	Andrew Jackson	9
		Jacksonian				19th		Elected in 1823. Resigned.	Mar 4, 1823 – Oct 14, 1825	Jacksonian	Andrew Jackson	9
									Oct 15, 1825 – Oct 27, 1825	Vacant
								Elected to finish Jackson's term.	Oct 28, 1825 – Jan 13, 1840	Jacksonian	Hugh Lawson White	10
				Re-elected in 1826. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of War.	7	20th		Elected to finish Jackson's term.
						21st	7	Re-elected in 1829.
Vacant			Mar 9, 1829 – Oct 19, 1829
7	Felix Grundy	Jacksonian	Oct 19, 1829 – Jul 4, 1838	Elected to finish Eaton's term.
				Elected to finish Eaton's term.		22nd
				Re-elected in 1833. Resigned to become U.S. Attorney General.	8	23rd
						24th	8	Re-elected in 1835.^[4] Resigned.		National Republican
		Democratic				25th				Whig
Vacant			Jul 5, 1838 – Sep 16, 1838
8	Ephraim H. Foster	Whig	Sep 17, 1838 – Mar 3, 1839	Elected to finish Grundy's term. Re-elected but declined to serve the next term.
Vacant			Mar 3, 1839 – Nov 19, 1839		9	26th
9	Felix Grundy	Democratic	Nov 19, 1839 – Dec 19, 1840	Elected late in 1839. Died.
									Jan 13, 1840 – Feb 25, 1840	Vacant
								Elected to finish White's term. Retired.	Feb 25, 1840 – Mar 3, 1841	Democratic	Alexander O. Anderson	11
Vacant			Dec 19, 1840 – Dec 25, 1840
10	Alfred O. P. Nicholson	Democratic	Dec 25, 1840 – Feb 7, 1842	Appointed to continue Grundy's term. Resigned.
10	Alfred O. P. Nicholson	Democratic	Dec 25, 1840 – Feb 7, 1842	Appointed to continue Grundy's term. Resigned.		27th	9	Legislature failed to elect.	Mar 4, 1841 – Oct 17, 1843	Vacant
Vacant			Feb 7, 1842 – Oct 17, 1843			27th
Vacant			Feb 7, 1842 – Oct 17, 1843			28th
11	Ephraim H. Foster	Whig	Oct 17, 1843 – Mar 3, 1845	Elected to finish Grundy's term. Retired or lost re-election.		28th		Elected to finish the vacant term. Lost re-election.	Oct 17, 1843 – Mar 3, 1847	Whig	Spencer Jarnagin	12
12	Hopkins L. Turney	Democratic	Mar 4, 1845 – Mar 3, 1851	Elected in 1844. Retired or lost re-election.	10	29th		Elected to finish the vacant term. Lost re-election.	Oct 17, 1843 – Mar 3, 1847	Whig	Spencer Jarnagin	12
						30th	10	Legislature failed to elect.	Mar 4, 1847 – Nov 21, 1847	Vacant
						30th		Elected late in 1847	Nov 22, 1847 – Mar 3, 1859	Whig	John Bell	13
						31st
13	James C. Jones	Whig	Mar 4, 1851 – Mar 3, 1857	Elected in 1851. Retired.	11	32nd
						33rd	11	Re-elected in 1853. Retired or lost re-election.
						34th
Vacant			Mar 4, 1857 – Oct 8, 1857	Legislature failed to elect.	12	35th				Know-Nothing
14	Andrew Johnson	Democratic	Oct 8, 1857 – Mar 4, 1862	Elected in 1857 to finish the term. Resigned to become Military Governor of Tennessee.		35th				Know-Nothing
						36th	12	Elected in 1858. Withdrew in anticipation of secession.	Mar 4, 1859 – Mar 3, 1861	Democratic	Alfred O. P. Nicholson	14
						37th		Civil War and Reconstruction	Mar 4, 1861 – Jul 24, 1866	Vacant
Vacant			Mar 4, 1862 – Jul 24, 1866	Civil War and Reconstruction		37th
					13	38th
						39th	13
15	David T. Patterson	Unionist	Jul 24, 1866 – Mar 3, 1869	Elected to finish the vacant term. Retired.		39th		Elected to finish the vacant term. Retired.	Jul 24, 1866 – Mar 3, 1871	Unionist	Joseph S. Fowler	15
15	David T. Patterson	Democratic	Jul 24, 1866 – Mar 3, 1869	Elected to finish the vacant term. Retired.		40th				Republican
16	Parson Brownlow	Republican	Mar 4, 1869 – Mar 3, 1875	Elected in 1867. Retired.	14	41st				Republican
						42nd	14	Elected in 1870 or 1871. Retired.	Mar 4, 1871 – Mar 3, 1877	Democratic	Henry Cooper	16
						43rd
17	Andrew Johnson	Democratic	Mar 4, 1875 – Jul 31, 1875	Elected in 1875. Died.	15	44th
Vacant			Jul 31, 1875 – Aug 18, 1875
18	David M. Key	Democratic	Aug 18, 1875 – Jan 19, 1877	Appointed to continue Johnson's term. Lost election to finish Johnson's term.
19	James E. Bailey	Democratic	Jan 19, 1877 – Mar 3, 1881	Elected to finish Johnson's term. Lost re-election.
						45th	15	Elected in 1877.	Mar 4, 1877 – Jul 8, 1897	Democratic	Isham G. Harris	17
						46th
20	Howell Jackson	Democratic	Mar 4, 1881 – Apr 14, 1886	Elected in 1880 or 1881. Resigned to become U.S. Circuit Judge.	16	47th
						48th	16	Re-elected in 1883.
						49th
Vacant			Apr 14, 1886 – Apr 16, 1886
21	Washington Whitthorne	Democratic	Apr 16, 1886 – Mar 3, 1887	Appointed to finish Jackson's term. Retired to serve in the U.S. House.
22	William B. Bate	Democratic	Mar 4, 1887 – Mar 9, 1905	Elected in 1887.	17	50th
						51st	17	Re-elected in 1889.
						52nd
				Re-elected in 1893.	18	53rd
						54th	18	Re-elected in 1895. Died.
						55th		Re-elected in 1895. Died.
									Jul 9, 1897 – Jul 19, 1897	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Harris's term. Elected in 1898 to finish Harris's term.^[5] Retired.	Jul 20, 1897 – Mar 3, 1901	Democratic	Thomas B. Turley	18
				Re-elected in 1899	19	56th			Jul 20, 1897 – Mar 3, 1901	Democratic	Thomas B. Turley	18
						57th	19	Elected in 1901. Lost renomination.^[6]	Mar 4, 1901 – Mar 3, 1907	Democratic	Edward W. Carmack	19
