Richard Shelby

Richard Craig Shelby born May 6 1934 is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Alabama from 1987 to 2023 First elected to the US Senate in 1986 as a Democrat who later switched to the Republican Party in 1994 he chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee from 2018 to 2021 He previously chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Rules Committee He was the longestserving US senator from Alabama surpassing John Sparkmans record in March 2019 Born in Birmingham Alabama Shelby received his law degree from the Birmingham School of Law in 1961 He went on to serve as city prosecutor from 1963 to 1971 During this period he worked as a US magistrate for the Northern District of Alabama 19661970 and Special Assistant Attorney General of Alabama 19691971 He won a seat in the Alabama Senate in 1970 In 1978 he was elected from the 7th district to the United States House of Representatives where he was among a group of conservative Democrats known as the boll weevils In 1986 Shelby won a tight race as a Democrat for the US Senate In 1994 the day after the Republican Revolution in which the GOP gained the majority in Congress midway through President Bill Clintons first term Shelby switched parties and became a Republican He was reelected by a large margin in 1998 facing no significant electoral opposition thereafter He was the dean of Alabamas congressional delegation In February 2021 Shelby announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022 Katie Britt his former chief of staff won the election to succeed him Due to his party switch Shelby is the last Democrat to have held or won election to Alabamas Class 3 Senate seat