North Carolina ratified the Constitution on November 21, 1789, after the beginning of the 1st Congress. Its current senators are Republicans Thom Tillis and Ted Budd. Jesse Helms was North Carolina's longest-serving senator (1973–2003).
List of senators
|- style="height:2em" | colspan=3 | Vacant | nowrap | Nov 21, 1789 –Nov 27, 1789 | North Carolina ratified the Constitution Nov 21, 1789 but didn't elect its senators until Nov 27, 1789. | rowspan=3 | 1 | rowspan=2 | rowspan=4 | 1 | North Carolina ratified the Constitution Nov 21, 1789 but didn't elect its senators until Nov 27, 1789. | nowrap | Nov 21, 1789 –Nov 27, 1789 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=2 | 1 | rowspan=2 align=left | Samuel Johnston | rowspan=2 | Pro-Admin. | rowspan=2 nowrap | Nov 27, 1789 –Mar 3, 1793 | rowspan=2 | Elected in 1789.Lost re-election. | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1789. | rowspan=3 nowrap | Nov 27, 1789 –Mar 3, 1795 | rowspan=2 | Pro-Admin. | rowspan=3 align=right | Benjamin Hawkins ! rowspan=3 | 1
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|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=3 | 2 | rowspan=3 align=left | Alexander Martin | | Anti-Admin. | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1793 –Mar 3, 1799 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1792.Lost re-election. | rowspan=3 | 2 | | | Anti-Admin.
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=2 | Democratic-Republican | | rowspan=3 | 2 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1795.Retired. | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1795 –Mar 3, 1801 | rowspan=3 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=3 align=right | Timothy Bloodworth ! rowspan=3 | 2
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|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=3 | 3 | rowspan=3 align=left | Jesse Franklin | rowspan=3 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1799 –Mar 3, 1805 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1799.Lost re-election. | rowspan=3 | 3
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=5 | 3 | rowspan=4 | Elected in 1800.Resigned to return to the State Superior Court. | rowspan=4 nowrap | Mar 4, 1801 –Feb 17, 1807This date is approximate. Stone's resignation letter was read on Feb 17, but it could have been delivered on as early as Feb 11, 1807, according to the Annals of Congress (pages 66 to 68). | rowspan=4 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=4 align=right | David Stone ! rowspan=4 | 3
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|- style="height:2em" | colspan=3 | Vacant | nowrap | Mar 4, 1805 –Dec 22, 1805 | Montfort Stokes was elected in 1804 but refused the position. | rowspan=5 | 4 | rowspan=3
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=11 | 4 | rowspan=11 align=left | James Turner | rowspan=11 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=11 nowrap | Dec 22, 1805 –Nov 21, 1816 | rowspan=4 | Elected to finish the vacant term.
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| nowrap | Feb 17, 1807 –Mar 3, 1807 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=3 | 4 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1806.Retired. | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1807 –Mar 3, 1813 | rowspan=3 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=3 align=right | Jesse Franklin ! rowspan=3 | 4
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|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=7 | Re-elected in 1810.Resigned due to ill health. | rowspan=9 | 5
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3 | rowspan=9 | 5 | Elected in 1812.Resigned. | nowrap | Mar 4, 1813 –Dec 24, 1814 | | Democratic-Republican | align=right | David Stone ! 5
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| nowrap | Dec 24, 1814 –Dec 1814 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=2 | Elected to finish Stone's term.Resigned without having qualified. | rowspan=2 nowrap | Dec 1814 –Dec 5, 1815 | rowspan=2 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=2 align=right | Francis Locke Jr. ! rowspan=2 | 6
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=5
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| nowrap | Dec 5, 1815 –Dec 13, 1815 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=4 | Elected to finish Stone's term. | rowspan=9 nowrap | Dec 13, 1815 –Nov 14, 1828 | rowspan=7 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=9 align=right | Nathaniel Macon ! rowspan=9 | 7
|- style="height:2em" | colspan=3 | Vacant | nowrap | Nov 21, 1816 –Dec 4, 1816
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=4 | 5 | rowspan=4 align=left | Montfort Stokes | rowspan=4 | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=4 nowrap | Dec 4, 1816 –Mar 3, 1823 | Elected to finish Turner's term.
