Senator Daniel Coats (R)
Hometown: Indianapolis
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Senator Richard G. Lugar (R)
Hometown: Indianapolis
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Indiana became the 19th state to join the Union on December 11, 1816. Indiana’s first two senators, James Noble and Waller Taylor, took office on that day. Indiana’s longest-serving senator is Richard Lugar, who began service in 1977. Among those who rose to leadership positions are Jesse Bright, who served as the Senate’s president pro tempore, and John Worth Kern and James E. Watson, who chaired their party conferences. Five Indianans—Schuyler Colfax, Charles Fairbanks, Thomas Hendricks, Thomas Marshall, and Dan Quayle—served as vice president and therefore as the Senate’s constitutional president or presiding officer.
