Chairman of the United States Senate Republican Conference

The Republican conference of the United States Senate chooses a conference chairperson. The office was created in the mid-19th century with the founding of the Republican party. The office of "party floor leader" was not created until 1925, and for twenty years, the Senate's Republican conference chairman was also the floor leader.

In recent years, the conference chair has come to be regarded as the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, behind the floor leader and whip. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The conference chairman manages the private meetings to elect floor leaders, handles distribution of committee assignments and helps set legislative priorities. The modern version drives the conference’s message, with broadcast studios for television and radio."

List of Chairs

Dates	Name	State	Notes
??? – December 1862	John P. Hale	New Hampshire
December 1862 – September 2, 1884	Henry B. Anthony	Rhode Island
September 2, 1884 – December 1885	John Sherman	Ohio
December 1885 – November 1, 1891	George Edmunds	Vermont
December 1891 – March 4, 1897	John Sherman	Ohio
March 4, 1897 – August 4, 1908	William B. Allison	Iowa
December 1908 – March 4, 1911	Eugene Hale	Maine
April 1911 – March 4, 1913	Shelby Cullom	Illinois
March 4, 1913 – August 17, 1918	Jacob H. Gallinger	New Hampshire
August 17, 1918 – November 9, 1924	Henry Lodge	Massachusetts
November 28, 1924 – March 4, 1929	Charles Curtis	Kansas	Also Republican floor leader from 1925
March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933	James E. Watson	Indiana	Also Republican floor leader
March 4, 1933 – February 25, 1944	Charles L. McNary	Oregon	Also Republican floor leader
February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1947 Acting: February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1945	Arthur Vandenberg	Michigan
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1957	Eugene D. Millikin	Colorado
January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1967	Leverett Saltonstall	Massachusetts
January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973	Margaret Chase Smith	Maine
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975	Norris Cotton	New Hampshire
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979	Carl T. Curtis	Nebraska
January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981	Bob Packwood	Oregon
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985	James A. McClure	Idaho
January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1991	John Chafee	Rhode Island
January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997	Thad Cochran	Mississippi
January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001	Connie Mack III	Florida
January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007	Rick Santorum	Pennsylvania
January 3, 2007 – December 19, 2007	Jon Kyl	Arizona
December 19, 2007 – January 26, 2012	Lamar Alexander	Tennessee
January 26, 2012 – present	John Thune	South Dakota

See also

• United States Senate Democratic Conference Chairman