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1816.Lost re-election. | rowspan=3 | 6
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=3 | 6 | rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1818.
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|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=6 | 6 | rowspan=6 align=left | John Branch | | Democratic-Republican | rowspan=6 nowrap | Mar 4, 1823 –Mar 9, 1829 | rowspan=5 | Elected in 1822. | rowspan=5 | 7
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=5 | Jacksonian | | rowspan=7 | 7 | rowspan=2 | Re-elected in 1825.Resigned. | rowspan=2 | Jacksonian
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3
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| nowrap | Nov 14, 1828 –Dec 15, 1828 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=4 | Elected to finish Macon's term.Retired. | rowspan=4 nowrap | Dec 15, 1828 –Mar 3, 1831 | rowspan=4 | Jacksonian | rowspan=4 align=right | James Iredell Jr. ! rowspan=4 | 8
|- style="height:2em" | Re-elected in 1828.Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Navy. | rowspan=5 | 8 | rowspan=3
|- style="height:2em" | colspan=3 | Vacant | nowrap | Mar 9, 1829 –Dec 9, 1829
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=8 | 7 | rowspan=8 align=left | Bedford Brown | rowspan=6 | Jacksonian | rowspan=8 nowrap | Dec 9, 1829 –Nov 16, 1840 | rowspan=3 | Elected to finish Branch's term.
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=5 | 8 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1830.Resigned. | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1831 –Nov 26, 1836 | | Jacksonian | rowspan=3 align=right | Willie P. Mangum ! rowspan=3 | 9
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=2 | NationalRepublican
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=5 | Re-elected in 1835.Resigned. | rowspan=7 | 9 | rowspan=3
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| nowrap | Nov 26, 1836 –Dec 5, 1836 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | Elected to finish Mangum's term. | rowspan=3 nowrap | Dec 5, 1836 –Nov 16, 1840 | | Jacksonian | rowspan=3 align=right | Robert Strange ! rowspan=3 | 10
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=2 | Democratic | | rowspan=5 | 9 | rowspan=2 | Elected to full term in 1836.Resigned. | rowspan=2 | Democratic
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3
|- style="height:2em" | colspan=3 | Vacant | nowrap | Nov 16, 1840 –Nov 25, 1840
| nowrap | Nov 16, 1840 –Nov 25, 1840 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=9 | 8 | rowspan=9 align=left | Willie P. Mangum | rowspan=9 | Whig | rowspan=9 nowrap | Nov 25, 1840 –Mar 3, 1853 | Elected to finish Brown's term. | rowspan=2 | Elected to finish Strange's term. | rowspan=2 nowrap | Nov 25, 1840 –Mar 3, 1843 | rowspan=2 | Whig | rowspan=2 align=right | William Graham ! rowspan=2 | 11
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=5 | Elected in 1841. | rowspan=5 | 10
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=5 | 10 | rowspan=2 | Elected in 1843.Resigned. | rowspan=2 nowrap | Mar 4, 1843 –Jul 25, 1846 | rowspan=2 | Democratic | rowspan=2 align=right | William Henry Haywood Jr. ! rowspan=2 | 12
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3
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| nowrap | Jul 25, 1846 –Nov 25, 1846 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=2 | Elected to finish Haywood's term. | rowspan=6 nowrap | Nov 25, 1846 –Mar 3, 1855 | rowspan=6 | Whig | rowspan=6 align=right | George Badger ! rowspan=6 | 13
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1847.Lost re-election. | rowspan=3 | 11
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=4 | 11 | rowspan=4 | Re-elected in 1849.Retired.
|- style="height:2em"
|- style="height:2em" | colspan=3 | Vacant | nowrap | Mar 4, 1853 –Dec 6, 1854 | Legislature failed to elect | rowspan=7 | 12 | rowspan=2
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=6 | 9 | rowspan=6 align=left | David S. Reid | rowspan=6 | Democratic | rowspan=6 nowrap | Dec 6, 1854 –Mar 3, 1859 | rowspan=6 | Elected to finish vacant term.Lost re-election.
