Not every gubernatorial appointment of a senator is as rocky or controversial as the recent situations in Illinois or New York. But nor do they always survive their next chance to stay in office.

Below, a list of the last time in the past half-century each state had an appointed senator and how that appointee fared in the next election:

ALABAMA — Maryon Allen (D)
Appointed: 6/8/78 to replace her late husband, Sen. Jim Allen.
Next election: Defeated in 1978 Democratic primary runoff by Donald Stewart.

ALASKA — Lisa Murkowski (R)
Appointed: 12/20/02 by her father, Gov. Frank Murkowski, who had resigned his Senate seat after he was elected governor.
Next election: Elected in 2004, defeating former Gov. Tony Knowles (D).

ARIZONA — none

ARKANSAS — Kaneaster Hodges (D)
Appointed: 12/10/77 to replace the late Sen. John McClellan (D).
Next election: Did not run.

CALIFORNIA — John Seymour (R)
Appointed: 1/10/91 by Gov. Pete Wilson, who resigned his Senate seat after he was elected governor.
Next election: Defeated in 1992 by Dianne Feinstein (D).

COLORADO — none

CONNECTICUT — none

DELAWARE — none

FLORIDA — none

GEORGIA — Zell Miller (D)
Appointed: 7/27/00 to replace the late Sen. Paul Coverdell (R).
Next election: Elected in 2000, defeating former Sen. Mack Mattingly (R).

HAWAII — Daniel Akaka (D)
Appointed: 5/16/90 to replace the late Sen. Spark Matsunaga (D).
Next election: Elected in 1990, defeating Rep. Pat Saiki (R). Re-elected three times since and still serves.

IDAHO — Len Jordan (R)
Appointed: 8/6/62 to replace the late Sen. Henry Dworshak (R).
Next election: Elected in 1962, defeating Rep. Gracie Pfost (D). Re-elected again.

ILLINOIS — Ralph Tyler Smith (R)
Appointed: 9/17/69 to replace the late Sen. Everett Dirksen (R).
Next election: Defeated in 1970 by Adlai Stevenson III (D).

INDIANA — Dan Coats (R)
Appointed: 1/3/89 to replace Sen. Dan Quayle (R), who was elected vice president.
Next election: Elected in 1990, defeating Baron Hill. Re-elected again.

IOWA — none

KANSAS — Sheila Frahm (R)
Appointed: 6/11/96 to replace Sen. Bob Dole (R), who resigned in pursuit of his presidential bid.
Next election: Defeated in 1996 GOP primary by Rep. Sam Brownback.

KENTUCKY — none

LOUISIANA — Elaine Edwards (D)
Appointed: 8/1/72 by her husband, Gov. Edwin Edwards, to replace the late Sen. Allen Ellender (D).
Next election: Did not run.

MAINE — George Mitchell (D)
Appointed: 5/17/80 to replace Sen. Ed Muskie (D), who became secretary of state.
Next election: Elected in 1982, defeating Rep. David Emery (R). Re-elected again.

MARYLAND — none

MASSACHUSETTS — Benjamin Smith II (D)
Appointed: 12/27/60 to replace Sen. John Kennedy (D), his former college roommate, who was elected president.
Next election: Did not run.

MICHIGAN — Robert Griffin (R)
Appointed: 5/11/66 to replace the late Sen. Pat McNamara (D).
Next election: Elected in 1966, defeating former Gov. Soapy Williams (D). Re-elected again.

MINNESOTA — Dean Barkley (I)
Appointed: 11/5/02 to fill the final two months of the term of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D).
Next election: Did not run.

MISSISSIPPI — Roger Wicker (R)
Appointed: 12/31/07 to replace Sen. Trent Lott (R), who resigned.
Next election: Elected in 2008, defeating former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D).

MISSOURI — Jean Carnahan (D)
Appointed: 1/3/01 to replace her husband, former Gov. Mel Carnahan (D), who was elected to the Senate in 2000 two weeks after he perished in a plane crash.
Next election: Defeated in 2002 by former Rep. Jim Talent (R).

MONTANA — Paul Hatfield (D)
Appointed: 1/22/78 to replace the late Sen. Lee Metcalf (D).
Next election: Defeated in 1978 Dem primary by Rep. Max Baucus (D).

NEBRASKA — David Karnes (R)
Appointed: 3/13/87 to replace the late Sen. Ed Zorinsky (D).
Next election: Defeated in 1988 by former Gov. Bob Kerrey (D).

