Right now, first-term Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND) looks likely to be elected to the Senate seat left open by the retirement of Kent Conrad (D) in November 2012. The Crystal Ball wondered: How rare is it for someone to get such a fast elevation from the House to the Senate? (We realize some House members will insist it is a demotion.) We’ve scoured the records and identified nine members of the Senate in this category. Only senators in office sometime in the previous 50 years were included.
- J. William Fulbright (D-AR) elected 1944
- Roman L. Hruska (R-NE) elected 1954
- Quentin Burdick (D-ND) elected 1960
- Peter Dominick (R-CO) elected 1962
- John Glenn Beall (R-MD) elected 1970
- Lowell Weicker (R-CT) elected 1970
- James Abourezk (D-SD) elected 1972
- Rod Grams (R-MN) elected 1994
- Sam Brownback (R-KS) elected 1996
Did we miss any? Email us and we’ll give you credit in the next Crystal Ball.