# Connecticut State Senate

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Connecticut_State_Senate
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Connecticut_State_Senate.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_State_Senate
> Source revision: 1353829392
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly

Connecticut State Senate Connecticut General Assembly Type Type Upper house Term limits None History New session started January 8, 2025 Leadership President Susan Bysiewicz (D) since January 9, 2019 President pro tempore Martin Looney (D) since January 7, 2015 Majority Leader Bob Duff (D) since January 7, 2015 Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R) since February 16, 2024 Structure Seats 36 Seat display Map display Political groups Majority Democratic (25) Minority Republican (11) Length of term 2 years Authority Article III, Section 1, Connecticut Constitution Salary $40,000/year Elections Last election November 5, 2024 (36 seats) Next election November 3, 2026 (36 seats) Redistricting Legislative Control Meeting place State Senate Chamber Connecticut State Capitol Hartford, Connecticut Website Connecticut State Senate

The **Connecticut State Senate** is the [upper house](/source/Upper_house) of the [Connecticut General Assembly](/source/Connecticut_General_Assembly), the [state legislature](/source/State_legislature_(United_States)) of the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut). The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Senators are elected to two-year terms without [term limits](/source/Term_limits_in_the_United_States). The Connecticut State Senate is one of 14 state legislative upper houses whose members serve two-year terms; four-year terms are more common.

As in other [upper houses](/source/Upper_house) of state and territorial legislatures and the federal [U.S. Senate](/source/U.S._Senate), the Senate is vested with special functions such as confirming or rejecting [gubernatorial](/source/Governor_of_Connecticut) appointments to the state's executive departments, the state cabinet, commissions and boards. Unlike a majority of U.S. state legislatures, both the [Connecticut House of Representatives](/source/Connecticut_House_of_Representatives) and the State Senate vote on the composition of the [Connecticut Supreme Court](/source/Connecticut_Supreme_Court).

The Senate meets within the [State Capitol](/source/Connecticut_State_Capitol) in [Hartford](/source/Hartford%2C_Connecticut).

## History

The Senate has its basis in the earliest incarnation of the General Assembly, the "General Corte" established in 1636, whose membership was divided between at least six generally elected magistrates (the predecessor of the Senate) and three-member "committees" representing each of the towns of the [Connecticut Colony](/source/Connecticut_Colony) (the predecessors of the House of Representatives). The [Fundamental Orders of Connecticut](/source/Fundamental_Orders_of_Connecticut), adopted in 1639, renamed the committees to "deputies", the Corte to the Court, and established that the magistrates were generally elected for yearlong terms; the magistrate who received the highest number of votes would serve as governor for the year, so long as he had previously served as a magistrate and had not been governor the previous year. Other magistrates were elected deputy governor, secretary, and treasurer. Although the magistrates and deputies sat together, they voted separately, and in 1645, it was decreed that a measure had to have the approval of both groups in order to pass. The [Charter of 1662](/source/History_of_the_Connecticut_Constitution#The_Connecticut_Charter_of_1662) replaced the six magistrates with twelve assistants, not including the governor and deputy governor, and renamed the legislature to the General Assembly. In 1698, the General Assembly split into a bicameral body, divided between the Council and the House of Representatives. The Council contained the twelve assistants, the deputy governor, and the governor, who led the body, while the House was led by a Speaker elected from among its members. Because the governor led it and other notables sat in it, the Council took precedence over the House, and when the two chambers were at odds, the House deferred to the Council.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The [1818 constitution](/source/History_of_the_Connecticut_Constitution#The_Constitution_of_1818) renamed the council to the Senate,[1] removed the governor and deputy governor from its membership, and removed all remaining judicial and executive authority from it, but it remained largely the same in that it still consisted of twelve generally elected members. It was in 1828 that senatorial districts were established and the number of senators revised to between eight and twenty-four; the number was altered to between twenty-four and thirty-six in 1901, with the General Assembly setting it at thirty-six immediately. Senatorial terms were raised to two years in 1875.[2]

In 1814–15, the [Hartford Convention](/source/Hartford_Convention) met in the Connecticut Senate chamber of what is now the [Old State House](/source/Old_State_House_(Connecticut)).

