The Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate, sometimes referred to as the Senate Democratic Caucus, Democratic Conference, or simply Senate Democrats, is the formal organization of all senators who are part of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. For the makeup of the 119th Congress, the caucus additionally includes two independent senators (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine) who caucus with the Democrats, bringing the current total to 47 members. The central organizational front for Democrats in the Senate, its primary function is communicating the party's message to all of its members under a single banner. The present chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Current leadership Effective with the start of the 119th Congress, the conference leadership is as follows: Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer Democratic Whip Dick Durbin Chair of Steering and Policy Committee Amy Klobuchar Chair of Strategic Communications Committee Cory Booker Vice Chair of the Caucus Elizabeth Warren Vice Chair of the Caucus Mark Warner Chair of Outreach Bernie Sanders Caucus Secretary Tammy Baldwin Vice Chair of Outreach Catherine Cortez Masto Deputy Caucus Secretary Brian Schatz Deputy Caucus Secretary Chris Murphy Vice Chair of Steering and Policy Committee Jeanne Shaheen Vice Chair of Strategic Communications Committee Tina Smith
History The conference was formally organized on March 6, 1903, electing a chair to preside over its members and a secretary to keep minutes. Until that time, this caucus was often disorganized, philosophically divided and had neither firm written rules of governance nor a clear mission.
Chairs Since Oscar Underwood's election in 1920, the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus has also concurrently served as the floor leader as part of an unwritten tradition.
Congress Leader State Took office Left office Majority Leader 43rd John W. Stevenson Kentucky Unknown 44th Unknown 45th William A. Wallace Pennsylvania Unknown 46th Unknown 47th George H. Pendleton Ohio Unknown 48th Unknown 49th James B. Beck Kentucky Unknown 50th Unknown 51st Unknown 51st Arthur Pue Gorman Maryland 52nd Unknown 53rd Himself 54th Unknown 55th Unknown 55th David Turpie Indiana 56th James Kimbrough Jones Arkansas Unknown 57th Unknown 58th Arthur Pue Gorman Maryland Unknown 59th Unknown Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn Kentucky 60th Charles Allen Culberson Texas Unknown 61st Unknown Hernando Money Mississippi 62nd Thomas S. Martin Virginia Unknown 63rd John W. Kern Indiana Himself 64th 65th Thomas S. Martin Virginia Himself 66th Lodge 66th Gilbert Hitchcock Nebraska 66th Oscar Underwood Alabama 67th 68th 68th Joseph Taylor Robinson Arkansas Curtis 69th 70th 71st Watson 72nd 73rd Himself 74th 75th 75th Alben W. Barkley Kentucky Himself 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th White 81st Scott W. Lucas Illinois Himself 82nd Ernest McFarland Arizona Himself 83rd Lyndon B. Johnson Texas Taft Knowland 84th Himself 85th 86th 87th Mike Mansfield Montana Himself 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th Robert Byrd West Virginia Himself 96th 97th Baker 98th 99th Dole 100th Himself 101st George J. Mitchell Maine Himself 102nd 103rd 104th Tom Daschle South Dakota Dole 104th Lott 105th 106th 107th Himself Lott Himself 108th Frist 109th Harry Reid Nevada 110th Himself 111th 112th 113th 114th McConnell 115th Chuck Schumer New York Incumbent 116th 117th Himself 118th 119th Thune
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Vice chairs Bob Kerrey was appointed as the first vice chair of Senate Democrats for the 106th Congress. Harry Reid later converted the role as an elected leadership position for Chuck Schumer after his successful term as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Schumer later ascended to Reid's position as leader following the 2016 elections. The position was then split, with one co-chair awarded to Mark Warner and the other awarded to Elizabeth Warren.
NameStateStartEndNebraskaNew YorkVirginiapresentMassachusetts
Caucus secretary The United States Senate Democratic Conference secretary, also called the caucus secretary was previously considered the number-three position, behind the party's floor leader and the party's whip, until in 2006, when Democratic leader Harry Reid created the new position of Vice-Chairman of the caucus. Now, the secretary is the fourth-highest ranking position. The conference secretary is responsible for taking notes and aiding the party leadership when senators of the party meet or caucus together.
The first conference secretary was Thomas B. Turley.
The current conference secretary is Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who assumed the office in January 2017.
CongressSecretaryStateTerm startTerm end55thThomas B. TurleyTennessee1897190156th57th58thEdward W. CarmackTennesseeMarch 6, 1903March 3, 190759th60thRobert OwenOklahomaDecember 3, 1907March 4, 191161st62ndWilliam E. ChiltonVirginiaMarch 4, 1911March 4, 191363rdWillard Saulsbury Jr.DelawareMarch 4, 1913March 3, 191564thWillard Saulsbury Jr.DelawareMarch 3, 1915December 14, 1916Key Pittman ()NevadaDecember 14, 1916March 3, 191765thWilliam H. KingUtahMarch 4, 1917March 3, 192766th67th68th69th70thHugo BlackAlabamaMarch 4, 1927January 3, 193771st72nd73rd74th75thJoshua B. LeeOklahomaJanuary 3, 1937January 3, 194376th77th78thFrancis T. MaloneyConnecticutJanuary 3, 1943January 3, 194579thBrien McMahonConnecticutJanuary 3, 1945July 28, 195280th81st82nd83rdThomas HenningsMissouriJanuary 3, 1953January 3, 195984th85th86thThomas HenningsMissouriJanuary 3, 1959September 13, 1960George SmathersFloridaSeptember 3, 1960January 3, 196187thGeorge SmathersFloridaJanuary 3, 1961January 3, 196788th89th90thRobert ByrdWest VirginiaJanuary 3, 1967January 3, 197191st92ndTed MossUtahJanuary 3, 1971January 3, 197793rd94th95thDaniel InouyeHawaiiJanuary 3, 1977January 3, 198996th97th98th99th100th101stDavid PryorArkansasJanuary 3, 1989January 3, 1995102nd103rd104thBarbara MikulskiMarylandJanuary 3, 1995January 3, 2005105th106th107th108th109thDebbie StabenowMichiganJanuary 3, 2005January 3, 2007110thPatty MurrayWashingtonJanuary 3, 2007January 3, 2017111th112th113th114th115thTammy BaldwinWisconsinJanuary 3, 2017Incumbent116th117th118th119th
Deputy caucus secretary On December 8, 2022, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii was elected to the newly created position of deputy caucus secretary, assuming the office at the beginning of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023. This was an elevation from his previous leadership role as Senate Democratic chief deputy whip. On January 3, 2025, Chris Murphy was also appointed to this position.
See also Senate Republican Conference House Democratic Caucus House Republican Conference
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References
Bibliography Donald A. Ritchie (ed) (1999). Minutes of the Senate Democratic Conference: Fifty-eighth through Eighty-eighth Congress, 1903-1964. Washington, D.C. GPO. Available online in PDF or text format.
External links Official Home of the Senate Democratic Caucus on the Internet Senate Party Leadership – much of this article's content was adapted from this useful public domain resource First Formal Organization of the Senate Democratic Caucus