United States congressional delegations from Connecticut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Since Connecticut became a U.S. state in 1788,[1] it has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, beginning with the 1st United States Congress in 1789.[2] Each state elects two senators to serve for six years in general elections, with their re-election staggered. Prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were elected by the Connecticut General Assembly.[3] Each state elects varying numbers of members of the House, depending on population, to two-year terms.[4] Connecticut has sent five members to the House in each congressional delegation since the 2000 United States Census.[5]
A total of 292 unique individuals have represented Connecticut in Congress; Connecticut has had 57 senators and 259 representatives, and 24 have served in both the House and the Senate. Nine women from Connecticut have served in the House, the first being Clare Booth Luce,[6] while none have served in the Senate.[7] Two African-Americans from Connecticut, Gary Franks and Jahana Hayes, have served in the House.[8]
The current dean, or longest serving member, of the Connecticut delegation is Representative Rosa DeLauro of the 3rd district, who has served in the House since 1991. She is the longest-serving House member in Connecticut history, and the second longest-serving member of Congress from Connecticut, behind Chris Dodd, who served 36 years combined in the House and Senate.[9] Dodd is also Connecticut's longest-serving senator.[10]