## Leadership of the Senate

The [Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut](/source/List_of_Lieutenant_Governors_of_Connecticut) serves as the President of the Senate, but only casts a vote if required to break a tie. In the absence of the lieutenant governor, the [President Pro Tempore of the Connecticut Senate](/source/Presidents_pro_tempore_of_the_Connecticut_Senate) presides. The President pro tempore is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the entire Senate through a Senate Resolution. The President pro tempore is the chief leadership position in the Senate. The Senate [majority](/source/Majority_Leader) and [minority](/source/Minority_Leader) leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses.

The President of the Senate is [Susan Bysiewicz](/source/Susan_Bysiewicz) of the [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)). The President pro tempore is Democrat [Martin Looney](/source/Martin_M._Looney) (D-[New Haven](/source/New_Haven%2C_Connecticut)). The [Majority Leader](/source/Majority_Leader) is [Bob Duff](/source/Bob_Duff) (D-[Norwalk](/source/Norwalk%2C_Connecticut)) and the [Minority Leader](/source/Minority_Leader) is [Stephen Harding](/source/Stephen_G._Harding) (R-[Brookfield](/source/Brookfield%2C_Connecticut)).

### Current leadership

Position Senator District Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz —N/a President Pro Tempore Martin Looney 11 Majority Leader Bob Duff 25 Majority Whip Herron Gaston 23 Minority Leader Stephen Harding 30 Minority Whip Paul Cicarella 34

## Make-up of the Senate

As of January 2025, the makeup of the Connecticut Senate consisted of 25 seats for [Democrats](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) and 10 seats for [Republicans](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)). In the 2024 elections, Democrats picked up District 8, giving them 25 seats to the Republicans' 11 seats.

↓ 25 11 Democratic Republican

Affiliation Party Total Democratic Republican Vacant End of Previous Legislature: 2023–2025 24 12 36 0 Start of Current Legislature: 2025–2027[a] 25 10 35 1 February 28, 2025[b] 11 36 0 Latest Voting Share 69.4% 30.6%

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Republican Senator [Kevin Kelly](/source/Kevin_C._Kelly) (District 21) resigned before the start of the legislative session to pursue another job.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Republican [Jason Perillo](/source/Jason_Perillo) was elected in a special election for the 21st district.

### Members of the Senate

Current members of the Connecticut Senate, as of February 28, 2025.[3]

