Shadow congressperson

The posts of shadow United States senator and shadow United States representative are held by elected or appointed government officials from subnational polities of the United States that lack congressional vote. While these officials are not seated in either chamber of Congress, they seek recognition for their subnational polity, up to full statehood. This would enfranchise them with full voting rights on the floor of the U.S. House and Senate, alongside existing states. As of 2021^[update], only the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico currently have authorized shadow delegations to Congress.

This is distinct from shadow delegates, who are elected or appointed from subnational polities of the United States to seek non-voting participation in the House. As of 2024, only the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians elect shadow delegates.

History

Historically, shadow members of Congress were elected by organized incorporated territories prior to their admission to the Union.^[1] From its origins in Tennessee, this approach is sometimes known as the Tennessee Plan.^[2]

The first shadow senators, William Blount and William Cocke of the Southwest Territory, were elected in March 1796 before being seated as senators representing the newly formed state of Tennessee. Michigan, California, Minnesota, Oregon, and Alaska likewise elected shadow senators before statehood. The Alaska Territory also elected the first shadow U.S. representative, Ralph Julian Rivers, in 1956. All were eventually seated in Congress as voting members, except for Alaska shadow senator William A. Egan, who instead became governor.^[1]

Territory	Office	Name	Elected	Seated
Southwest (now Tennessee)	Senator	William Blount	Mar 28, 1796	Dec 6, 1796
Southwest (now Tennessee)	Senator	William Cocke	Mar 28, 1796	Dec 6, 1796
Michigan	Senator	Lucius Lyon	Nov 10, 1835	Jan 26, 1837
Michigan	Senator	John Norvell	Nov 10, 1835	Jan 26, 1837
California	Senator	William M. Gwin	Dec 20, 1849	Sep 10, 1850
California	Senator	John C. Frémont	Dec 20, 1849	Sep 10, 1850
Minnesota	Senator	James Shields	Dec 19, 1857	May 12, 1858
Oregon	Senator	Joseph Lane	Jul 5, 1858	Feb 14, 1859
Oregon	Senator	Delazon Smith	Jul 5, 1858	Feb 14, 1859
Alaska	Senator	Ernest Gruening	Oct 6, 1956	Jan 7, 1959
	Senator	William A. Egan		Elected governor in 1958
	Representative	Ralph J. Rivers		Jan 7, 1959

District of Columbia officeholders

The election of shadow congresspersons from the District of Columbia is authorized by a state constitution ratified by D.C. voters in 1982 but was never approved by Congress.^[3]

District of Columbia shadow senators

The voters of the District of Columbia elect two shadow U.S. senators who are known as senators by the District of Columbia but are not officially sworn in or seated by the U.S. Senate. Shadow U.S. senators were first elected in 1990.

The current shadow United States senators from the District of Columbia are Paul Strauss and Mike Brown.^[4]

#	Senator	Party	Dates in office	Electoral history	T	C	T	Electoral history	Dates in office	Party	Senator	#
Class 1 Class 1 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle recently contested in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018. The next election will be in 2024 election.						C	Class 2 Class 2 U.S. senators belong to the electoral cycle recently contested in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. The next election will be in 2026.
1	Florence Pendleton	Democratic	Jan 3, 1991 – Jan 3, 2007	Elected in 1990.	1	102nd	1	Elected in 1990. Retired.	Jan 3, 1991 – Jan 3, 1997	Democratic	Jesse Jackson	1
				Elected in 1990.	1	103rd
				Re-elected in 1994.	2	104th
						105th	2	Elected in 1996.	Jan 3, 1997 – present	Democratic	Paul Strauss	2
						106th
				Re-elected in 2000. Was not re-nominated as a Democrat. Lost re-election bid as an independent.	3	107th
						108th	3	Re-elected in 2002.
						109th
2	Mike Brown	Democratic	Jan 3, 2007 – present	Elected in 2006.	4	110th
						111th	4	Re-elected in 2008.
						112th
				Re-elected in 2012.	5	113th
		Independent				114th	5	Re-elected in 2014.
		Democratic				115th
				Re-elected in 2018. Retiring at end of term.	6	116th
						117th	6	Re-elected in 2020.
						118th
3	Ankit Jain	Democratic	Taking office Jan 3, 2025	Elected in 2024.	7	119th
#	Senator	Party	Years in office	Electoral history	T	C	T	Electoral history	Years in office	Party	Senator	#
Class 1						C	Class 2

District of Columbia shadow representatives

The voters of the District of Columbia elect one shadow representative who is recognized as equivalent to U.S. representatives by the District of Columbia but is not recognized by the U.S. government as an actual member of the House of Representatives. A shadow representative was first elected in 1990. Inaugural office-holder Charles Moreland held the seat for two terms. In November 2020, Oye Owolewa was elected to succeed retiring shadow representative Franklin Garcia.