						58th
				Re-elected in 1905. Died.	20	59th
Vacant			Mar 10, 1905 – Mar 20, 1905
23	James B. Frazier	Democratic	Mar 21, 1905 – Mar 3, 1911	Elected to finish Bate's term. Lost re-election.
						60th	20	Elected in 1907.^[6] Died.	Mar 4, 1907 – Mar 31, 1912	Democratic	Robert Love Taylor	20
						61st
24	Luke Lea	Democratic	Mar 4, 1911 – Mar 3, 1917	Elected in 1911. Lost renomination.	21	62nd
									Apr 1, 1912 – Apr 10, 1912	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Taylor's term. Retired when his successor was elected.	Apr 11, 1912 – Jan 24, 1913	Republican	Newell Sanders	21
								Elected to finish Taylor's term. Retired.	Jan 24, 1913 – Mar 3, 1913	Democratic	William R. Webb	22
						63rd	21	Elected in 1913.	Mar 4, 1913 – Mar 3, 1925	Democratic	John K. Shields	23
						64th
25	Kenneth McKellar	Democratic	Mar 4, 1917 – Jan 3, 1953	Elected in 1916.	22	65th
						66th	22	Re-elected in 1918. Lost renomination.
						67th
				Re-elected in 1922.	23	68th
						69th	23	Elected in 1924. Died.	Mar 4, 1925 – Aug 24, 1929	Democratic	Lawrence Tyson	24
						70th
				Re-elected in 1928.	24	71st
									Aug 25, 1929 – Sep 1, 1929	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Tyson's term. Elected in 1930 to finish Tyson's term.^[5] Retired.	Sep 2, 1929 – Mar 3, 1931	Democratic	William E. Brock	25
						72nd	24	Elected in 1930. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State.	Mar 4, 1931 – Mar 3, 1933	Democratic	Cordell Hull	26
						73rd		Appointed to continue Hull's term. Elected in 1934 to finish Hull's term.^[5]	Mar 4, 1933 – Apr 23, 1937	Democratic	Nathan L. Bachman	27
				Re-elected in 1934.	25	74th
						75th	25	Re-elected in 1936. Died.
									Apr 24, 1937 – May 5, 1937	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Bachman's term. Retired when his successor was elected.	May 6, 1937 – Nov 8, 1938	Democratic	George L. Berry	28
								Elected to finish Bachman's term. Did not take his seat until 1939 in order to remain District Attorney General.	Nov 9, 1938 – Jan 3, 1949	Democratic	Tom Stewart	29
						76th
				Re-elected in 1940.	26	77th
						78th	26	Re-elected in 1942. Lost renomination.
						79th
				Re-elected in 1946. Lost renomination.	27	80th
						81st	27	Elected in 1948.	Jan 3, 1949 – Aug 10, 1963	Democratic	Estes Kefauver	30
						82nd
26	Albert Gore Sr.	Democratic	Jan 3, 1953 – Jan 3, 1971	Elected in 1952.	28	83rd
						84th	28	Re-elected in 1954.
						85th
				Re-elected in 1958.	29	86th
						87th	29	Re-elected in 1960. Died.
						88th		Re-elected in 1960. Died.
									Aug 10, 1963 – Aug 20, 1963	Vacant
								Appointed to continue Kefauver's term Retired	Aug 20, 1963 – Nov 3, 1964	Democratic	Herbert S. Walters	31
								Elected to finish Kefauver's term. Lost renomination.	Nov 4, 1964 – Jan 3, 1967	Democratic	Ross Bass	32
				Re-elected in 1964. Lost re-election.	30	89th		Elected to finish Kefauver's term. Lost renomination.	Nov 4, 1964 – Jan 3, 1967	Democratic	Ross Bass	32
						90th	30	Elected in 1966.	Jan 3, 1967 – Jan 3, 1985	Republican	Howard Baker	33
						91st
27	Bill Brock	Republican	Jan 3, 1971 – Jan 3, 1977	Elected in 1970. Lost re-election.	31	92nd
						93rd	31	Re-elected in 1972.
						94th
28	Jim Sasser	Democratic	Jan 3, 1977 – Jan 3, 1995	Elected in 1976.	32	95th
						96th	32	Re-elected in 1978. Retired.
						97th
				Re-elected in 1982.	33	98th
						99th	33	Elected in 1984.	Jan 3, 1985 – Jan 2, 1993	Democratic	Al Gore	34
						100th
				Re-elected in 1988. Lost re-election.	34	101st
						102nd	34	Re-elected in 1990. Resigned to become U.S. Vice President.
						102nd		Appointed to continue Gore's term. Retired when his successor was elected.	Jan 2, 1993 – Dec 2, 1994	Democratic	Harlan Mathews	35
						103rd			Jan 2, 1993 – Dec 2, 1994	Democratic	Harlan Mathews	35
						103rd		Elected in 1994 to finish Gore's term.	Dec 2, 1994 – Jan 3, 2003	Republican	Fred Thompson	36
29	Bill Frist	Republican	Jan 3, 1995 – Jan 3, 2007	Elected in 1994.	35	104th		Elected in 1994 to finish Gore's term.
						105th	35	Re-elected to a full term in 1996. Retired.
						106th
				Re-elected in 2000. Retired.	36	107th
						108th	36	Elected in 2002.	Jan 3, 2003 – Jan 3, 2021	Republican	Lamar Alexander	37
						109th
30	Bob Corker	Republican	Jan 3, 2007 – Jan 3, 2019	Elected in 2006.	37	110th
						111th	37	Re-elected in 2008.
						112th
				Re-elected in 2012. Retired.	38	113th
						114th	38	Re-elected in 2014. Retired.
						115th
31	Marsha Blackburn	Republican	Jan 3, 2019 – present	Elected in 2018.	39	116th
						117th	39	Elected in 2020.	Jan 3, 2021 – present	Republican	Bill Hagerty	38
						118th
				Re-elected in 2024.	40	119th
				Re-elected in 2024.	40	120th	40	To be determined in the 2026 election.
#	Senator	Party	Years in office	Electoral history	T	C	T	Electoral history	Years in office	Party	Senator	#
Class 1						C	Class 2

