Shadow congressperson#History

{{Short description|Delegates of U.S. territories or Washington D.C. seeking statehood}}

{{distinguish|Shadow Cabinet|Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives}}

The posts of shadow United States senator and shadow United States representative are held by elected or appointed government officials from subnational polities of the United States that lack congressional vote. While these officials are not seated in either chamber of Congress, they seek recognition for their subnational polity, up to full statehood. This would enfranchise them with full voting rights on the floor of the U.S. House and Senate, alongside existing states. {{As of|2021}}, only the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico currently have authorized shadow delegations to Congress.

This is distinct from shadow delegates, who are elected or appointed from subnational polities of the United States to seek non-voting participation in the House. As of 2024, only the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians elect shadow delegates.

History

Historically, shadow members of Congress were elected by organized incorporated territories prior to their admission to the Union.{{cite web|title=A Brief History of the Shadow Senators of the United States|first=Paul|last=Strauss|author-link=Paul Strauss|work= Paul Strauss – United States Senator for the District of Columbia|url=http://senatordc.wdcnet.net/history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211130256/http://senatordc.wdcnet.net/history.html|archive-date=February 11, 2003}} From its origins in Tennessee, this approach is sometimes known as the Tennessee Plan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/puerto-ricos-tennessee-plan/|title=Puerto Rico's Tennessee Plan|website=American Action Forum|language=en-US|access-date=March 10, 2019}}

The first shadow senators, William Blount and William Cocke of the Southwest Territory, were elected in March 1796 before being seated as senators representing the newly formed state of Tennessee. Michigan, California, Minnesota, Oregon, and Alaska likewise elected shadow senators before statehood. The Alaska Territory also elected the first shadow U.S. representative, Ralph Julian Rivers, in 1956. All were eventually seated in Congress as voting members, except for Alaska shadow senator William A. Egan, who instead became governor.

class="wikitable sortable"

!Territory

!Office

!Name

!Elected

!Seated

rowspan=2 |Southwest
{{small|(now Tennessee)}}

|Senator

|data-sort-value="Blount, William" |William Blount

|rowspan=2 |Mar 28, 1796

|rowspan=2 |Dec 6, 1796

Senator

|data-sort-value="Cocke, William" |William Cocke

rowspan=2 |Michigan

|Senator

|data-sort-value="Lyon, Lucius" |Lucius Lyon

|rowspan=2 |Nov 10, 1835

|rowspan=2 |Jan 26, 1837

Senator

|data-sort-value="Norvell, John" |John Norvell

rowspan=2 |California

|Senator

|data-sort-value="Gwin, William M." |William M. Gwin

|rowspan=2 |Dec 20, 1849

|rowspan=2 |Sep 10, 1850

Senator

|data-sort-value="Fremont, John" |John C. Frémont

Minnesota

|Senator

|data-sort-value="Shields, James" |James Shields

|Dec 19, 1857

|May 12, 1858

rowspan=2 |Oregon

|Senator

|data-sort-value="Lane, Joseph" |Joseph Lane

|rowspan=2 |Jul 5, 1858

|rowspan=2 |Feb 14, 1859

Senator

|data-sort-value="Smith, Delazon" |Delazon Smith

rowspan=3 data-sort-value="Alaska Territory" |Alaska

|Senator

|data-sort-value="Gruening, Ernest" |Ernest Gruening

|rowspan=3|Oct 6, 1956

|Jan 7, 1959

Senator

|data-sort-value="Egan, William A." |William A. Egan

|Elected governor in 1958

Representative

|data-sort-value="Rivers, Ralph J." |Ralph J. Rivers

|Jan 7, 1959

District of Columbia officeholders

The election of shadow congresspersons from the District of Columbia is authorized by a state constitution ratified by D.C. voters in 1982 but was never approved by Congress.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/28/AR2008052802976.html|title=D.C. Seeks to Fund Lobbying Effort for a Voting House Member|last=Sheridan|first=Mary Beth|date=May 29, 2008|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=B01|access-date=December 29, 2008}}

=District of Columbia shadow senators=

The voters of the District of Columbia elect two shadow U.S. senators who are known as senators by the District of Columbia but are not officially sworn in or seated by the U.S. Senate. Shadow U.S. senators were first elected in 1990.

