Freshman members of the 111th Congress

These are the 65 freshman members of the 111th Congress. Click on a name to read information on their records and positions on issues. There were 39 Democrats (plus two non-voting members who caucus with Democrats) and 24 Republicans.

Senate freshmen
Senators elected in 2008 are members of Senate Class II.

There are 14 new Senate freshman, including five who joined the chamber after the start of the 111th Congress:


 * Roland Burris (D) was named to succeed President Barack Obama (D-Ill.), and Ted Kaufman (D) was named to succeed Vice President Joe Biden (D-Del.).
 * Kirsten Gillibrand (D) was named to succeed Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), and Michael Bennet was named to succeed Ken Salazar (D-Colo.).
 * Al Franken (D) was certified as the winner of the Senate election in Minnesota, and his election withstood several legal challengers by incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R). Franken was sworn in on July 7, 2009.

The freshman class includes eight Democrats and two Republicans. It also includes Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), who were both representatives but won election to the Senate in 2008.

House freshmen
There are currently 56 freshman members of the House (including one non-voting Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and one non-voting delegate from Northern Marianas), but two others will likely join it soon:


 * A special election will be held to replace Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), who has resigned from the House to join the Obama administration. A primary is scheduled for March 3rd and a general election is set for April 7th.
 * A special election will be held to replace Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) once she resigns her seat to become the Secretary of Labor in the Obama administration. Once she resigns, the California governor must call for a special election within 14 days, and the election must be held within 140 days of that.

The freshman include 32 Democrats (plus the Northern Marianas' non-voting delegate and Puerto Rico's non-voting Resident Commissioner, both of whom caucus with the Democrats) and 22 Republicans.

Marcia L. Fudge is not counted here because she was sworn into the 110th Congress on Nov. 19, 2008 to fill the rest of Stephanie Tubbs Jones' term.