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Byrd, p. 169.
^ "Tennessee 1811 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Wilson's Knoxville Gazette (Knoxville, TN). Oct 7, 1811.
^ ^a ^b Byrd, p. 170.
^ "WHITE, Hugh Lawson, (1773–1840)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. U.S. Congress. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c Byrd, p. 171.
^ ^a ^b The Tribune Almanac and Political Register 1908. New York: The Tribune Association. 1908. p. 260.

References

Byrd, Robert C. (1993). Wolff, Wendy (ed.). The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992. United States Senate Historical Office (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160632563.

[FOOTNOTEByrd169-1] Byrd, p. 169.

[2] "Tennessee 1811 U.S. Senate, Special". Tufts Digital Collations and Archives. A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825. Tufts University. Retrieved January 29, 2018., citing Wilson's Knoxville Gazette (Knoxville, TN). Oct 7, 1811.

[FOOTNOTEByrd170-3] Byrd, p. 170.

[4] "WHITE, Hugh Lawson, (1773–1840)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. U.S. Congress. Retrieved June 23, 2011.

[FOOTNOTEByrd171-5] Byrd, p. 171.

[Tribune1907-6] The Tribune Almanac and Political Register 1908. New York: The Tribune Association. 1908. p. 260.

[1]

List of United States senators from Tennessee

Contents

List of senators

See also

Notes

References