District Name Party Residence Start Towns represented 1 John Fonfara Dem Hartford 1996 Hartford (part), Wethersfield (part) 2 Douglas McCrory Dem Bloomfield 2017[a] Bloomfield (part), Hartford (part), Windsor (part) 3 Saud Anwar Dem South Windsor 2019[a] East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington (part), South Windsor 4 MD Rahman Dem Manchester 2022 Andover, Bolton, Glastonbury, Manchester 5 Derek Slap Dem West Hartford 2019[a] Bloomfield (part), Burlington, Farmington (part), West Hartford 6 Rick Lopes Dem New Britain 2020 Berlin, Farmington (part), New Britain 7 John Kissel Rep Enfield 1993[a] East Granby, Ellington (part), Enfield, Granby (part), Somers, Suffield, Windsor (part), Windsor Locks 8 Paul Honig Dem Harwinton 2024 Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby (part), Hartland, Harwinton (part), Hartland, Norfolk, Simsbury, Torrington (part) 9 Matthew Lesser Dem Middletown 2018 Cromwell, Middletown (part), Newington, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield (part) 10 Gary Winfield Dem New Haven 2014[a] New Haven (part), West Haven (part) 11 Martin Looney Dem New Haven 1993 Hamden (part), New Haven (part) 12 Christine Cohen Dem Guilford 2018 Branford, Durham (part), East Haven (part), Guilford, Killingworth, Madison, Middlefield (part), North Branford (part) 13 Jan Hochadel Dem Meriden 2022 Cheshire (part), Meriden, Middlefield (part), Middletown (part) 14 James Maroney Dem Milford 2018 Milford, Orange, West Haven (part), Woodbridge (part) 15 Joan Hartley Dem Waterbury 2000 Middlebury (part), Naugatuck (part), Waterbury (part) 16 Rob Sampson Rep Wolcott 2018 Cheshire (part), Prospect, Southington, Waterbury (part), Wolcott 17 Jorge Cabrera Dem Hamden 2020 Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden (part), Naugatuck (part), Woodbridge (part) 18 Heather Somers Rep Groton 2016 Griswold, Groton, North Stonington, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling, Stonington, Voluntown 19 Catherine Osten Dem Sprague 2012 Columbia, Franklin, Hebron, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Marlborough, Montville (part), Norwich, Sprague 20 Martha Marx Dem New London 2022 Bozrah, East Lyme, Montville (part), New London, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook (part), Salem, Waterford 21 Jason Perillo Rep Shelton 2025[a] Monroe (part), Seymour (part), Shelton, Stratford (part) 22 Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox Dem Trumbull 2024 Bridgeport (part), Monroe (part), Trumbull 23 Herron Gaston Dem Bridgeport 2022 Bridgeport (part), Stratford (part) 24 Julie Kushner Dem Danbury 2018 Danbury, New Fairfield (part), Ridgefield (part) 25 Bob Duff Dem Norwalk 2004 Darien (part), Norwalk 26 Ceci Maher Dem Wilton 2022 Darien (part), New Canaan (part), Stamford (part), Redding, Ridgefield (part), Weston (part), Westport, Wilton 27 Patricia Billie Miller Dem Stamford 2021[a] Darien (part), Stamford (part) 28 Tony Hwang Rep Fairfield 2014 Bethel (part), Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, 29 Mae Flexer Dem Windham 2014 Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson (part), Windham 30 Stephen Harding Rep Brookfield 2022 Bethlehem (part), Brookfield (part), Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Fairfield (part), New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Sherman, Torrington (part), Warren, Washington (part), Winchester 31 Henri Martin Rep Bristol 2014 Bristol, Harwinton (part), Plainville, Plymouth, Thomaston 32 Eric Berthel Rep Watertown 2017[a] Bethel (part), Bethlehem (part), Bridgewater, Brookfield (part), Middlebury (part), Oxford, Roxbury, Seymour (part), Southbury, Washington (part), Watertown, Woodbury 33 Norman Needleman Dem Essex 2018 Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook (part), Portland, Westbrook 34 Paul Cicarella Rep North Haven 2020 Durham (part), East Haven (part), North Branford (part), North Haven, Wallingford 35 Jeff Gordon Rep Woodstock 2022 Ashford, Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford, Ellington (part), Hampton,Stafford, Thompson (part), Tolland, Union, Vernon, Willington, Woodstock 36 Ryan Fazio Rep Greenwich 2021[a] Greenwich, New Canaan (part), Stamford (part)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-special_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-special_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-special_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-special_6-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-special_6-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-special_6-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-special_6-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-special_6-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-special_6-8) First elected in a special election.

