Senate roll call 2 · 99th Congress · Feb 6, 1985
To confirm the nomination of william j. Bennett, of north carolina, to be secretary of education.
On Feb 6, 1985, the Senate voted 93–0. Result: passed. By party: Republicans 50–0, Democrats 47–0. It was a bipartisan vote: majorities of both parties voted yes.
During the 99th Congress (1985–1986), Ronald Reagan was president, and Democrats held the House majority and Republicans the Senate majority.
- Yes
- 93
- No
- 0
- Did not vote
- 4
- Date
- Feb 6, 1985
By party
- Republicans50 yes · 0 no · 4 didn’t vote
- Democrats47 yes · 0 no
Who broke with their party
Every member who voted sided with their party's majority.
How each senator voted: Yes
- Frank Hughes Murkowski R-AK
- Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
- Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. R-AL
- Dale Bumpers D-AR
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- Alan Cranston D-CA
- Pete Wilson R-CA
- Gary Warren Hart D-CO
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- Christopher John Dodd D-CT
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE
- William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- Paula Hawkins R-FL
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI
- Spark Masayuki Matsunaga D-HI
- Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA
- Thomas Richard (Tom) Harkin D-IA
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID
- Alan John Dixon D-IL
- Paul Martin Simon D-IL
- James Danforth (Dan) Quayle R-IN
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
- Addison Mitchell (Mitch) Mcconnell R-KY
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA
- Edward Moore (Ted) Kennedy D-MA
- John Forbes Kerry D-MA
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes D-MD
- George John Mitchell D-ME
- William Sebastian Cohen R-ME
- Carl Levin D-MI
- Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. D-MI
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN
- John Claggett Danforth R-MO
- Thomas Francis Eagleton D-MO
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS
- John Melcher D-MT
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
- Jesse Helms R-NC
- John Porter East R-NC
- Mark Andrews R-ND
- Quentin Northrup Burdick D-ND
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE
- J. James Exon D-NE
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- Warren Bruce Rudman R-NH
- Frank Raleigh Lautenberg D-NJ
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ
- Jesse Francis (Jeff) Bingaman Jr. D-NM
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- Jacob Chic Hecht R-NV
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan D-NY
- Howard Morton Metzenbaum D-OH
- John Herschel Glenn Jr. D-OH
- David Lyle Boren D-OK
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR
- Robert William Packwood R-OR
- Arlen Specter R-PA
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- Claiborne de Borda Pell D-RI
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- James Abdnor R-SD
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
- Albert Arnold Gore Jr. D-TN
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- William Philip (Phil) Gramm R-TX
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- John William Warner R-VA
- Paul Seward Trible Jr. R-VA
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Daniel Jackson Evans R-WA
- Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI
- William Proxmire D-WI
- John Davison (Jay) Rockefeller IV D-WV
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
Did not vote
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
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Capitol Receipts, “To confirm the nomination of william j…: Senate Vote, Feb 6, 1985,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/99-S-2/to-confirm-the-nomination-of-william-j-bennett-of (accessed 2026-10-17).