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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, alongside existing states. , only the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

currently have authorized shadow delegations to Congress. This is distinct from shadow delegates, who are elected or appointed from subnational polities of the

to seek non-voting participation in the House. As of 2024, only the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

and the

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma ( or , abbreviated United Keetoowah Band or UKB) is a federally recognized tribe of Cherokee Native Americans headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. According to the UKB website, its memb ...

elect shadow delegates.

History

Historically, shadow members of Congress were elected by organized incorporated territories prior to their admission to the Union. From its origins in Tennessee, this approach is sometimes known as the Tennessee Plan. The first shadow senators,

William Blount William Blount ( ; April 6, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American politician, landowner and Founding Father who was one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitution ...

and

William Cocke William Cocke (1748August 22, 1828) was an American lawyer, pioneer, and statesman. He has the distinction of having served in the state legislatures of four different states: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and was one of ...

of the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was ...

, were elected in March 1796 before being seated as senators representing the newly formed state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

likewise elected shadow senators before statehood. The Alaska Territory also elected the first shadow U.S. representative,

Ralph Julian Rivers Ralph Julian Rivers (May 23, 1903 – August 13, 1976) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the first United States Representative from Alaska, serving from statehood in 1959 to his resignation in 1966 following his def ...

, in 1956. All were eventually seated in Congress as voting members, except for Alaska shadow senator William A. Egan, who instead became governor.

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.

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

Ankit Jain Ankit Jain is an American voting rights attorney who is the United States shadow senator from the District of Columbia. Elected in 2024, he previously worked as an attorney and served as a member on the Ward 2 Advisory Neighborhood Commission. J ...

. , - style="height:2em" ! rowspan=8 , 1 , rowspan=8 align=left ,
Florence Pendleton , rowspan=8 , Democratic , rowspan=8 nowrap width=14% , Jan 3, 1991 –
Jan 3, 2007 , rowspan=2 width=12% , Elected in 1990. , rowspan=2 , 1 , , rowspan=3 , 1 , rowspan=3 width=12% , Elected in 1990.
Retired. , rowspan=3 nowrap width=14% , Jan 3, 1991 –
Jan 3, 1997 , rowspan=3 , Democratic , rowspan=3 align=right , JesseJackson

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...

! rowspan=3 , 1 , - style="height:2em" , , - style="height:2em" , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 1994. , rowspan=3 , 2 , , - style="height:2em" , , rowspan=3 , 2 , rowspan=3 , Elected in 1996. , rowspan=15 nowrap wdith=14% , Jan 3, 1997 –
present , rowspan=15 , Democratic , rowspan=15 align=right ,
Paul Strauss ! rowspan=15 , 2 , - style="height:2em" , , - style="height:2em" , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 2000.
Was not re-nominated as a Democrat.
Lost re-election bid as an independent. , rowspan=3 , 3 , , - style="height:2em" , , rowspan=3 , 3 , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 2002. , - style="height:2em" , , - style="height:2em" ! rowspan=9 , 2 , rowspan=9 align=left , Michael Donald Brown

Mike Brown , rowspan=4 , Democratic , rowspan=9 nowrap width=14% , Jan 3, 2007 –
Jan 3, 2025 , rowspan=3 , Elected in 2006. , rowspan=3 , 4 , , - style="height:2em" , , rowspan=3 , 4 , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 2008. , - style="height:2em" , , - style="height:2em" , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 2012. , rowspan=3 , 5 , , - style="height:2em" , ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, , rowspan=3 , 5 , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 2014. , - style="height:2em" , rowspan=4 , Democratic , , - style="height:2em" , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 2018.
Retired. , rowspan=3 , 6 , , - style="height:2em" , , rowspan=3 , 6 , rowspan=3 , Re-elected in 2020. , - style="height:2em" , , - style=height:2em" ! 3 , align=left ,

, , Democratic , nowrap width=14% , Jan 3, 2025 –
present , Elected in 2024. , 7 ,

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 Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a Voting, vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrast ...