## Notable former members

- [Joe Lieberman](/source/Joe_Lieberman), US Senator and 2000 Vice Presidential Nominee

- [Chris Murphy](/source/Chris_Murphy), US Senator

- [Richard Blumenthal](/source/Richard_Blumenthal), US Senator

- [Beth Bye](/source/Beth_Bye), plaintiff in the 2008 case that legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut

- [Will Haskell](/source/Will_Haskell), elected at age 22, author of '100,000 First Bosses'

- [Edward M. Kennedy Jr.](/source/Edward_M._Kennedy_Jr.), son of [Ted Kennedy](/source/Ted_Kennedy)

## See also

- [Connecticut State Capitol](/source/Connecticut_State_Capitol)

- [Connecticut General Assembly](/source/Connecticut_General_Assembly)

- [Connecticut House of Representatives](/source/Connecticut_House_of_Representatives)

- [Historic members of the Connecticut Senate](/source/Historic_members_of_the_Connecticut_Senate)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Orcutt, Jacob (Fall 2018). ["Connecticut's Old State House: Where the Constitution of 1818 Was Born"](https://www.ctexplored.org/connecticuts-old-state-house-where-the-constitution-of-1818-was-born/). *Connecticut Explored*. Vol. 16, no. 4. pp. 46–48. Retrieved January 26, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *Under the Gold Dome: An Insider's Look at the Connecticut Legislature*, by Judge Robert Satter. New Haven: Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, 2004, pp. 16–27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Senate Members (listed alphabetically)"](https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/slist.asp). [Connecticut General Assembly](/source/Connecticut_General_Assembly). Retrieved February 14, 2013.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Connecticut Senate](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Connecticut_Senate).

- [Connecticut State Senate](https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/Senate.asp)

- [Connecticut Senate Districts Map](https://www.cga.ct.gov/rr/tfs/20210401_2021%20Redistricting%20Project/NODISPLAY_data/senatemaps/Map-Statewide/2021SenateFinal.pdf)

- [State Senate of Connecticut](https://archive.today/20101024221409/http://www.vote-smart.org/official_state_legislator.php?type=office&criteria=upper&state_id=CT) at [Project Vote Smart](/source/Project_Vote_Smart)

- [Connecticut State Senate](https://ballotpedia.org/Connecticut_State_Senate) at [Ballotpedia](/source/Ballotpedia)

v t e Members of the Connecticut State Senate President of the Senate Susan Bysiewicz (D) President pro tempore Martin Looney (D) Majority Leader Bob Duff (D) Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R) ▌John Fonfara (D) ▌Douglas McCrory (D) ▌Saud Anwar (D) ▌MD Rahman (D) ▌Derek Slap (D) ▌Rick Lopes (D) ▌John Kissel (R) ▌Paul Honig (D) ▌Matt Lesser (D) ▌Gary Winfield (D) ▌Martin Looney (D) ▌Christine Cohen (D) ▌Jan Hochadel (D) ▌James Maroney (D) ▌Joan Hartley (D) ▌Robert Sampson (R) ▌Jorge Cabrera (D) ▌Heather Somers (R) ▌Cathy Osten (D) ▌Martha Marx (D) ▌Jason Perillo (R) ▌Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (D) ▌Herron Gaston (D) ▌Julie Kushner (D) ▌Bob Duff (D) ▌Ceci Maher (D) ▌Patricia B. Miller (D) ▌Tony Hwang (R) ▌Mae Flexer (D) ▌Stephen Harding (R) ▌Henri Martin (R) ▌Eric Berthel (R) ▌Norman Needleman (D) ▌Paul Cicarella (R) ▌Jeff Gordon (R) ▌Ryan Fazio (R) ▌Democratic (25) ▌Republican (11) Connecticut General Assembly Connecticut House of Representatives Connecticut State Senate

v t e Connecticut General Assembly districts Senate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 House 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151

