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Senate Democratic Caucus
Part of	United States Senate
Chair andFloor Leader	Chuck Schumer (NY)
Floor Whip	Dick Durbin (IL)
Vice Chairs	Mark Warner (VA) Elizabeth Warren (MA)
Secretary	Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Ideology	Modern liberalism
Political position	Center-left
Affiliation	Democratic Party
Colors	Blue
Seats	47 / 100
Website
democrats.senate.gov
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

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TheDemocratic Caucus of the United States Senate, sometimes referred to as theDemocratic Conference, is the formal organization of all senators who are part of theDemocratic Party in theUnited States Senate. For the makeup of the119th Congress, thecaucus additionally includes twoindependent senators (Bernie Sanders ofVermont, andAngus King ofMaine) 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 isChuck Schumer ofNew York.

Effective with the start of the119th Congress, the conference leadership is as follows:

• Democratic LeaderChuck Schumer^[1]
• Democratic WhipDick Durbin^[1]
• Chair ofSteering andPolicy CommitteeAmy Klobuchar^[1]
• Chair of Strategic Communications CommitteeCory Booker^[1]
• Vice Chair of the CaucusElizabeth Warren^[1]
• Vice Chair of the CaucusMark Warner^[1]
• Chair of OutreachBernie Sanders^[1]
• Caucus SecretaryTammy Baldwin^[1]
• Vice Chair of OutreachCatherine Cortez Masto^[1]
• Deputy Caucus SecretaryBrian Schatz^[a][1]
• Deputy Caucus SecretaryChris Murphy^[1]
• Vice Chair ofSteering andPolicy CommitteeJeanne Shaheen^[3][b]
• Vice Chair of Strategic Communications CommitteeTina Smith^[3][b]

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.

SinceOscar Underwood's election in 1920, the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus has also concurrently served as thefloor leader as part of an unwritten tradition.

Congress	Leader		State	Took office	Left office	Majority Leader
43rd		John W. Stevenson (1812–1886)	Kentucky	December 1873	March 4, 1877		Unknown[c]
44th							Unknown[c]
45th		William A. Wallace (1827–1896)	Pennsylvania	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1881		Unknown[c]
46th							Unknown[d]
47th		George H. Pendleton (1825–1889)	Ohio	March 4, 1881	March 4, 1885		Unknown[e]
48th							Unknown[c]
49th		James B. Beck (1822–1890)	Kentucky	March 4, 1885	May 3, 1890[f]		Unknown[c]
50th							Unknown[c]
51st							Unknown[c]
51st		Arthur Pue Gorman (1839–1906)	Maryland	May 3, 1890	April 29, 1898[g]
52nd							Unknown[c]
53rd							Himself1893–1895
54th							Unknown[c]
55th							Unknown[c]
55th		David Turpie (1828–1909)	Indiana	April 29, 1898	March 4, 1899
56th		James Kimbrough Jones (1839–1908)	Arkansas	December 1899	March 4, 1903		Unknown[c]
57th							Unknown[c]
58th		Arthur Pue Gorman (1839–1906)	Maryland	March 4, 1903	June 4, 1906[f]		Unknown[c]
59th							Unknown[c]
		Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn (1838–1918)	Kentucky	June 4, 1906	March 4, 1907
60th		Charles Allen Culberson (1855–1925)	Texas	December 1907	December 9, 1909[g]		Unknown[c]
61st							Unknown[c]
		Hernando Money (1839–1912)	Mississippi	December 9, 1909	March 4, 1911
62nd		Thomas S. Martin (1847–1919)	Virginia	April 1911	March 4, 1913		Unknown[c]
63rd		John W. Kern (1849–1917)	Indiana	March 4, 1913	March 4, 1917		Himself1913–1917
64th
65th		Thomas S. Martin (1847–1919)	Virginia	March 4, 1917	November 12, 1919[f]		Himself1917–1919
66th							Lodge1919–1924
66th		Gilbert Hitchcock[h] (1859–1934)	Nebraska	November 12, 1919	April 27, 1920
66th		Oscar Underwood (1862–1929)	Alabama	April 27, 1920	December 3, 1923
67th
68th
68th		Joseph Taylor Robinson (1872–1937)	Arkansas	December 3, 1923	July 14, 1937[f]		Curtis1924–1929
69th
70th
71st							Watson1929–1933
72nd
73rd							Himself1933–1937
74th
75th
		Alben W. Barkley (1877–1956)	Kentucky	July 14, 1937	January 3, 1949[i]		Himself1937–1947
76th
77th
78th
79th
80th							White1947–1949
81st		Scott W. Lucas (1892–1968)	Illinois	January 3, 1949	January 3, 1951		Himself1949–1951
82nd		Ernest McFarland (1894–1984)	Arizona	January 3, 1951	January 3, 1953		Himself1951–1953
83rd		Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973)	Texas	January 3, 1953	January 3, 1961[i]		Taft1953
							Knowland1953–1955
84th							Himself1955–1961
85th
86th
87th		Mike Mansfield (1903–2001)	Montana	January 3, 1961	January 3, 1977		Himself1961–1977
88th
89th
90th
91st
92nd
93rd
94th
95th		Robert Byrd (1917–2010)	West Virginia	January 3, 1977	January 3, 1989		Himself1977–1981
96th
97th							Baker1981–1985
98th
99th							Dole1985–1987
100th							Himself1987–1989
101st		George J. Mitchell (born 1933)	Maine	January 3, 1989	January 3, 1995		Himself1989–1995
102nd
103rd
104th		Tom Daschle (born 1947)	South Dakota	January 3, 1995	January 3, 2005		Dole1995–1996
104th							Lott1996–2001
105th
106th
107th							Himself2001
							Lott2001
							Himself2001–2002
							Lott2002–2003
108th							Frist2003–2007
109th		Harry Reid (1939–2021)	Nevada	January 3, 2005	January 3, 2017
110th							Himself2007–2015
111th
112th
113th
114th							McConnell2015–2021
115th		Chuck Schumer (born 1950)	New York	January 3, 2017	Incumbent
116th
117th
							Himself2021–2025
118th
119th							Thune2025–present

After the victory of Democrats in themidterm elections of 2006, an overwhelming majority in the conference wanted to reward Chuck Schumer, then the chair of theDemocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, with a position in the leadership hierarchy.^{[citation needed]} In response, then-Democratic LeaderHarry Reid created the position of vice-chair when Democrats formally took control in 2007.^[4] Schumer ascended to Reid's position following his retirement after the2016 elections. The position was then split, with one co-chair awarded to Mark Warner and the other awarded to Elizabeth Warren.

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 leaderHarry 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.^[5]

The first conference secretary was Sen.Edward W. Carmack of Tennessee, who was elected in March 1903.^[6]

The current conference secretary is Sen.Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who assumed the office in January 2017.

On December 8, 2022, Sen.Brian Schatz of Hawaii was elected to the newly created position ofDeputy Caucus Secretary, assuming the office at the beginning of the118th Congress on January 3, 2023.^[7] 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.^[8]

• 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 inPDF ortext format.

• 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

• Democratic Party (United States) organizations
• Leaders of the United States Senate
• United States Senate
• Lists related to the United States Senate

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