List of current United States Senators
Each state elects two senators in the Senate of the United States. By 1913, the senators were determined by the parliaments of the individual states. From 1913 required the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that Senators are elected directly by the population of each state.
The Senate of the 112th Congress konstitutierte is based on the election on November 2, 2010, in which a third of its members were either elected or re-elected. His term of office began on 3 January 2011 and ends on January 3, 2013.
Parties and factions
After the 2010 election the Democratic group 53 and the Republican faction consisted of 47 members.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont belonged to no party, but was a member of the democratic faction. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut withdrew in 2007 as an independent candidate in the Senate, after he had lost the internal party Democratic primary in his state, but was also a member of the Democratic Party and was also part of the Group of Democrats. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska lost the 2010 primaries of the Republican Party against Joe Miller, but ran as an independent write-in candidate and thus obtained the victory. She was also a member of the republican faction.