Don Young Now Most Senior Congressman At 44 Years

You can call him representative, address him as congressman, or refer to him by his new title, Dean of the House.

Don Young gains the title after Representative John Conyers, D-Michigan announced he was retiring from the seat he has held more than 50 years amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Young lost his 1973 bid against incumbent Nick Begich for the House seat. The Democrat Begich and House Majority Leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana were lost when a twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed en route to Juneau and was presumed dead by the time voters cast their ballot.  His body was never found.

Young won a special election that following spring, and has held the seat since. Upon Conyer’s retirement, Young will become the Dean of the House, a designation given to the most senior House member serving.  Young is a few years shy of being the longest-serving member of Congress, a title held by Democrat John Dingell who served on behalf of Michigan 59 years.

Senator Patrick Leahy D-Vermont is currently the most senior senator. Leahy’s served in Congress since 1975, two years after Young’s time in office began.

His tenure is dwarfed by the career of Ted Stevens, whose service extended from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican senator in history at the time he left office; his record was surpassed in January 2017 by Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah.