The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution (1913) established direct election of senators, as well as a means of filling vacant Senate seats. If a vacancy occurs due to a senator's death, resignation, or expulsion, the Seventeenth Amendment allows state legislatures to empower the governor to appoint a replacement to complete the term or to hold office until a special election can take place. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Some states require a special election to fill a vacancy. A few states require the governor to appoint a replacement of the same political party as the previous incumbent. The date when a senator appointed to fill a vacancy is succeeded by a senator elected to fill the remainder of the term depends on a number of factors.
For more information on how vacancies are filled read, U.S. Senate Vacancies: Contemporary Developments and Perspectives (CRS) (PDF) and the Senate Document The Term of Senator: When Does It Begin and End? (PDF).
The names of current senators appear in bold print.
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| Senator | Date appointed | Elected |
| Rienzi M. Johnston (D-TX) | Jan 4, 1913 | Did not seek election. |
| John N. Heiskell (D-AR) | Jan 6, 1913 | Did not seek election. |
| William S. West (D-GA) | Mar 2, 1914 | Did not seek election. |
| Johnson N. Camden, Jr. (D-KY) | Jun 16, 1914 | Yes, on November 3, 1914. |
| Thomas Taggart (D-IN) | Mar 20, 1916 | No, was defeated on November 7, 1916. |
| Charles L. McNary (R-OR) | May 29, 1917 | Yes, to full term beginning March 4, 1918. Was not a candidate in the special election on the same date to fill remainder of term ending March 3, 1918, but was subsequently appointed to fill remainder of the term ending March 3, 1918. |
| Charles B. Henderson (D-NV) | Jan 12, 1918 | Yes, on November 5, 1918. |
| John F. Nugent (D-ID) | Jan 22, 1918 | Yes, on November 5, 1918. |
| David Baird (R-NJ) | Feb 23, 1918 | Yes, on November 5, 1918. |
| Walter Guion (D-LA) | Apr 22, 1918 | Did not seek election. |
| Xenophon P. Wilfley (D-MO) | Apr 30, 1918 | No, did not win nomination. |
| Christie Benet (D-SC) | Jul 6, 1918 | No, did not win nomination. |
| Irving W. Drew (R-NH) | Sep 2, 1918 | Did not seek election. |
| George B. Martin (D-KY) | Sep 7, 1918 | Did not seek election. |
| Carter Glass (D-VA) | Nov 18, 1919 | Yes, on November 3, 1920. |
| Braxton B. Comer (D-AL) | Mar 5, 1920 | Did not seek election. |
| Holm O. Bursum (R-NM) | Mar 11, 1921 | Yes, on September 20, 1921. |
| Thomas C. du Pont (R-DE) | Jul 7, 1921 | No, defeated on November 7, 1922, but was successfully elected in 1924. |
| William E. Crow (R-PA) | Oct 17, 1921 | Died on August 2, 1922. |
| George W. Pepper (R-PA) | Jan 9, 1922 | Yes, on Nov 7, 1922. |
| Charles A. Rawson (R-IA) | Feb 24, 1922 | Did not seek election. |
| David A. Reed (R-PA) | Aug 8, 1922 | Yes, on November 7, 1922. |
| Rebecca L. Felton (D-GA) | Oct 3, 1922 | Did not seek election. |
| James Couzens (R-MI) | Nov 29, 1922 | Yes, on November 4, 1924. |
| Alva B. Adams (D-CO) | May 17, 1923 | No, defeated on November 4, 1924, but was successfully elected in 1932. |
| William M. Butler (R-MA) | Nov 13, 1924 | No, defeated on November 2, 1926. |
| George H. Williams (R-OR) | May 25, 1925 | No, defeated on November 2, 1926. |
| Arthur R. Robinson (R-IN) | Oct 20, 1925 | Yes, on November 2, 1926. |