The current shadow United States senators from the District of Columbia are Paul Strauss and Ankit Jain.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/elections/2006/dc/candidates/Michael_D_Brown.html Election profiles Michael D. Brown (D)], The Washington Post, 2006, retrieved, September 30, 2012.

{{List of United States senators heading

| Left_class= 1

| Left_intro= Class 1 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle recently contested in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, 2018, and 2024. The next election will be in 2030.

| Right_class= 2

| Right_intro= Class 2 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle recently contested in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. The next election will be in 2026.}}

|- style="height:2em"

! rowspan=8 | 1

| rowspan=8 align=left |
Florence Pendleton

| rowspan=8 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic

| rowspan=8 nowrap width=14% | Jan 3, 1991 –
Jan 3, 2007

| rowspan=2 width=12% | Elected in 1990.

| rowspan=2 | 1

| {{List of United States senators Congress|102}}

| rowspan=3 | 1

| rowspan=3 width=12% | Elected in 1990.
Retired.

| rowspan=3 nowrap width=14% | Jan 3, 1991 –
Jan 3, 1997

| rowspan=3 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic

| rowspan=3 align=right | 100px
Jesse Jackson

! rowspan=3 | 1

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|103}}

|- style="height:2em"

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1994.

| rowspan=3 | 2

| {{List of United States senators Congress|104}}

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|105}}

| rowspan=3 | 2

| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1996.

| rowspan=15 nowrap wdith=14% | Jan 3, 1997 –
present

| rowspan=15 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic

| rowspan=15 align=right | 100px
Paul Strauss

! rowspan=15 | 2

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|106}}

|- style="height:2em"

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2000.
Was not re-nominated as a Democrat.
Lost re-election bid as an independent.

| rowspan=3 | 3

| {{List of United States senators Congress|107}}

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|108}}

| rowspan=3 | 3

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2002.

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|109}}

|- style="height:2em"

! rowspan=9 | 2

| rowspan=9 align=left | 100px
Mike Brown

| rowspan=4 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic

| rowspan=9 nowrap width=14% | Jan 3, 2007 –
Jan 3, 2025

| rowspan=3 | Elected in 2006.

| rowspan=3 | 4

| {{List of United States senators Congress|110}}

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|111}}

| rowspan=3 | 4

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2008.

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|112}}

|- style="height:2em"

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2012.

| rowspan=3 | 5

| {{List of United States senators Congress|113}}

|- style="height:2em"

| {{Party shading/Independent}}| Independent

| {{List of United States senators Congress|114}}

| rowspan=3 | 5

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2014.

|- style="height:2em"

| rowspan=4 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic

| {{List of United States senators Congress|115}}

|- style="height:2em"

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2018.
Retired.

| rowspan=3 | 6

| {{List of United States senators Congress|116}}

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|117}}

| rowspan=3 | 6

| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2020.

|- style="height:2em"

| {{List of United States senators Congress|118}}

|- style=height:2em"

! 3

| align=left |
Ankit Jain

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic

| nowrap width=14% | Jan 3, 2025 –
present

| Elected in 2024.

| 7

| {{List of United States senators Congress|119}}

{{List of United States senators footer | Left_class=1 | Right_class=2 }}

=District of Columbia shadow representatives=

The voters of the District of Columbia elect one shadow representative who is recognized as equivalent to U.S. representatives by the District of Columbia but is not recognized by the U.S. government as an actual member of the House of Representatives. A shadow representative was first elected in 1990. Inaugural office-holder Charles Moreland held the seat for two terms. In November 2020, Oye Owolewa was elected to succeed retiring shadow representative Franklin Garcia.

D.C.'s shadow U.S. representative should not be confused with the non-voting delegate who represents the district in Congress.

class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

valign=bottom

!Representative

!Party

!Term

!Congress

!Electoral history

style="height:3em"

|align=left |Charles Moreland