If/when Cory Booker wins the October election... a bit of history

[Tx4obama]

There have been only EIGHT African-American U.S. Senators in the history of the United States - and only THREE were actually elected by the people.

So, 'when' the good people of New Jersey elect Cory Booker to be their next U.S. Senator in October he will become the FOURTH.

Hiram Rhodes Revels (R-MS) February 23, 1870 to March 3, 1871

At the time, the state legislature elected U.S. senators from Mississippi. In 1870 Revels was elected by a vote of 81 to 15 in the Mississippi State Senate to finish the term of one of the state's two seats in the US Senate, which had been left vacant since the Civil War.

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/First_African_American_Senator.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Rhodes_Revels

Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce (R-MS) March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1881

Elected to the Senate in 1874 by the Mississippi state legislature, he served from 1875 to 1881, becoming the first African American to preside over the Senate in 1879.

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Featured_Bio_Bruce.htm

Edward Brooke (R-MA) January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1979 - ELECTED by The People

Brooke was the first African American popularly elected to the Senate and would remain the only person of African heritage sent to the Senate in the 20th century until Democrat Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois in 1993, and the only African-American Senator to serve multiple terms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_William_Brooke,_III

Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL) January 3, 1993 to January 3, 1999 - ELECTED by The People

In 1992 Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate. (Btw, she has been the ONLY black woman that we’ve ever had in the U.S. Senate)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Moseley_Braun

Barack Obama (D-IL) January 3, 2005 to November 16, 2008 - ELECTED by The People

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

Senators Roland W. Burris (D-IL), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Mo Cowan (D-MA) were 'appointed to fill a vacancy' by Governors - not elected.


More info, PHOTOS, and a LIST, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_United_States_Senators

[hrmjustin]

1. He will win. The nut the gop have put up has run for statewide office many times and never

has been nominated. He ran against Christie. The only reason he won without a fight is because they know Booker has this.

Carol Moseley Braun is a great public servant and I wish she was still in elected office.

[bravenak]

2. What a short list!

He will win. More to follow.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. That is a depressingly short list! Yikes!

And I remember Roland Burris, almost forgot about him.

[Tx4obama]

4. Currently ...

Currently Tim Scott (R-SC) is the only AA in the U.S. Senate.

Mo Cowan (D-MA) left when Ed Markey was sworn in on July 16, 2013 (around a month after Markey won the MA special election).

When Scott and Cowan were in the U.S. Senate together that was the first time in U.S. history that two African-Americans were serving together - and they were both appointees.

So, when Booker wins that will make one Democrat and one Republican in there.

America definitely needs to elect a few AA 'WOMEN' to the U.S. Senate - it is astonishing that there has only ever been 'one'.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. That totally astounds me, but it shows I haven't been paying attention

This is just shameful in this day and age. I'm in NY, grew up going to an integrated school though I didn't know what that meant, but we've certainly been forced to confront bigotry recently with the treatment that the president has gotten. I felt sick hearing about this on MSNBC just tonight. What does it take and how long?!

[davidpdx]

9. I agree there are not enough AA in the Senate

One other thing to consider is how hard it is to unseat an incumbent in the Senate. It would help having more AA candidates.

[Tx4obama]

10. Well, if I was the head of the DNC ...

Okay stay with me here - this is just a dream/wish ...

I would make sure that ALL of the races that currently have republican seats up for election in 2014 would have at least one Democrat challenging the GOPer.

As you can see in the far right column in the chart here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2014#Race_summary

... there are quite a few GOPers that do not have a Democratic challenger so far.

There's always the chance that even with an incumbent that has a 99.9% of winning that at the last minute they might accidentally walk in front of a bus, or have a heart attack, or a huge scandal could break, etc. So, we always have a 1% of winning

Just a thought

[davidpdx]

11. and I wouldn't shed a tear of a bus hit some of those ratbastards

You are right though, we should be putting up minimal candidates even in states where the incumbent will be safe.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Funny that half on that list came from the same Illinois seat!

[JustAnotherGen]

7. Historical Relevance aside

My fellow Democratic Party members didn't make the best choice yesterday. Bernie and Sherrod and yes - even Bob (Menendez) needed help. Come December (we are having to pay through the nose to seat him early) - they won't have his help.

Oh and we will still be living in Christie hell in January. It would have been easier for Buono in November if she could have rode the "star's" coat tails.

Don't underestimate the anger New Jerseyans feel about two major elections in less than a month. If you go back to the 1920's - the NJ legislature made it legal for this Senate election to happen in November. Had Lautenberg died in February - it would have been different. But - the time frame was within our state's laws to have held it in November.

Oh - and a lot of people had no idea what yesterday was about. Idiots.

[WI_DEM]

8. Edward Brooke was a great man--and more liberal than most democrats of his time, too.