| Gerald P. Nye (R-ND) | Nov 14, 1925 | Yes, on June 30, 1926. |
| David W. Stewart (R-IA) | Aug 7, 1926 | Yes, on November 2, 1926. |
| Bronson M. Cutting (R-NM) | Dec 29, 1927 | Yes, on November 6, 1928, to full term beginning Mar 4, 1929; was not a candidate for special election on the same date to fill remainder of the term ending March 3, 1929. |
| Arthur H. Vandenberg | Mar 31, 1928 | Yes, on November 6, 1928. |
| Cyrus Locher (D-OH) | Apr 4, 1928 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| John Thomas (R-ID) | Jun 30, 1928 | Yes, on November 6, 1928. |
| Daniel O. Hastings (R-DE) | Dec 10, 1928 | Yes, on Nov 4, 1930. |
| Henry J. Allen (R-KS) | Apr 1, 1929 | No, defeated on November 4, 1930. |
| William E. Brock (D-TN) | Sep 2, 1929 | Yes, on November 4, 1930. |
| Roscoe C. McCulloch (R-OH) | Nov 5, 1929 | No, defeated on November 4, 1930. |
| David Baird, Jr. (R-NJ) | Nov 30, 1929 | Did not seek election. |
| Patrick J. Sullivan (R-WY) | Dec 5, 1929 | Did not seek election. |
| Joseph R. Grundy (R-PA) | Dec 11, 1929 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| John Robsion (R-KY) | Jan 9, 1930 | No, defeated on November 4, 1930. |
| Cameron A. Morrison (D-NC) | Dec 13, 1930 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Frank C. Partridge (R-VT) | Dec 23, 1930 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Hattie W. Caraway (D-AR) | Nov 13, 1931 | Yes, on January 12, 1932. |
| William W. Barbour (R-NJ) | Dec 1, 1931 | Yes, on November 8, 1932. |
| John S. Cohen (D-GA) | Apr 25, 1932 | Did not seek election. |
| Walter Walker (D-CO) | Sep 26, 1932 | No, defeated on November 8, 1932. |
| Elijah S. Grammer (R-WA) | Nov 22, 1932 | Did not seek election. |
| Nathan L. Bachman (D-TN) | Feb 28, 1933 | Yes, on November 6, 1934. |
| Harry F. Byrd (D-VA) | Mar 4, 1933 | Yes, on November 7, 1933. |
| John E. Erickson (D-MT) | Mar 13, 1933 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| William H. Thompson (D-NE) | May 24, 1933 | Did not seek election. |
| Carl A. Hatch (D-NM) | Oct 10, 1933 | Yes, on November 6, 1934. |
| Ernest W. Gibson (R-VT) | Nov 21, 1933 | Yes, on January 16, 1934. |
| Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D-WY) | Dec 18, 1933 | Yes, on November 6, 1934. |
| Dennis Chavez (D-NM) | May 11, 1935 | Yes, on November 3, 1936. |
| Elmer A. Benson (Farmer Laborite-MN) | Dec 27, 1935 | Did not seek election. |
| Rose M. Long (D-LA) | Jan 31, 1936 | Yes, on April 21, 1936. |
| Scott M. Loftin (D-FL) | May 26, 1936 | Did not seek election. |
| William L. Hill (D-FL) | Jul 1, 1936 | Did not seek election. |
| Herbert E. Hitchcock (D-SD) | Dec 29, 1936 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| George L. Berry (D-TN) | May 6, 1937 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Dixie B. Graves (D-AL) | Aug 20, 1937 | Did not seek election. |
| Joseph L. Hill (D-AL) | Jan 10, 1938 | Yes, on April 26, 1938. |
| John G. Milton (D-NJ) | Jan 18, 1938 | Did not seek election. |
| Alfred E. Reames (D-OR) | Feb 1, 1938 | Did not seek election. |
| Thomas M. Storke (D-CA) | Nov 9, 1938 | Did not seek election. |
| James M. Slattery (D-IL) | Apr 14, 1939 | No, defeated on November 6, 1940. |
| Happy Chandler (D-KY) | Oct 10, 1939 | Yes, on November 6, 1940. |
| John Thomas (R-ID) | Jan 27, 1940 | Yes, on November 6, 1940. |
