Since Arkansas became a U.S. state in 1836, it has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, beginning with the 25th United States Congress in 1837, with the exception of the Civil War period between the 37th United States Congress in 1861 and the 40th United States Congress in 1868, when Arkansas' congressional delegations were sent to the Confederate States Congress instead. Before becoming a state, the Arkansas Territory elected a non-voting delegate at-large to Congress, beginning with the 16th United States Congress in 1819. 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 Arkansas General Assembly. Each state elects a varying number of, but at least one, member of the House, depending on population, to two-year terms. Arkansas has sent four members to the House in each congressional delegation since the 1960 United States census.
The current dean, or longest-serving member, of the Arkansas delegation is senator John Boozman, who has represented Arkansas in Congress since 2001. As a senator for 34 years, from 1942 to 1977, John L. McClellan was the longest-serving senator to represent Arkansas in Congress.
Current delegation
Arkansas's current congressional delegation in the 119th Congress consists of two senators and four representatives, all of whom are Republicans. The state has had four representatives in the House since 1963, following the 1960 census. The current dean, or longest-serving member, of the Arkansas delegation is Senator John Boozman, who has represented Arkansas in the Senate since 2011 and in Congress since 2001.
The Cook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI) is a measure of how strongly partisan a state is. For each district or state, the CPVI measures the party leaning (Democratic or Republican) and the number of percentage points more partisan than the national average. For instance, a rating of R 4 would mean the district or state voted four percentage points more Republican than the national average, while a rating of D 9 would mean the district or state voted nine points more Democratic than the national average. As of 2023, the CPVI rated all four districts in Arkansas as leaning Republican, with the 1st district, represented by Rick Crawford in the House, leaning most heavily at R 22, and the 2022 CPVI gave Arkansas a R 16 rating as a whole.
United States Senate
35 people have served as a U.S. senator from Arkansas, consisting of 33 men and two women, as well as 28 Democrats and 7 Republicans. Two, William K. Sebastian and Charles B. Mitchel, were expelled from the Senate because of Arkansas' secession from the Union at the start of the American Civil War; Sebastian was the only senator from a Confederate state to later be reinstated, albeit posthumously. After her husband's death in office, Hattie Caraway, became the first to be elected to a full term in the Senate after finishing his term. The longest-serving senator from Arkansas, John L. McClellan, chaired many Senate committees during his 34 years in office, including the Senate Committee on Government Operations and the Senate Appropriations Committee. For some time, he served with J. William Fulbright, known for the Fulbright Program, establishing an American student exchange program; his chairing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resulting in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and Fulbright hearings; and his opposition to the civil rights movement. Other senators from Arkansas also served in leadership roles in the Senate, including Joseph T. Robinson, who served as Senate Majority Leader, and Ambrose Sevier and James P. Clarke, who both served as president pro tempore of the Senate.
Senators are elected every six years depending on their class, with each senator serving a six-year term and elections for senators occurring every two years; the class up for re-election rotates such that each election, around one-third of the seats in the Senate are up for election. Arkansas' senators are elected in classes II and III. Currently, Arkansas is represented in the Senate by Tom Cotton and John Boozman.
Democratic (D) Jacksonian (J) Republican (R)
United States House of Representatives
1819–1836: 1 non-voting delegate
The Arkansas Territory was created on July 4, 1819, and it sent a non-voting delegate to the House.
1836–1853: 1 seat
Following statehood on June 15, 1836, Arkansas had one seat in the House.
1853–1863: 2 seats
Following the 1850 census, Arkansas was apportioned two seats in the House.
1863–1873: 3 seats
Following the 1860 census, Arkansas was apportioned three seats.
1873–1883: 4 seats
Following the 1870 census, Arkansas was apportioned four seats.
1883–1893: 5 seats
Following the 1880 census, Arkansas was apportioned five seats.
1893–1903: 6 seats
Following the 1890 census, Arkansas was apportioned six seats.
1903–1953: 7 seats
Following the 1900 census, Arkansas was apportioned seven seats.
1953–1963: 6 seats
Following the 1950 census, Arkansas was apportioned six seats.
1963–present: 4 seats
Since the 1960 census, Arkansas has been apportioned four seats.
Key
See also
- List of United States congressional districts
- Arkansas's congressional districts
- Political party strength in Arkansas
Notes
References
