113th Congress by the Numbers
Party ratios:
House: 233 R, 201 D, 1 V (special election in MO June 4)
Senate: 53 D, 45 R, 2 I (effectively 55 D, 45 R; +2 D)
Incumbents reelected:
House: 90%
Senate: 95%
New Committee Chairs:
House: 9 out of 21 (Republicans follow a 6-yr term limit, Democrats don’t)
Senate: 7 out of 20
Like the 112th, another huge class of freshmen:
House: 84 (49 D, 35 R) – last Congress was 96.
Senate: 13 (9 D, 4 R)
Not their first rodeo:
9 members of the 113th have served before, including Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) who left in 1999, and Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN) who left in 1981.
Professional background:
House: mostly public service, business, and law. Freshman class includes a magician, a guitarist in a punk rock band, and a reindeer rancher/Santa Claus impersonator.
Senate: Mostly lawyers, 51% served in the House.
Record number of women in both chambers:
House: 82
Senate: 20
Most minorities represented:
House: 19% (44 African American, 29 Hispanic, 9 Asian, 2 Indian/Pacific Islander)
Minorities and women comprise a majority of the Democratic caucus
Senate: 6% (3 Hispanic, 2 African Americans, 1 Asian)
Average age:
House: 57 (Ralph Hall, R-TX, is oldest at 89, Patrick Murphy, D-FL. is youngest at 29)
Senate: 62
Years of service in office:
House: > 40% of the House was first elected in 2010 or 2012
Senate: About half the Senate was first elected in 2008, 2010, or 2012.
Congress is less popular than:
Root canals, NFL replacement refs, Nickelback, DC pundits, and colonoscopies,
But still more popular than:
Lindsay Lohan, North Korea, Ebola virus, and the Kardashians.