v t e Legislatures of the United States United States Congress United States House of Representatives United States Senate State legislatures Alabama (H, S) Alaska (H, S) Arizona (H, S) Arkansas (H, S) California (A, S) Colorado (H, S) Connecticut (H, S) Delaware (H, S) Florida (H, S) Georgia (H, S) Hawaii (H, S) Idaho (H, S) Illinois (H, S) Indiana (H, S) Iowa (H, S) Kansas (H, S) Kentucky (H, S) Louisiana (H, S) Maine (H, S) Maryland (H, S) Massachusetts (H, S) Michigan (H, S) Minnesota (H, S) Mississippi (H, S) Missouri (H, S) Montana (H, S) Nebraska Nevada (A, S) New Hampshire (H, S) New Jersey (GA, S) New Mexico (H, S) New York (A, S) North Carolina (H, S) North Dakota (H, S) Ohio (H, S) Oklahoma (H, S) Oregon (H, S) Pennsylvania (H, S) Rhode Island (H, S) South Carolina (H, S) South Dakota (H, S) Tennessee (H, S) Texas (H, S) Utah (H, S) Vermont (H, S) Virginia (H, S) Washington (H, S) West Virginia (H, S) Wisconsin (A, S) Wyoming (H, S) Other legislatures District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands Legislative elections 1961 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 List of U.S. state legislators Lists of past U.S. state legislatures

v t e State of Connecticut Hartford (capital) Topics Index Constitution Delegations Elections Geography Government History Images People Symbols Tourist attractions Society Abortion Climate change Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gun laws LGBTQ rights Party strength Regions Councils of governments Coastal Connecticut Farmington Valley Gold Coast Greater Bridgeport Greater Danbury Greater Hartford Tri-State area Connecticut panhandle Greater New Haven Housatonic Valley Litchfield Hills Lower Connecticut River Valley Central Naugatuck Valley Naugatuck River Valley Quiet Corner Southeastern Connecticut Planning regions Capitol Greater Bridgeport Lower Connecticut River Valley Naugatuck Valley Northeastern Connecticut Northwest Hills South Central Connecticut Southeastern Connecticut Western Connecticut Counties Fairfield Hartford Litchfield Middlesex New Haven New London Tolland Windham Cities Ansonia Bridgeport Bristol Danbury Derby Groton Hartford Meriden Middletown Milford New Britain New Haven New London Norwalk Norwich Shelton Stamford Torrington Waterbury West Haven All towns Andover Ansonia Ashford Avon Barkhamsted Beacon Falls Berlin Bethany Bethel Bethlehem Bloomfield Bolton Bozrah Branford Bridgeport Bridgewater Bristol Brookfield Brooklyn Burlington Canaan Canterbury Canton Chaplin Cheshire Chester Clinton Colchester Colebrook Columbia Cornwall Coventry Cromwell Danbury Darien Deep River Derby Durham East Granby East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Haven East Lyme East Windsor Eastford Easton Ellington Enfield Essex Fairfield Farmington Franklin Glastonbury Goshen Granby Greenwich Griswold Groton Guilford Haddam Hamden Hampton Hartford Hartland Harwinton Hebron Kent Killingly Killingworth Lebanon Ledyard Lisbon Litchfield Lyme Madison Manchester Mansfield Marlborough Meriden Middlebury Middlefield Middletown Milford Monroe Montville Morris Naugatuck New Britain New Canaan New Fairfield New Hartford New Haven New London New Milford Newington Newtown Norfolk North Branford North Canaan North Haven North Stonington Norwalk Norwich Old Lyme Old Saybrook Orange Oxford Plainfield Plainville Plymouth Pomfret Portland Preston Prospect Putnam Redding Ridgefield Rocky Hill Roxbury Salem Salisbury Scotland Seymour Sharon Shelton Sherman Simsbury Somers South Windsor Southbury Southington Sprague Stafford Stamford Sterling Stonington Stratford Suffield Thomaston Thompson Tolland Torrington Trumbull Union Vernon Voluntown Wallingford Warren Washington Waterbury Waterford Watertown West Hartford West Haven Westbrook Weston Westport Wethersfield Willington Wilton Winchester Windham Windsor Windsor Locks Wolcott Woodbridge Woodbury Woodstock Places Boroughs Villages Historic Places Geography Connecticut portal

Authority control databases International VIAF GND National United States Israel Other Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Connecticut State Senate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_State_Senate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_State_Senate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.