Editing Senate Republican Conference (section)

==List of conference chairmen and chairwomen==
The Republican conference of the United States Senate chooses a conference chairperson. The office was created in the mid-19th century with the [[History of the United States Republican Party|founding of the Republican party]]. The office of "[[Floor Leader|party floor leader]]" was not created until 1925, and for twenty years, the Senate's Republican conference chairman was also the floor leader.

In recent years, the conference chair has come to be regarded as the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, behind the floor leader and whip. According to ''[[Congressional Quarterly]]'', "The conference chairman manages the private meetings to elect floor leaders, handles distribution of committee assignments and helps set legislative priorities. The modern version drives the conference’s message, with broadcast studios for television and radio."<ref name="Lott" />
{| class=wikitable
!Dates
!Name
!State
!Notes
|-
|1859 – December 1862
|[[John P. Hale]]
|[[New Hampshire]]
|
|-
|December 1862 – September 2, 1884
|[[Henry B. Anthony]]
|[[Rhode Island]]
|
|-
|September 2, 1884 – December 1885
|[[John Sherman]]
|[[Ohio]]
|
|-
|December 1885 – November 1, 1891
|[[George F. Edmunds]]
|[[Vermont]]
|
|-
|December 1891 – March 4, 1897
|[[John Sherman]]
|[[Ohio]]
|
|-
|March 4, 1897 – August 4, 1908
|[[William B. Allison]]
|[[Iowa]]
|
|-
|December 1908 – March 4, 1911
|[[Eugene Hale]]
|[[Maine]]
|
|-
|April 1911 – March 4, 1913
|[[Shelby Moore Cullom]]
|[[Illinois]]
|
|-
|March 4, 1913 – August 17, 1918
|[[Jacob Harold Gallinger]]
|[[New Hampshire]]
|
|-
|August 17, 1918 – November 9, 1924
|[[Henry Cabot Lodge]]
|[[Massachusetts]]
|
|-
|November 28, 1924 – March 4, 1929
|[[Charles Curtis]]
|[[Kansas]]
|Also [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Republican floor leader]] from 1925
|-
|March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
|[[James Eli Watson]]
|[[Indiana]]
|Also Republican floor leader
|-
|March 4, 1933 – February 25, 1944
|[[Charles L. McNary]]
|[[Oregon]]
|Also Republican floor leader
|-
|February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1947<br>{{small|Acting: February 25, 1944 – January 3, 1945}}
|[[Arthur Vandenberg]]
|[[Michigan]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1957
|[[Eugene Millikin]]
|[[Colorado]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1967
|[[Leverett Saltonstall]]
|[[Massachusetts]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973
|[[Margaret Chase Smith]]
|[[Maine]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975
|[[Norris Cotton]]
|[[New Hampshire]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
|[[Carl Curtis]]
|[[Nebraska]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981
|[[Bob Packwood]]
|[[Oregon]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985
|[[James A. McClure]]
|[[Idaho]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1991
|[[John Chafee]]
|[[Rhode Island]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997
|[[Thad Cochran]]
|[[Mississippi]]
|
|-
|January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001
|[[Connie Mack III]]
|[[Florida]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007
|[[Rick Santorum]]
|[[Pennsylvania]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2007 – December 19, 2007
|[[Jon Kyl]]
|[[Arizona]]
|
|-
|December 19, 2007 – January 26, 2012
|[[Lamar Alexander]]
|[[Tennessee]]
|
|-
|January 26, 2012 – January 3, 2019
|[[John Thune]]
|[[South Dakota]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2025
|[[John Barrasso]]
|[[Wyoming]]
|
|-
|January 3, 2025 – present 
|[[Tom Cotton]]
|[[Arkansas]]
|
|}