How has Senate party control changed?
Senate seats by party
DemocraticRepublicanIndependent / other
2025Democratic 45Republican 53Independent / other 2
Senate seats
Congress · sourced historical data
Party control of the U.S. Senate, 1917–2025
Democratic, Republican, and independent seats in every Congress since 1917.
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 |