| Ernest W. Gibson, Jr. (R-VT) | Jun 24, 1940 | Did not seek election. |
| Joseph H. Ball (R-MN) | Oct 14, 1940 | Yes, on November 3, 1942. |
| Berkeley L. Bunker (D-NV) | Nov 27, 1940 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Joseph Rosier (D-WV) | Jan 13, 1941 | No, defeated on November 17, 1942. |
| George L. Spencer (D-AR) | Apr 1, 1941 | Did not seek election. |
| Andrew J. Houston (D-TX) | Apr 21, 1941 | Died on June 26, 1941. |
| James O. Eastland (D-MS) | Jun 30, 1941 | Did not seek election at this time, but was elected to the Senate in 1942. |
| Alva M. Lumpkin (D-SC) | Jul 17, 1941 | No, died in office on August 1, 1941. |
| Roger C. Peace (D-SC) | Aug 5, 1941 | Did not seek election. |
| Eugene D. Millikin (R-CO) | Dec 20, 1941 | Yes, on November 3, 1942. |
| Arthur Walsh (D-NJ) | Nov 26, 1943 | Did not seek election. |
| Samuel D. Jackson (D-IN) | Jan 28, 1944 | Did not seek election. |
| Sinclair Weeks (R-MA) | Feb 8, 1944 | Did not seek election. |
| Guy Cordon (R-OR) | Mar 4, 1944 | Yes, on November 8, 1944. |
| Wilton E. Hall (D-SC) | Nov 20, 1944 | Did not seek election. |
| Hugh B. Mitchell (D-WA) | Jan 10, 1945 | No, defeated on November 5, 1946. |
| Frank P. Briggs (D-MO) | Jan 18, 1945 | No, defeated on November 5, 1946. |
| Thomas C. Hart (R-CT) | Feb 15, 1945 | Did not seek election. |
| Milton R. Young (R-ND) | Mar 12, 1945 | Yes, on June 25, 1946. |
| Edward P. Carville (D-NV) | Jul 25, 1945 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| William F. Knowland (R-CA) | Aug 14, 1945 | Yes, on November 5, 1946. |
| James W. Huffman (D-OH) | Oct 8, 1945 | No, defeated on November 5, 1946. |
| Charles C. Gossett (D-ID) | Nov 17, 1945 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| William A. Stanfill (R-KY) | Nov 19, 1945 | Did not seek election. |
| Thomas G. Burch (D-VA) | May 31, 1946 | Did not seek election. |
| George R. Swift (D-AL) | Jun 15, 1946 | Did not seek election. |
| Spessard L. Holland (D-FL) | Sep 25, 1946 | Yes, on November 5, 1946. |
| Ralph E. Flanders (R-VT) | Nov 1, 1946 | Yes, on November 5, 1946. |
| William B. Umstead (D-NC) | Dec 18, 1946 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| William C. Feazel (D-LA) | May 18, 1948 | Did not seek election. |
| Vera C. Bushfield (R-SD) | Oct 6, 1948 | Did not seek election. |
| Garrett L. Withers (D-KY) | Jan 20, 1949 | Did not seek election. |
| Frank P. Graham (D-NC) | Mar 29, 1949 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| John F. Dulles (R-NY) | Jul 7, 1949 | No, defeated on November 8, 1949. |
| Edward L. Leahy (D-RI) | Aug 24, 1949 | Did not seek election. |
| Henry C. Dworshak (R-ID) | Oct 14, 1949 | Yes, on November 7, 1950. |
| Harry Darby (R-KS) | Dec 2, 1949 | Did not seek election. |
| William Benton (D-CT) | Dec 17, 1949 | Yes, on November 7, 1950. |
| Thomas R. Underwood (D-KY) | Mar 19, 1951 | No, defeated on November 4, 1952. |
| Arthur E. B. Moody (D-MI) | Apr 23, 1951 | No, defeated on November 4, 1952. |
| Frederick A. Seaton (R-NE) | Dec 10, 1951 | Did not seek election. |
| William A. Purtell (R-CT) | Aug 29, 1952 | Was not a candidate in special election to fill remainer of the term to which he was appointed, but was elected to Class I seat in 1952. |
| Thomas H. Kuchel (R-CA) | Jan 2, 1953 | Yes, on November 2, 1954. |
