The death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Saturday renewed conversations around an aging Congress and the replacement process for politicians who die in office. Even though the current Congress is now one of the oldest legislative bodies in the world, deaths in the Senate used to be a much more common occurrence, with several members a year lost in some cases.
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While medical and technological advancements lengthen lives and accommodate more health conditions, the procedures surrounding the death of a sitting senator are still used fairly often. And in times where one party’s control of the chamber is narrow, a senator’s death can cause shakeups.
How Many U.S. Senators Died in Office?
From the creation of the upper chamber in 1787 to Graham’s death, 303 senators have died during their terms, according to the Senate website. Although data shows that Congress is getting older, only 10 Senate deaths have taken place since 2000. Compare that to the first half of the 20th century, when over 20 senators died every decade.
It’s not hard to understand why deaths in office have slowed. Since the Senate’s creation, members have had a required minimum age of 30. In the 1940s, the average male life expectancy in the United States was 61, according to the Social Security Administration.
Recent Notable Deaths in Office
Recent Senate deaths in a graying Congress have increasingly involved career politicians serving well past retirement age. The last death before Graham’s was that of Dianne Feinstein, the longest serving woman senator whose monthslong absence from the Senate created controversy just before her death at age 90. Sen. John McCain of Arizona similarly served over three decades in Congress before his death in 2018 at 81.
Other deaths have been less conventional. Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, the face of anti-communist efforts in Congress during the 1950s, died at 48 after a yearslong battle with alcoholism. Robert F. Kennedy, a senator from New York and adviser to President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated at 42 while running for president in 1968.
Even now-survivable conditions took the lives of some of the most famous politicians to serve in the Senate. Charles Sumner, a key figure in securing equal rights for freed slaves during the Reconstruction era, died in office at the age of 63 from a massive heart attack. Sumner was perhaps best known for enduring a physical beating from Rep. Preston Brooks after denouncing another senator who was related to Brooks.
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Former President Andrew Johnson also died while serving in the Senate. Johnson was elected to represent Tennessee after a tumultuous presidency that saw him impeached and nearly removed from office for dismissing the secretary of war without congressional approval. He would die from a stroke just months after entering the Senate at age 66.
The Replacement Process
Each state determines its own procedures for filling vacancies caused by death. In most states, the governor will appoint a successor until an election can take place. Details vary by state on when elections can happen and whether the successor must come from the same party as the prior senator.
Graham was already up for reelection in November, which means the South Carolina midterm will take place as scheduled – though Republicans will hold a special primary election next month to select a new candidate since Graham had already secured the nomination. In Kentucky, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, state law requires that an expedited special election take place to fill the vacancy until the former senator’s term is up.
Appointments can sometimes be a political successor, but governors will often appoint the wife of a deceased member in a tradition known as “widow’s succession.” The cordiality has often broken gender barriers – Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, will be the first woman senator for South Carolina.
Burial Procedures
Because death was a typical occurrence in the Senate for decades, funeral proceedings for senators were also standardized. In the 20th century, it was common to adjourn proceedings the day following a senator’s death to accommodate funeral services and adorn their desk with black fabric and flowers. Some senators wore black armbands to mourn for a 30-day period.
More recently, the Senate still adjourns following the death of a member, with a portion of another day’s schedule set aside for memorial tributes on the floor. Certain senators with particularly long or influential careers, such as Sumner, may lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.
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