Stevens Becomes Longest Serving Republican Senator

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on Friday will become the longest serving Republican senator in the history of the body, at more than 38 years, three months and three weeks, and senators from both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), his closest friend in the chamber, went to the floor today to offer tributes to him, including several standing ovations.

The 83-year-old Stevens, who was actually born in Indiana, originally came to Washington during the Eisenhower administration to work in the Interior Department. After returning to Alaska and being elected to the state legislature, he appointed to the Senate on Dec. 24, 1968, by former Alaska Gov. Walter Joseph Hickel (R) following the death of former Sen. E. L. Bartlett (D-Alaska). He won a special election in Nov. 1970, and was re-elected in 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), called Stevens' historic tenure in the Senate "an outsize accomplishment for a man whose name is virtually synonymous with the nation’s largest state."

Inouye, who has donated money to Stevens' re-election campaigns, despite party pressure not to (and seen Stevens do the same for him), noted that he and Stevens, both of whom served in World War II, have a passion for steering federal dollars back home thanks to their seats on the powerful Appropriations Committee. "He and I have received the crown of being 'Pork Men of the Year," Inouye joked. "He and I are the number one add-ons in the United States Senate."

Inouye said he was "proud to call Ted Stevens my brother, and I hope that we can continue this brothership for as long as we're here. And we've just given him a new title - 'the Strom Thurmond of the Artic Circle.'"

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), told a story about how he and Stevens were the only senators to attend a 1988 funeral for a former colleague, Sen. Alan Bible (D-Nev.). "That speaks volumes about the kind of person Sen. Stevens is," Reid said on the floor.

Stevens told his colleagues that he was "embarrassed and very grateful to my friends" for the accolades, and he thanked his family, including his late first wife, Ann, who was killed in a 1978 plane crash, his current wife, Catherine, and six children for allowing to pursue a Senate career.

"I do believe that I've had the honor of serving with many great people," Stevens told his colleagues, rattling off an extensive list of former colleagues who are now longer in the body, and he praised several "mentors" in Alaska, including his predecessor, Bartlett.

"I am surrounded with friends here on both sides of the aisle, and I am still very honored to be here," Stevens said.