| Alton A. Lennon (D-NC) | Jul 10, 1953 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Robert W. Upton (R-NH) | Aug 14, 1953 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Thomas A. Burke (D-OH) | Oct 13, 1953 | No, defeated on November 2, 1954. |
| Eva K. Bowring (R-NE) | Apr 16, 1954 | Did not seek election. |
| Samuel J. Ervin, Jr. (D-NC) | Jun 5, 1954 | Yes, on November 2, 1954. |
| Edward D. Crippa (R-WY) | Jun 24, 1954 | Did not seek election. |
| Samuel W. Reynolds (R-NE) | Jul 3, 1954 | Did not seek election. |
| Charles E. Daniel (D-SC) | Sep 6, 1954 | Did not seek election. |
| Ernest S. Brown (R-NV) | Oct 1, 1954 | No, defeated on November 2, 1954. |
| William R. Laird III (D-WV) | Mar 13, 1956 | Did not seek election. |
| Thomas A. Wofford (D-SC) | Apr 5, 1956 | Did not seek election. |
| Robert Humphreys (D-KY) | Jun 21, 1956 | Did not seek election. |
| William A. Blakley (D-TX) | Jan 15, 1957 | Did not seek election. |
| John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. (R-WV) | Jan 25, 1958 | No, defeated on November 4, 1958. |
| Benjamin E. Jordan (D-NC) | Apr 19, 1958 | Yes, on November 4, 1958. |
| Clarence Norman Brunsdale (R-ND) | Nov 19, 1959 | Did not seek election. |
| Hall S. Lusk (D-OR) | Mar 16, 1960 | Did not seek election. |
| Edward V. Long (D-MO) | Sep 23, 1960 | Yes, on November 8, 1960. |
| Benjamin A. Smith II (D-MA) | Dec 27, 1960 | Did not seek election. |
| William A. Blakley (D-TX) | Jan 3, 1961 | No, defeated on May 27, 1961. |
| John J. Hickey (D-WY) | Jan 3, 1961 | No, defeated on November 6, 1962. |
| Maurice J. Murphy, Jr. (R-NH) | Dec 7, 1961 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| James B. Pearson (R-KS) | Jan 31, 1962 | Yes, on November 6, 1962 |
| Joseph H. Bottum (R-SD) | Jul 9, 1962 | No, defeated on November 6, 1962. |
| Len Jordan (R-ID) | Aug 6, 1962 | Yes, on November 6, 1962. |
| Edwin L. Mechem (R-NM) | Nov 30, 1962 | No, defeated on November 3, 1964. |
| James H. Edmondson (D-OK) | Jan 7, 1963 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Herbert S. Walters (D-TN) | Aug 20, 1963 | Did not seek election. |
| Pierre E. G. Salinger (D-CA) | Aug 4, 1964 | No, defeated on November 3, 1964. |
| Walter F. Mondale (D-MN) | Dec 30, 1964 | Yes, on November 8, 1966. |
| Donald S. Russell (D-SC) | Apr 22, 1965 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (D, I-VA) | Nov 12, 1965 | Yes, on November 8, 1966 |
| Robert P. Griffin (R-MI) | May 11, 1966 | Yes, on November 8, 1966. |
| Charles E. Goodell (R-NY) | Sep 10, 1968 | No, defeated on November 3, 1970. |
| Ted Stevens (R-AK) | Dec 24, 1968 | Yes, on November 3, 1970. |
| Ralph T. Smith (R-IL) | Sep 17, 1969 | No, defeated on November 3, 1970. |
| David H. Gambrell (D-GA) | Feb 1, 1971 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Robert T. Stafford (R-VT) | Sep 16, 1971 | Yes, on January 7, 1972. |
| Elaine S. Edwards (D-LA) | Aug 1, 1972 | Did not seek election. |
| Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-OH) | Jan 4, 1974 | No, defeated for nomination, but was successfully elected to the Senate in 1976. |
| Louis C. Wyman (R-NH) | Dec 31, 1974 | No, defeated on September 16, 1975. |
| Norris H. Cotton (R-NH) | Aug 8, 1975 | Did not seek election. |
| Wendell R. Anderson (D-MN) | Dec 30, 1976 | No, defeated on November 7, 1978. |
| Kaneaster Hodges, Jr. (D-AR) | Dec 10, 1977 | Did not seek election. |
