What Senators have served the longest in the US Sentate
US Senators do not have term limits and some have managed to keep their jobs well into traditional retirement age, continuing to serve for decades.
In order to become a US Senator, you must first be at least 30 years old. Then convince your fellow Americans in your state to vote for you for a six-year term. Some have successfully done this time and again keeping their position in the upper chamber for decades on end.
While most US Senators take office in their early 50s, a lengthy service means that they can reach very old age in office. None of the top twenty-five longest serving Senators are still in their jobswith the current longest-serving being Chuck Grassley from Iowa at 42 years, 1 month, 7 days.
Grassley would need another two terms in office to beat the current record of service and age to boot. Here’s a look.
The longest serving US Senators
Senator Robert C. Byrd is the current record holder for the longest-serving US Senator. He served for a little more than five decades in the upper chamber of the US Congress elected for the first of nine times in 1958. He was in office for 51 years, 5 months, 26 days until his death in 2010 at the age of 92. He is also the longest-serving member of the US congress elected to the House of Representatives in 1952.
Ten longest-serving US Senators
| 1 | Robert C Byrd (D-WV) | Jan 3, 1959 - Jun 28, 2010 | 51 years, 5 months, 26 days |
| 2 | Daniel K Inouye (D-HI) | Jan 3, 1963 - Dec 17, 2012 | 49 years, 11 months, 15 days |
| 3 | Patrick J Leahy (D-VT) | Jan 3, 1975 - present | 48 years |
| 4 | Strom Thurmond (D, R-SC) | Dec 14, 1954 - Jan 3, 2003 | 47 years, 5 months, 8 days |
| 5 | Edward M Kennedy (Ted) (D-MA) | Nov 7, 1962 - Aug 25, 2009 | 46 years, 9 months, 19 days |
| 6 | Chuck Grassley (R-IA) | Jan 3, 1981 - present | 41 years and counting |
| 7 | Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) | Jan 3, 1977–Jan 3, 2019 | 42 years |
| 8 | Carl T Hayden (D-AZ) | Mar 4, 1927 - Jan 3, 1969 | 41 years, 10 months |
| 9 | John C Stennis (D-MS) | Nov 5, 1947 - Jan 3, 1989 | 41 years, 1 month, 29 days |
| 10 | Ted Stevens (R-AK) | Dec 24, 1968 - Jan 3, 2009 | 40 years, 10 days |
Who is the oldest US Senator?
There are a number of factors that result in incumbent US Senators winning reelection every six-years. Since 1964, 80 percent of them have seen off challengers to return to Washington DC for another term. This means that some have managed to keep their jobs well into their golden years.
The oldest serving US Senator ever upon leaving office was Strom Thurmond. At the ripe age of 100, he had been the longest-serving US Senator at that time but has now slipped to fourth place. The Dixie-crat turned Republican over the Democratic Party’s Civil Rights program in 1956 became a prominent leader of a more conservative GOP. He passed away a few months after retiring.
Before the recent news, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein beat out Senator Grassley as the oldest sitting US Senator by just under three months, both are currently 90 years old. This means Grassley is also the oldest.