The Scoop On The Senate
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Dan Daniel Akaka (D) – Junior Senator from Hawaii
He is the first native Hawaiian in the Senate, and the only current member of the Senate with Chinese ancestry. His middle name is Hawaiian -- Kahikina, which means "the east" or "the arrival." (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
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Chris Dodd (D) – Senior Senator from Connecticut
Sen. Dodd and former President Bill Clinton are long-time golfing buddies. Clinton even tried to convince Dodd to run for president in 2000. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Joe Lieberman (D) – Junior Senator from Connecticut
Before he was the first Jewish candidate on a major American political party presidential ticket, Joe walked to the senior prom rather than drive to it on a Saturday, in violation of Sabbath laws. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Jim Risch (R)- Junior Senator from Idaho
The Senator has spent most of his career in public office. He's run for office 32 times and lost only twice. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Jeff Sessions (R) – Junior Senator from Alabama
The Senator was born on Christmas Eve in Selma, Alabama. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Blanche Lincoln (D) - Senior Senator from Arkansas
She was elected to office under two names -- first to the U.S. House of Representatives as Blanche Lambert and then, after her marriage, to the Senate as Blanche Lincoln. When she got elected to the the Senate, she was the youngest woman to do so -- at 38. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Johnny Isakson – Junior Senator from Georgia
He attributes his political success to the knowledge he gained in his first career -- in real estate. "It's the art of compromise." (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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John McCain – Senior Senator from Arizona
Four generations of John S. McCains have graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, most recently the Senator's son, John Sidney IV ("Jack") in 2009. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Jon Kyl – (R) Junior Senator from Arizona
His 2006 re-election campaign ended up being the most expensive in the state's history, with Kyl raising $15 million dollars and his opponent, real-estate developer Jim Pederson, pouring his own money in to raise his campaign funds to almost that amount. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Dick Durbin (D) – Senior Senator from Illinois
He was the first United States Senator to support the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Bill Nelson (D) – Senior Senator from Florida
In 1986, he became the second sitting member of the United States Congress to fly in space, as a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia. (Photo by Chris Usher/CBS)
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Barbara Boxer (D) – Junior Senator from California
She has made cameo appearances as herself in several television shows including "Murphy Brown," "Gilmore Girls" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," as well as a cameo (as herself) in the 2000 film "Traffic." (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Dianne Feinstein (D) – Senior Senator from California
The Senator is featured in archival footage shown in the Academy Award winning film "Milk." The 1978 footage shows Feinstein announcing at a press conference that San Francisco mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by Dan White. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Daniel Inouye (D) – Senior Senator from Hawaii
Inouye holds the position of President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, making him the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in American history. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Ted Kaufman (D) – Junior Senator from Delaware
Kaufman began a Senate tradition -- called the "Senate's Champion of Civil Service" by the Washington Post -- where he honors a different federal employee each week on the Senate floor for his or her dedication to public service. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Saxby Chambliss (R) – Senior Senator from Georgia
Chambliss and Georgia's Junior Senator, Johnny Isakson (R), met at the University of Georgia more than 40 years ago and dated a pair of Phi Mu sorority sisters they later married. (Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images)
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Lisa Murkowski (R) – Senior Senator from Alaska
The Senator holds two firsts: as the only woman to be elected to Congress from her state, and as the first senator born in Alaska. She also immediately succeeded her father as Senator. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Roland Burris (D) – Junior Senator from Illinois
Burris has built a mausoleum for himself in Oak Woods Cemetery on Chicago's South Side. His tombstone proclaims, "Trail Blazer," and includes a list of his accomplishments, with space left for future ones. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Richard Shelby (D) – Senior Senator from Alabama
Originally elected to the Senate as a Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party in 1994 when it gained the majority in Congress. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Michael Crapo (R) – Senior Senator from Idaho
Crapo became the first Mormon senator in a state where one-quarter of residents are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Michael Bennet (D) – Junior Senator from Colorado
He was born in New Delhi while his father, Douglas J. Bennet, was serving as an aide to Chester Bowles, then the U.S. ambassador to India. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Mark Udall (D) – Senior Senator from Colorado
Senator Udall is an avid mountaineer and has climbed all 54 mountains in Colorado with peaks more than 14,000 feet high. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Mark Pryor (D) – Junior Senator from Arkansas
In January 2009, he was the youngest senator -- for 19 days. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Mark Begich (D) – Junior Senator from Alaska
Begich is the only U.S. Senator without a college degree. Begich has taken continuing education classes at University of Alaska Anchorage without graduating. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Tom Carper (D) – Senior Senator from Delaware
Sen. Carper (center) commutes everyday from his home in Wilmington, Delaware to Capitol Hill. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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