At the start of a new U.S. Congress, Republicans expand their Senate majority to 53 members, while Democrats number 47, including two independents who caucus with them. The 2018 midterm elections featured 33 Senate contests for six-year terms in the 100-member chamber. Up for grabs were 23 seats held by Democrats, eight by Republicans and both independents. Democrats won two Republican-held seats, while Republicans captured four Democratic seats for a net gain of two. Both independents won re-election.
VOA takes a look at the senators who are new to the chamber, many of whom are already well-known in Washington and beyond.
Marsha Blackburn, Republican
State: Tennessee
Age: 66
Blackburn defeated former Tennessee Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen in November to succeed Republican Bob Corker, who retired after serving two terms and rising to become chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Blackburn joins the Senate after serving 16 years in the House, representing a western Tennessee district. A self-described “hard-core” conservative who claims to carry a gun in her purse and disputes the science of climate change, Blackburn has criticized fellow Republican lawmakers who worked with Democrats on a range of domestic issues. She backs President Donald Trump’s push to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. A Presbyterian born in Mississippi, Blackburn is married and has two children.
“Taking away gun rights, or putting in place gun control, is not going to be something that makes our communities safe. The Democrats in [Washington] D.C. are focused on taking away your Second Amendment rights [to bear arms]. I am supported by the
