How has Senate party control changed?
Senate seats by party
DemocraticRepublicanIndependent / other
2025Democratic 45Republican 53Independent / other 2
Senate seats
Data via Election.org
Congress · sourced historical data
Party control of the U.S. Senate, 1917–2025
Democratic, Republican, and independent seats in every Congress since 1917.
Cite this data Text or HTML
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Suggested credit. You may edit or qualify links; this is not an endorsement or a new license. Reuse guidance →What this chart says
The 119th Congress opened with 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents.
How to read it
Opening party divisions published by the Senate Historical Office; first listed division used when control changed within a Congress.
Important limits
- Independents may caucus with a major party; the chart preserves their formal party category.
The data behind the view
Every plotted value.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Independent / other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | 54 | 42 | 0 |
| 1919 | 47 | 49 | 0 |
| 1921 | 37 | 59 | 0 |
| 1923 | 42 | 53 | 1 |
| 1925 | 41 | 54 | 1 |
| 1927 | 46 | 48 | 1 |
| 1929 | 39 | 56 | 1 |
| 1931 | 47 | 48 | 1 |
| 1933 | 59 | 36 | 1 |
| 1935 | 69 | 25 | 1 |
| 1937 | 76 | 16 | 2 |
| 1939 | 69 | 23 | 2 |
| 1941 | 66 | 28 | 1 |
| 1943 | 57 | 38 | 1 |
| 1945 | 57 | 38 | 1 |
| 1947 | 45 | 51 | 0 |
| 1949 | 54 | 42 | 0 |
| 1951 | 49 | 47 | 0 |
| 1953 | 47 | 48 | 1 |
| 1955 | 48 | 47 | 1 |
| 1957 | 49 | 47 | 0 |
| 1959 | 65 | 35 | 0 |
| 1961 | 64 | 36 | 0 |
| 1963 | 66 | 34 | 0 |
| 1965 | 68 | 32 | 0 |
| 1967 | 64 | 36 | 0 |
| 1969 | 57 | 43 | 0 |
| 1971 | 54 | 44 | 1 |
| 1973 | 56 | 42 | 1 |
| 1975 | 61 | 37 | 1 |
| 1977 | 61 | 38 | 1 |
| 1979 | 58 | 41 | 1 |
| 1981 | 46 | 53 | 1 |
| 1983 | 45 | 55 | 0 |
| 1985 | 47 | 53 | 0 |
| 1987 | 55 | 45 | 0 |
| 1989 | 55 | 45 | 0 |
| 1991 | 56 | 44 | 0 |
| 1993 | 57 | 43 | 0 |
| 1995 | 48 | 52 | 0 |
| 1997 | 45 | 55 | 0 |
| 1999 | 45 | 55 | 0 |
| 2001 | 50 | 50 | 1 |
| 2003 | 48 | 51 | 1 |
| 2005 | 44 | 55 | 1 |
| 2007 | 49 | 49 | 1 |
| 2009 | 57 | 41 | 1 |
| 2011 | 51 | 47 | 1 |
| 2013 | 53 | 45 | 2 |
| 2015 | 44 | 54 | 2 |
| 2017 | 47 | 51 | 2 |
| 2019 | 45 | 53 | 2 |
| 2021 | 48 | 50 | 2 |
| 2023 | 47 | 49 | 4 |
| 2025 | 45 | 53 | 2 |