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United S ...

who represents the district in Congress.

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 to fulfill campaign promises made by the New Progressive Party, which gained control of both the executive and legislative branch in the

2016 elections Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 April 2016 Djibouti * 2016 Djiboutian presidential ...

in part with calls for a status referendum in 2017. Pro-statehood governor

Ricardo Rosselló Ricardo Antonio Rosselló Nevares (; born March 7, 1979) is an American former politician, businessman, neurobiologist and educator. He served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 until his resignation in 2019. In 2021, he returned to active ...

appointed five shadow representatives and two shadow senators with the

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in List of enacting formulae, enacting formulae of bill (proposed law), bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive ...

of the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of ...

. Following the pro-statehood vote in the

2020 Puerto Rican status referendum A referendum of the status of Puerto Rico was held on November 3, 2020, concurrently with the general election. The Referendum was announced by Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced on May 16, 2020. This was the sixth referendu ...

, the Puerto Rican legislature passed in a lame duck sessio
Law 167 of 2020
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 The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

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 Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia (born April 26, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 2021 to 2025, having previously been the de facto governor from August 2–7, 2019. A member of New P ...

. Popular elections for two shadow senators and four shadow members of Congress will be held on a

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

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 Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such a ...

in Congress.

Puerto Rico shadow senators

, - style="height:2em" ! rowspan=4 , 1 , rowspan=4 align=left ,

Zoraida Fonalledas Zoraida is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Zoraida Gómez Zoraida Virginia Gómez Sánchez (; born May 31, 1985, in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican actress known for her performance in ''Rebelde.'' Biography She is ...

, rowspan=4 , New Progressive/
Republican , rowspan=4 nowrap width=14% , Aug 15, 2017 –
Jul 1, 2021 , rowspan=4 width=14% , Appointed in 2017.
Successor elected. , rowspan=4 , 1 , , rowspan=3 , 1 , rowspan=3 width=14% , Appointed in 2017.
Died. , rowspan=3 nowrap width=14% , Aug 15, 2017 –
May 2, 2021 , rowspan=3 , New Progressive/
Democratic , rowspan=3 align=right ,

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He als ...

! rowspan=3 , 1 , - style="height:2em" , , - style="height:2em" , rowspan=3 , - style="height:2em" , rowspan=4 , 2 , rowspan=1 nowrap width=14% , May 2, 2021 –
Jul 1, 2021 , rowspan=1 colspan=4 , ''Vacant'' , - style="height:2em" ! rowspan=3 , 2 , rowspan=3 align=left ,

Melinda Romero Donnelly Melinda Kathleen Romero Donnelly (born October 8, 1971) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican politician, and former Senate, senator and Legislator, Representative for the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico, New Progressive Party (PNP). She is ...

, rowspan=3 , New Progressive/
Democratic , rowspan=3 , July 1, 2021 – December 31, 2024 , rowspan=3 , Elected in 2021.
Term expired , rowspan=3 , 2 , rowspan=3 , Elected in 2021.
Term expired , rowspan=3 nowrap width=14% , Jul 1, 2021 – December 31, 2024 , rowspan=3 , New Progressive/
Republican , rowspan=3 align=right ,

Zoraida Buxó Zoraida Buxó Santiago (born 1963) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as a Shadow United States Senator. Early life and education Buxó was born in Puerto Rico in 1963. Completed a BA in Business Administration from the University of Pue ...

! rowspan=3 , 2 , - style="height:2em" , , - style="height:2em" ,

Puerto Rico shadow representatives

References

External links

A Brief History of the Shadow Senators of the United StatesOfficial Site of District of ColumbiaShadow Congressional Representatives contact informationPuerto Rico Equality CommissionPuerto Rico Federal Affair Administration
{{Puerto Rico topics Home rule and voting rights of the District of Columbia Politics of Puerto Rico Legislative branch of the United States government Officials of insular areas of the United States