| Paul G. Hatfield (D-MT) | Jan 22, 1978 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Muriel B. Humphrey (D-MN) | Jan 25, 1978 | Did not seek election. |
| Maryon P. Allen (D-AL) | Jun 8, 1978 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| George J. Mitchell (D-ME) | May 17, 1980 | Yes, on November 2, 1982. |
| Nicholas F. Brady (R-NJ) | Apr 12, 1982 | Did not seek election. |
| Daniel J. Evans (R-WA) | Sep 8, 1983 | Yes, on November 8, 1983. |
| James T. Broyhill (R-NC) | Jul 14, 1986 | No, defeated on November 5, 1986. |
| David K. Karnes (R-NE) | Mar 11, 1987 | No, defeated on November 8, 1988. |
| Daniel R. Coats (R-IN) | Dec 27, 1988 | Yes, on November 6, 1990. |
| Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) | May 16, 1990 | Yes, on November 6, 1990. |
| John Seymour (R-CA) | Jan 7, 1991 | No, defeated on November 3, 1992. |
| Harris Wofford (D-PA) | May 8, 1991 | Yes, on November 5, 1991. |
| Jocelyn B. Burdick (D-ND) | Sep 12, 1992 | Did not seek election. |
| Harlan Mathews (D-TN) | Dec 29, 1992 | Did not seek election. |
| Robert C. Krueger (D-TX) | Jan 21, 1993 | No, defeated on January 5, 1993. |
| Sheila Frahm (R-KS) | Jun 11, 1996 | No, defeated for nomination. |
| Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI) | Nov 2, 1999 | Yes, on November 7, 2000. |
| Zell B. Miller (D-GA) | Jul 24, 2000 | Yes, on November 7, 2000. |
| Jean Carnahan (D-MO) | Jan 3, 2001 (effective) | No, defeated on November 5, 2002. |
| Dean Barkley (IPM-MN) | Nov 4, 2002 | Did not seek election. |
| Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) | Dec 20, 2002 | Yes, on November 2, 2004. |
| Robert Menendez (D-NJ) | Jan 17, 2006 | Yes, on November 7, 2006. |
| John Barrasso (R-WY) | Jun 22, 2007 | Yes, on November 4, 2008. |
| Roger F. Wicker (R-MS) | Dec 31, 2007 | Yes, on November 4, 2008. |
| Roland Burris (D-IL) | Dec 31, 2008 | Did not seek election. |
| Ted Kaufman (D-DE) | Jan 15, 2009 | Did not seek election. |
| Michael F. Bennet (D-CO) | Jan 21, 2009 | Yes, on November 2, 2010. |
| Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY) | Jan 26, 2009 | Yes, on November 2, 2010. |
| George S. LeMieux (R-FL) | Sep 9, 2009 | Did not seek election. |
| Paul G. Kirk, Jr. (D-MA) | Sep 24, 2009 | Did not seek election. |
| Carte P. Goodwin (D-WV) | Jul 16, 2010 | Did not seek election. |
| Dean Heller (R-NV) | May 3, 2011 | Yes, on November 6, 2012. |
| Brian Schatz (D-HI) | Dec 26, 2012 | Yes, on November 4, 2014. |
| Tim Scott (R-SC) | Jan 2, 2013 | Yes, on November 4, 2014. |
| William Cowan (Mo) (D-MA) | Feb 1, 2013 | Did not seek election. |
| Jeffrey S. Chiesa (R-NJ) | Jun 6, 2013 | Did not seek election. |
| John E. Walsh (D-MT) | Feb 9, 2014 | Did not seek election. |
| Luther J. Strange III (R-AL) | Feb 9, 2017 | Not a candidate in the general election, having been defeated in a primary runoff election on September 26, 2017. |
| Tina Smith (D-MN) | Jan 2, 2018 | Yes, on November 6, 2018. |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) | Apr 2, 2018 | Yes, in a run-off election on November 27, 2018. |
| Jon L. Kyl (R-AZ) | Sep 4, 2018 | Did not seek election. |
| Martha McSally (R-AZ) | Jan 3, 2019 | No, defeated on November 3, 2020. |
| Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) | Jan 1, 2020 | No, defeated on January 5, 2021. |
| Alex Padilla (D-CA) | Jan 18, 2021 | Yes, on November 8, 2022. |
| Pete Ricketts (R-NE) | Jan 23, 2023 | -- |
