Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate

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The Senate Democratic Caucus (or Conference) is the formal organization of the (currently) 44 Democratic Senators in the United States Senate. The primary organizational front for Democrats in the Senate, its primary function is communicating the party's message to and unifying all of its members. Caucus leadership consists of Senator Harry Reid (NV), current Chairman and Senate Minority Leader, and Senator Deborah Stabenow (MI), the current Secretary.

In the 110th Congress, Reid will continue to serve as caucus chair and floor leader. Sen. Patty Murray will become secretary of the caucus, while Sen. Charles Schumer will hold the new title of Vice-Chairman of the caucus. [1],[2]

1 History
2 List of caucus chairpersons
- 2.1 Footnotes
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

The Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate was formally organized on March 6, 1903, electing a chairman to preside over its members and a secretary to keep minutes. Until that time, the caucus was often disorganized, philosophically divided, and had neither firm written rules of governance nor a clear mission.

[edit] List of caucus chairpersons

See also: United States Senate Democratic Conference Chairman

John W. Stevenson (inception-1877)
William A. Wallace (1877-1881)
George Pendleton (1881-1885)
James B. Beck (1885-1890)
Arthur P. Gorman (1890-1898)
David Turpie (1898-1899)
James K. Jones (1899-1903)
Arthur P. Gorman (1903-1906) ¹
Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn (1906-1907)
Charles A. Culberson (1907-1909)
Hernando D. Money (1909-1911)
Thomas S. Martin (1911-1913)
John Worth Kern (1913-1917)
Thomas S. Martin (1917-1919)
Oscar W. Underwood (1920-1923) ²
Joseph T. Robinson (1923-1937)
Alben W. Barkley (1937-1949)
Scott W. Lucas (1949-1951)
Ernest W. McFarland (1951-1953)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1953-1961)
Mike Mansfield (1961-1977)
Robert C. Byrd (1977-1989)
George J. Mitchell (1989-1995)
Thomas A. Daschle (1995-2005)
Harry M. Reid (2005-present)

[edit] Footnotes

Gorman was the first elected by a formally organized caucus.[3]
Beginning in 1920, the Democratic Conference chairperson also served as Democratic floor leader. In that year, Oscar Underwood became the first officially designated Democratic floor leader, and the tradition of combining the two positions continues to this day.

[edit] References

Donald A. Ritchie (ed). Minutes of the Senate Democratic Conference: Fifty-eighth through Eighty-eighth Congress, 1903-1964. Washington, D.C., GPO, 1999. Available online in PDF or Text format.

[edit] 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

Party conferences in the United States Congress
Senate Republican Conference	Senate	Senate Democratic Caucus
Conference Chairman	Chairperson	Caucus Chairperson
Conference Secretary	Secretary	Caucus Secretary
Rep. Committee Chair	Policy Committee	Dem. Committee Chair

House Republican Conference	House of Representatives	House Democratic Caucus
Conference Chairperson	Presiding Officer	Caucus Chairperson
Vice-Chair	Vice Chairman	Vice-Chair / Secretary
Conference Secretary	Secretary	Vice-Chair / Secretary
Rep. Committee Chair	Policy Committee	Dem. Committee Co-Chair

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