Minnesota was admitted to the Union on May 11, 1858. As of January 3, 2018, the state has had 44 people serve in the United States Senate. Its current U.S. senators are Democrats Amy Klobuchar (since 2007) and Tina Smith (since 2018), making it one of only four states to have two female U.S. senators alongside Nevada, New Hampshire and Washington. The appointment of Smith marked the first time the state had two female U.S. senators at any one time. Knute Nelson is Minnesota's longest-serving senator (1895–1923).Minnesota is one of fifteen states alongside Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, South Dakota and Utah to have a younger senior senator and an older junior senator.