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=6 | 12 | rowspan=2 | Elected in 1855.Resigned to become U.S. District Court Judge. | rowspan=2 nowrap | Mar 4, 1855 –May 5, 1858 | rowspan=2 | Democratic | rowspan=2 align=right | Asa Biggs ! rowspan=2 | 14
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=4
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| nowrap | May 5, 1858 –May 7, 1858 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | Appointed to continue Biggs's term. | rowspan=4 nowrap | May 7, 1858 –Mar 11, 1861 | rowspan=4 | Democratic | rowspan=4 align=right | Thomas L. Clingman ! rowspan=4 | 15
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=2 | Elected Nov 23, 1858 to finish Biggs's term.
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=3 | 10 | rowspan=3 align=left | Thomas Bragg | rowspan=3 | Democratic | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1859 –Mar 8, 1861 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1858 or 1859.Resigned and subsequently expelled for support of the Confederacy. | rowspan=5 | 13
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3 | rowspan=5 | 13 | Re-elected in 1861.Resigned and subsequently expelled for support of the Confederacy.
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=5 | Civil War and Reconstruction | rowspan=5 nowrap | Mar 11, 1861 –Jul 14, 1868 | rowspan=5 colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=4 colspan=3 | Vacant | rowspan=4 nowrap | Jul 11, 1861 –Jul 14, 1868 | rowspan=4 | Civil War and Reconstruction
|- style="height:2em"
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=4 | 14
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=2 | rowspan=5 | 14
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=2 | 11 | rowspan=2 align=left | Joseph C. Abbott | rowspan=2 | Republican | rowspan=2 nowrap | Jul 14, 1868 –Mar 3, 1871 | rowspan=2 | Elected in 1868 to finish vacant term.Lost renomination. | rowspan=4 | Elected in 1868 to finish vacant term.Retired. | rowspan=4 nowrap | Jul 14, 1868 –Mar 3, 1873 | rowspan=4 | Republican | rowspan=4 align=right | John Pool ! rowspan=4 | 16
|- style="height:2em"
|- style="height:2em" | colspan=3 | Vacant | nowrap | Mar 4, 1871 –Jan 30, 1872 | Legislature failed to elect | rowspan=4 | 15 | rowspan=2
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=15 | 12 | rowspan=15 align=left | Matt W. Ransom | rowspan=15 | Democratic | rowspan=15 nowrap | Jan 30, 1872 –Mar 3, 1895 | rowspan=3 | Elected to finish vacant term.
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=3 | 15 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1872.Lost re-election. | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1873 –Mar 3, 1879 | rowspan=3 | Democratic | rowspan=3 align=right | Augustus S. Merrimon ! rowspan=3 | 17
|- style="height:2em"
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1876. | rowspan=3 | 16
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=3 | 16 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1879. | rowspan=8 nowrap | Mar 4, 1879 –Apr 14, 1894 | rowspan=8 | Democratic | rowspan=8 align=right | Zebulon Vance ! rowspan=8 | 18
|- style="height:2em"
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1883. | rowspan=3 | 17
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=3 | 17 | rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1884.
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|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=6 | Re-elected in 1889.Lost re-election. | rowspan=6 | 18
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=6 | 18 | rowspan=2 | Re-elected in 1890.Died.
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=4
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| nowrap | Apr 14, 1894 –Apr 19, 1894 | colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em" | Appointed to continue Vance's term.Successor qualified. | nowrap | Apr 19, 1894 –Jan 23, 1895 | | Democratic | align=right | Thomas J. Jarvis ! 19
|- style="height:2em" | rowspan=2 | Elected in 1894 to finish Vance's term. | rowspan=5 nowrap | Jan 23, 1895 –Mar 3, 1903 | rowspan=5 | Republican | rowspan=5 align=right | Jeter C. Pritchard ! rowspan=5 | 20
|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=3 | 13 | rowspan=3 align=left | Marion Butler | rowspan=3 | Populist | rowspan=3 nowrap | Mar 4, 1895 –Mar 3, 1901 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1894.Lost re-election. | rowspan=3 | 19
|- style="height:2em" | | rowspan=3 | 19 | rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1897.Lost re-election.
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|- style="height:2em" ! rowspan=16 | 14 | rowspan=16 align=left | F. M. Simmons | rowspan=16 | Democratic | rowspan=16 nowrap | Mar 4, 1901 –Mar 3, 1931 | rowspan=3 | Elected in 1901.