What the chart shows is the actual number of Democrats and Independents in the Senate from the time Obama was sworn in, in January 2009, through the present, when Democrats hold a slim, 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.
Of the 56 Democrats and 2 Independents caucusing with the Senate majority when Barack Obama took office, [[there were two seats unfilled, due to a disputed race in Minnesota that wasn’t resolved until July, and the former Obama Senate seat in Illinois) —
17 represented red or red-leaning states:
Majority leader Harry Reid [[Nevada)
Max Baucus and John Tester [[Montana)
Ben Nelson [[Nebraska)
Mark Begich [[Alaska)
Blanche Lincoln [[Arkansas)
Jeanne Shaheen [[New Hampshire)
Kay Hagan [[North Carolina)
Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan [[North Dakota)
Tim Johnson [[South Dakota)
Evan Bayh [[Indiana)
Jim Webb and Mark Warner [[Virginia)
Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefellar [[West Virginia)
Claire McCaskill [[Missouri)
Another 27 represented blue or blue leaning states:
Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer [[California)
Chris Dodd [[Connecticut)
Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez [[New Jersey)
Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall [[New Mexico)
Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand [[New York)
Ted Kaufman and Tom Carper [[Delaware)
Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley [[Oregon)
Daniel Inouye and Danidel Akaka [[Hawaii)
Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse [[Rhode Island)
Dick Durbin and Roland Burris [[until November 2009, when the seat flipped to Republican Mark Kirk)
Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders [[Democrat and Independent, respectively, from Vermont)
Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell [[Washington)
Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin [[Maryland)
Ted Kennedy and John Kerry [[Massachusetts [[Kennedy died in August 2010 and his
seat flipped to Republican Scott Brown in February 2010)
The remaining 12 represented swing states:
Michael Bennett and Mark Udall [[Colorado)
Sherrod Brown [[Ohio)
Bill Nelson [[Florida)
Bob Casey [[Pennsylvania, plus Arlen Specter who switched parties in April 2009)
Tom Harken [[Iowa)
Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold [[Wisconsin)
Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow [[Michigan)
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
*Al Franken didn’t come on board until in July 2009.
In addition, there was Joe Lieberman, who by January 2009 was a reliable vote for the red state caucus on key legislation like healthcare, despite hailing from blue Connecticut.
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