NEVADA — none

NEW HAMPSHIRE — Norris Cotton (R)
Appointed: 8/8/75. OK, this is a long story. Cotton had retired in 1974 after 20 years in the Senate. But when the race to replace him went months without being resolved, the governor appointed him to fill the seat until a winner could be determined. Cotton kept the seat warm for five weeks. If that one doesn't really count, then a better example would be Maurice Murphy (R), who was appointed 12/7/61 to replace the late Sen. Styles Bridges (R).
Next election: Murphy was defeated in the 1962 GOP primary by Rep. Perkins Bass.

NEW JERSEY — Robert Menendez (D)
Appointed: 1/18/06 by Gov. Jon Corzine (D), who resigned his Senate seat after being elected governor.
Next election: Elected in 2006, defeating Thomas Kean Jr. (R).

NEW MEXICO — Edwin Mechem (R)
Appointed: 11/30/62, essentially by himself — he resigned as governor and was appointed to the Senate by his gubernatorial successor — to replace the late Sen. Dennis Chavez (D).
Next election: Defeated in 1964 by Rep. Joseph Montoya (D).

NEW YORK — Charles Goodell (R)
Appointed: 9/10/68 to replace the late Sen. Robert Kennedy (D).
Next election: Defeated in 1970 by James Buckley (Conservative).

NORTH CAROLINA — James Broyhill (R)
Appointed: 7/14/86 to replace the late Sen. John East (R).
Next election: Defeated in 1986 by former Gov. Terry Sanford (D).

NORTH DAKOTA — Jocelyn Burdick (D)
Appointed: 9/12/92 to replace her husband, the late Sen. Quentin Burdick (D).
Next election: Did not run.

OHIO — Howard Metzenbaum (D)
Appointed: 1/4/74 to replace Sen. William Saxbe (R), who became U.S. attorney general.
Next election: Defeated in 1974 Dem primary by John Glenn.

OKLAHOMA — J. Howard Edmondson (D)
Appointed: 1/7/63, essentially by himself — he resigned as governor and was appointed to the Senate by his gubernatorial successor — to replace the late Sen. Robert Kerr (D).
Next election: Defeated in 1964 Dem primary runoff by Fred Harris.

OREGON — Hall Lusk (D)
Appointed: 3/16/60 to replace the late Sen. Richard Neuberger (D).
Next election: Did not run.

PENNSYLVANIA — Harris Wofford (D)
Appointed: 5/9/91 to replace the late Sen. John Heinz (R).
Next election: Elected in 1991, defeating former Gov. Richard Thornburgh (R).

RHODE ISLAND — Lincoln Chafee (R)
Appointed: 11/4/99 to replace his father, the late Sen. John Chafee (R).
Next election: Elected in 2000, defeating Bob Weygand (D).

SOUTH CAROLINA — Donald Russell (D)
Appointed: 4/22/65, essentially by himself — he resigned as governor and was appointed to the Senate by his gubernatorial successor — to replace the late Sen. Olin Johnston (D).
Next election: Defeated in 1966 Dem primary by former Gov. Fritz Hollings.

SOUTH DAKOTA — Joe Bottum (R)
Appointed: 7/9/62 to replace the late Sen. Francis Case (R).
Next election: Defeated in 1962 by former Rep. George McGovern (D).

TENNESSEE — Harlan Mathews (D)
Appointed: 1/2/93 to replace Sen. Al Gore, who was elected vice president.
Next election: Did not run.

TEXAS — Bob Krueger (D)
Appointed: 1/21/93 to replace Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D), who became Treasury secretary.
Next election: Defeated in 1993 by Kay Bailey Hutchison (R).

UTAH — none

VERMONT — Robert Stafford (R)
Appointed: 9/16/71 to replace the late Sen. Winston Prouty (R)
Next election: Elected in 1972, defeating Randolph Major (D). Re-elected two more times.

VIRGINIA — Harry Byrd Jr. (D)
Appointed: 11/12/65 to replace his father, the late Sen. Harry Byrd (D).
Next election: Elected in 1966, defeating Lawrence Traylor (R). Re-elected two more times.

WASHINGTON — Dan Evans (R)
Appointed: 9/12/83 to replace the late Sen. Henry Jackson (D).
Next election: Elected in 1983, defeating Rep. Mike Lowry (D).

WEST VIRGINIA — none

WISCONSIN — none

WYOMING — John Barrasso (R)
Appointed: 6/22/07 to replace the late Sen. Craig Thomas (R).
Next election: Elected in 2008, defeating Nick Carter (D).

RECAP: Remember, this is not a list of all the instances where senators were appointed in the past half-century. This is the last time each state had such an occurrence. With that in mind, here are the totals (12 states did not have senators appointed in that time period):

Appointed senators who did not run: 7
Appointed senators who lost their next election: 16 (7 lost in the primary and 9 lost in the general election)
Appointed senators who won their next election: 15

Tags: A Look Back in Politics