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Senators with Nonconsecutive Terms

Reelections to additional full terms are omitted from summaries. “Resigned” indicates that the senator left office before completion of his last election term, while “retired” indicates that the senator completed a term but not seek reelection. Bold type for a range of dates indicates that at least one full Senate term was served during that period

Senators who served in both of their state’s Senate seats (21):

  • Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ): 1982-2001 (elected to Class 1 seat, subsequently appointed to fill unexpired term, retired), 2003-present (elected to Class 2 seat, currently serving)
  • Kent Conrad* (D-ND): 1987-1992 (elected to Class 3 seat, retired), 1992-present (won special election to Class 1 seat, won regular election to new term, currently serving)
  • Slade Gorton (R-WA): 1981-1987 (elected to Class 3 seat, defeated for reelection), 1989-2001 (elected to Class 1 seat, defeated for reelection)
  • Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-OH): 1974 (appointed to Class 3 seat, defeated in regular election, resigned), 1976-1995 (elected to Class 1 seat, subsequently appointed to fill unexpired term, retired)
  • Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. (D-MN): 1949-1964 (elected to Class 2 seat, resigned), 1971-1978 (elected to Class 1 seat, died in office)
  • Barry Goldwater (R-AZ): 1953-1965 (elected to Class 1 seat, retired), 1969-1987 (elected to Class 3 seat, retired)
  • William A. Blakley (D-TX): 1957 (appointed to Class 1 seat, retired), 1961 (appointed to Class 2 seat, defeated in special election)
  • William Chapman Revercomb (R-WV): 1943-1949 (elected to Class 2 seat, defeated for reelection), 1956-1959 (won special election to Class 1 seat, defeated in regular election)
  • Alben W. Barkley (D-KY): 1927-1949 (elected to Class 3 seat, resigned), 1955-1956 (elected to Class 2 seat, died in office)
  • Joseph C. O’Mahoney (D-WY): 1934-1953 (appointed to Class 1 seat, won special election to fulfill remainder of term, won regular election to new term, defeated for reelection), 1954-1961 (won special election to Class 2 seat, won regular election to new term, retired)
  • William A. Purtell (R-CT): 1952 (appointed to Class 3 seat, did not seek full term), 1953-1959 (elected to Class 1 seat, defeated for reelection)
  • Matthew M. Neely (D-WV): 1923-1929 (elected to Class 1 seat, defeated for reelection), 1931-1941 (elected to Class 2 seat, resigned), 1949-1958 (elected to Class 2 seat, died in office)
  • Guy M. Gillette (D-IA): 1936-1945 (won special election to Class 3 seat, won regular election for new term, defeated for reelection), 1949-1955 (elected to Class 2 seat, defeated for reelection)
  • William E. Jenner (R-IN): 1944-1945 (won special election to Class 3 seat, retired), 1947-1959 (elected to Class 1 seat, retired)
  • Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (R-MA): 1937-1944 (elected to Class 2 seat, resigned), 1947-1953 (elected to Class 1 seat, defeated for reelection)
  • John W. Thomas (R-ID): 1928-1933 (appointed to Class 3 seat, won special election to fulfill remainder of term, defeated in regular election), 1940-1945 (appointed to Class 2 seat, won special election fulfill remainder of term, won regular election for new term, died in office)
  • William W. Barbour (R-NJ): 1931-1937 (appointed to Class 2 seat, won special election to fulfill remainder of term, defeated in regular election), 1938-1943 (won special election to Class 1 seat, won regular election to new term, died in office)
  • Thomas P. Gore (D-OK): 1907-1921 (elected by legislature to Class 3 seat, reelected by popular vote, defeated for reelection), 1931-1937 (elected to Class 2 seat, defeated for reelection)
  • Smith W. Brookhart (R-IA): 1922-1926 (won special election to Class 2 seat, lost contested election for full term), 1927-1933 (elected to Class 3 seat, defeated for reelection)
  • David I. Walsh (D-MA): 1919-1925 (elected to Class 2 seat, defeated for reelection), 1926-1947 (won special election to Class 1 seat, won regular election to new term, defeated for reelection)
  • T. Coleman du Pont (R-DE): 1921-1922 (appointed to Class 1 seat, defeated in special election), 1925-1928 (elected to Class 2 seat, resigned from office)

Senators who served nonconsecutive terms in the same Senate seat (12):

  • Dan Coats (R-IN): 1989-1999 (appointed, won special election to fulfill remainder of term, won regular election to new term, retired), 2011-present (won regular election, currently serving)
  • Norris Cotton (R-NH): 1954-1974 (won special election, won regular election to new term, retired), 1975 (appointed, retired)
  • Strom Thurmond (D/R-SC): 1954-1956 (won regular election, subsequently appointed to fulfill unexpired term, resigned), 1956-2003 (won special election, won regular election to new term, retired)
  • John Sherman Cooper (R-KY): 1946-1949 (won special election, defeated in regular election), 1952-1955 (won special election, defeated in regular election), 1956-1972 (won special election, won regular election to new term, retired)
  • Henry Clarence Dworshak (R-ID): 1946-1949 (won special election, defeated in regular election), 1949-1962 (appointed, won special election to fulfill remainder of term, won regular election to new term, died in office)
  • Matthew M. Neely (D-WV): 1923-1929 (elected to Class 1 seat, defeated for reelection), 1931-1941 (elected to Class 2 seat, resigned), 1949-1958 (elected to Class 2 seat, died in office)
  • James O. Eastland (D-MS): 1941 (appointed, retired), 1943-1978 (won regular election, resigned)
  • Joseph H. Ball (R-MN): 1940-1942 (appointed, retired), 1943-1949 (won regular election, defeated for reelection)
  • Peter G. Gerry (D-RI): 1917-1929 (won regular election, defeated for reelection), 1935-1947 (won regular election, defeated for reelection)
  • Alva Adams (D-CO): 1923-1924 (appointed, retired), 1933-1941 (won regular election, died in office)
  • Bronson Cutting (R-NM): 1927-1928 (appointed, retired), 1929-1935 (won regular election, died in office)
  • Charles L. McNary (R-OR): 1917-1918 (appointed, retired), 1918-1944 (won regular election, subsequently appointed to fill unexpired term, died in office)

* Kent Conrad’s service in the Senate was technically not in nonconsecutive terms as he only resigned the Class 3 seat in order to take the Class 1 seat he had won in a special election that occurred during his first term as a Class 3 senator.

Sources: CQ Press Guide to U.S. Elections and Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (http://bioguide.congress.gov).