Nebraska was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1867, and elects its United States Senators to Class 1 and Class 2. Nebraska's current senators are Republicans Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse.
Class 1
Class 1 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012. The next election will be in 2018.
Class 2
Class 2 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. The next election will be in 2020.
As of October 2016[update], there are five former Senators from Nebraska who are currently living, three from Class 1 and two from Class 2. The most recent senator to die was J. James Exon of Class 2 (1979-1997) on June 10, 2005. The most recent Class 1 senator to die was Roman Hruska (1954-1976) on April 25, 1999. The most recently serving Class 1 senator to die was Edward Zorinsky (1976-1987), who died in office on March 6, 1987.