D.C.'s shadow U.S. representative should not be confused with the non-voting delegate who represents the district in Congress.

Representative	Party	Term	Congress	Electoral history
Charles Moreland	Democratic	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995	102nd 103rd	Elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired.
John Capozzi	Democratic	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997	104th	Elected in 1994. Retired.
Sabrina Sojourner	Democratic	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 1999	105th	Elected in 1996. Retired.
Tom Bryant	Democratic	January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001	106th	Elected in 1998. Retired.
Ray Browne	Democratic	January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007	107th 108th 109th	Elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Retired.
Mike Panetta	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2013	110th 111th 112th	Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Retired.
Nate Bennett-Fleming	Democratic	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015	113th	Elected in 2012. Retired.
Franklin Garcia	Democratic	January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2021	114th 115th 116th	Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Retired.
Oye Owolewa	Democratic	January 3, 2021 – present	117th 118th 119th	Elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.

Puerto Rico officeholders

The posts of shadow representatives and senators for Puerto Rico were created in 2017 as part of a newly formed Puerto Rico Equality Commission^[5] to fulfill campaign promises made by the New Progressive Party, which gained control of both the executive and legislative branch in the 2016 elections in part with calls for a status referendum in 2017. Pro-statehood governor Ricardo Rosselló appointed five shadow representatives and two shadow senators^[6] with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico.^[7]

Following the pro-statehood vote in the 2020 Puerto Rican status referendum, the Puerto Rican legislature passed in a lame duck session Law 167 of 2020,^[8] replacing the Puerto Rico Equality Commission with the new Commission to the Congressional Delegation of Puerto Rico and establishing an electoral process for shadow delegates to Congress. Although an effort to overturn Law 167 passed the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico in early 2021 after the Popular Democratic Party gained control of the legislature, it did not have enough votes to sustain a threatened veto from pro-statehood governor Pedro Pierluisi.^[9]^[10]

Popular elections for two shadow senators and four shadow members of Congress will be held on a nonpartisan basis every four years, with the first election held on May 16, 2021, so the delegates can take office on July 1. The law also appropriated funds for the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration to cover the wages of the delegates and serve as their headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they will work on the statehood process with the island's resident commissioner in Congress.^[11]

Puerto Rico shadow senators

#	Senator	Party	Dates in office	Electoral history	T	C	T	Electoral history	Dates in office	Party	Senator	#
Class The terms for Puerto Rico's shadow senators are not aligned with the classes of United States senators.						C	Class The terms for Puerto Rico's shadow senators are not aligned with the classes of United States senators.
1	Zoraida Fonalledas	New Progressive/ Republican	Aug 15, 2017 – Jul 1, 2021	Appointed in 2017. Successor elected.	1	115th	1	Appointed in 2017. Died.	Aug 15, 2017 – May 2, 2021	New Progressive/ Democratic	Carlos Romero Barceló	1
						116th
						117th
							—	May 2, 2021 – Jul 1, 2021	Vacant
2	Melinda Romero Donnelly	New Progressive/ Democratic	July 1, 2021 – present	Elected in 2021.	2		2	Elected in 2021.	Jul 1, 2021 – present	New Progressive/ Republican	Zoraida Buxó	2
2	Melinda Romero Donnelly	New Progressive/ Democratic	July 1, 2021 – present	Elected in 2021.	2	118th	2	Elected in 2021.	Jul 1, 2021 – present	New Progressive/ Republican	Zoraida Buxó	2
#	Senator	Party	Years in office	Electoral history	T	C	T	Electoral history	Years in office	Party	Senator	#
Class						C	Class

Puerto Rico shadow representatives

Years	Cong.	Shadow House members
Years	Cong.	Member	Party	Member	Party	Member	Party	Member	Party	Member	Party
August 15, 2017 – January 6, 2018	115th	Luis Fortuño	New Progressive/ Republican	Charlie Rodríguez	New Progressive/ Democratic	Iván Rodríguez	Independent	Pedro Rosselló	New Progressive/ Democratic	Felix A. Santoni	New Progressive/ Republican
January 6, 2018 – August 20, 2018						Iván Rodríguez	Independent			Alfonso Aguilar	New Progressive/ Republican
August 20, 2018 – July 22, 2019						Luis Berríos-Amadeo	Independent
July 22, 2019 – February 26, 2020	116th							Vacant
February 26, 2020 – July 1, 2021	116th									Vacant
February 26, 2020 – July 1, 2021	117th									Vacant
July 1, 2021 – June 26, 2023	117th	Elizabeth Torres Rodriguez	New Progressive/ Republican	Ricardo Rosselló	New Progressive/ Democratic	Roberto Lefranc Fortuño	New Progressive/ Republican	María Meléndez	New Progressive/ Democratic	Seat eliminated
July 1, 2021 – June 26, 2023	118th	Elizabeth Torres Rodriguez	New Progressive/ Republican
June 26, 2023 – July 17, 2023		Vacant^[12]
July 17, 2023 – present								Vacant

References

^ ^a ^b Strauss, Paul. "A Brief History of the Shadow Senators of the United States". Paul Strauss – United States Senator for the District of Columbia. Archived from the original on February 11, 2003.
^ "Puerto Rico's Tennessee Plan". American Action Forum. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
^ Sheridan, Mary Beth (May 29, 2008). "D.C. Seeks to Fund Lobbying Effort for a Voting House Member". The Washington Post. p. B01. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
^ Election profiles Michael D. Brown (D), The Washington Post, 2006, retrieved, September 30, 2012.
^ Ley por la Igualdad y Representación Congresional de los Ciudadanos Americanos de Puerto Rico [Act for Equality and Congressional Representation of the United States Citizens of Puerto Rico] (PDF) (Act 40-2017) (in Spanish). June 5, 2017.
^ Bernal, Rafael (August 15, 2017). "Puerto Rico swears in congressional delegation". The Hill. Washington, D.C.
^ "Puerto Rico governor designates four members for Equality Commission". Caribbean Business. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. July 3, 2017.
^ "Ley Núm. 167 de 2020 -Ley para crear la Delegación Congresional de Puerto Rico". LexJuris Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
^ de Jesús Salamán, Adriana (January 29, 2021). "Peligra elección pro estadidad por falta de fondos y el PPD" [Statehood election in danger due to lack of funds and PPD]. NotiCel (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
^ Rivera Clemente, Yaritza (February 22, 2021). "Radicarán medida para atender el estatus" [They Will File a Measure to Amend the Status]. El Vocero (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
^ Padró Ocasio, Bianca; Ortiz-Blanes, Syra; Daugherty, Alex (January 28, 2021). "Puerto Rico governor plan for a 'shadow delegation' draws criticism amid pandemic". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
^ Ruiz Kuilan, Gloria (June 26, 2023). "Tribunal ordena la destitución de Elizabeth Torres como delegada congresional por la estadidad" [Court orders dismissal of Elizabeth Torres as congressional shadow delegate]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Retrieved June 29, 2023.

External links

[Strauss_history-1] Strauss, Paul. "A Brief History of the Shadow Senators of the United States". Paul Strauss – United States Senator for the District of Columbia. Archived from the original on February 11, 2003.

[2] "Puerto Rico's Tennessee Plan". American Action Forum. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

[3] Sheridan, Mary Beth (May 29, 2008). "D.C. Seeks to Fund Lobbying Effort for a Voting House Member". The Washington Post. p. B01. Retrieved December 29, 2008.

[4] Election profiles Michael D. Brown (D), The Washington Post, 2006, retrieved, September 30, 2012.

[5] Ley por la Igualdad y Representación Congresional de los Ciudadanos Americanos de Puerto Rico [Act for Equality and Congressional Representation of the United States Citizens of Puerto Rico] (PDF) (Act 40-2017) (in Spanish). June 5, 2017.

[6] Bernal, Rafael (August 15, 2017). "Puerto Rico swears in congressional delegation". The Hill. Washington, D.C.

[7] "Puerto Rico governor designates four members for Equality Commission". Caribbean Business. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. July 3, 2017.

[8] "Ley Núm. 167 de 2020 -Ley para crear la Delegación Congresional de Puerto Rico". LexJuris Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 23, 2021.

[9] Jesús Salamán, Adriana (January 29, 2021). "Peligra elección pro estadidad por falta de fondos y el PPD" [Statehood election in danger due to lack of funds and PPD]. NotiCel (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 24, 2021.

[10] Rivera Clemente, Yaritza (February 22, 2021). "Radicarán medida para atender el estatus" [They Will File a Measure to Amend the Status]. El Vocero (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved February 24, 2021.

[11] Padró Ocasio, Bianca; Ortiz-Blanes, Syra; Daugherty, Alex (January 28, 2021). "Puerto Rico governor plan for a 'shadow delegation' draws criticism amid pandemic". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. Retrieved February 24, 2021.

[12] Ruiz Kuilan, Gloria (June 26, 2023). "Tribunal ordena la destitución de Elizabeth Torres como delegada congresional por la estadidad" [Court orders dismissal of Elizabeth Torres as congressional shadow delegate]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Retrieved June 29, 2023.

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