Why is Chuck Schumer the “senior” senator from New York and Hillarty Clinton the “junior”? Is it because he’s older, or because he’s been in the office longer? If he were no longer senator, and Clinton were, would she become “senior”? What if he were re-elected in the next election, would he become “senior” again or back to “junior”?
Posts: 4621 | Location: Rochester, NY, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
It's because he's been in office longer. He will always be NY's senior senator as long as he remains in office. Clinton would become NY's senior senator if he were replace but she stayed in office. I don't know how tradition would handle it if he were gone for a term and then came back.
Whichever senator from a given state has held the office longer is the "senior" senator. If both Schumer and Clinton are re-elected she will remain "junior" and he "senior". Obviously, if she is re-elected and he is not, she would then become the senior senator from New York.
