Joe Biden - Almanac

Almanac

U.S. Senators are popularly elected and take office January 3 for a six-year term (except when appointed to fill existing vacancies).

Public offices
Office	Type	Location	Began office	Ended office	notes
County Council	Legislature	Wilmington	January 4, 1971	January 3, 1973	New Castle County
U.S. Senator	Legislature	Washington, D.C.	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1979
U.S. Senator	Legislature	Washington, D.C.	January 3, 1979	January 3, 1985
U.S. Senator	Legislature	Washington, D.C.	January 3, 1985	January 3, 1991
U.S. Senator	Legislature	Washington, D.C.	January 3, 1991	January 3, 1997
U.S. Senator	Legislature	Washington, D.C.	January 3, 1997	January 3, 2003
U.S. Senator	Legislature	Washington, D.C.	January 3, 2003	January 3, 2009
U.S. Senator	Legislature	Washington, D.C.	January 3, 2009	January 15, 2009	resigned to be sworn in as Vice President
Vice President	Executive	Washington, D.C.	January 20, 2009	–	—

United States Congressional service
Dates	Congress	Majority	President	Committees	Class/District
1973–1975	93rd	Democratic	Richard M. Nixon Gerald R. Ford	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1975–1977	94th	Democratic	Gerald R. Ford	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1977–1979	95th	Democratic	Jimmy Carter	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1979–1981	96th	Democratic	Jimmy Carter	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1981–1983	97th	Republican	Ronald W. Reagan	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1983–1985	98th	Republican	Ronald W. Reagan	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1985–1987	99th	Republican	Ronald W. Reagan	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1987–1989	100th	Democratic	Ronald W. Reagan	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1989–1991	101st	Democratic	George H. W. Bush	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1991–1993	102nd	Democratic	George H. W. Bush	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1993–1995	103rd	Democratic	William J. Clinton	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1995–1997	104th	Republican	William J. Clinton	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1997–1999	105th	Republican	William J. Clinton	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
1999–2001	106th	Republican	William J. Clinton	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
2001–2003	107th	Republican Democratic	George W. Bush	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
2003–2005	108th	Republican	George W. Bush	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
2005–2007	109th	Republican	George W. Bush	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
2007–2009	110th	Democratic	George W. Bush	Judiciary, Foreign Relations	class 2
2009a	111th	Democratic	George W. Bushb		class 2

^a Even though at the time he was the Vice President–elect, Biden was sworn in for his seventh term in office as the senior senator from Delaware on January 6, 2009. Fourteen days later he was sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
^b Although the 111th Congress' President is Barack Obama, Biden did not serve as a Senator under Obama due to him serving as Vice President instead.

Election results
Year	Office	Election	Votes for Biden	%	Opponent	Party	Votes	%
1970	County Councilman	General	10,573	55%	Lawrence T. Messick	Republican	8,192	43%
1972	U.S. Senator	General	116,006	50%	J. Caleb Boggs	Republican	112,844	49%
1978		General	93,930	58%	James H. Baxter, Jr.	Republican	66,479	41%
1984		General	147,831	60%	John M. Burris	Republican	98,101	40%
1990		General	112,918	63%	M. Jane Brady	Republican	64,554	36%
1996		General	165,465	60%	Raymond J. Clatworthy	Republican	105,088	38%
2002		General	135,253	58%	Raymond J. Clatworthy	Republican	94,793	41%
2008		General	257,484	65%	Christine O'Donnell	Republican	140,584	35%
2008	Vice President	General	69,456,897	53%	Sarah Palin	Republican	59,934,786	46%
2012	Vice President	General	63,486,727	51%	Paul Ryan	Republican	59,660,339	48%