Candy Desk

, a one-term senator from California, is considered the founder of the candy desk tradition. George Murphy was elected as the senator from California in 1964, to take office the following year. After Santorum's electoral defeat, Senator Craig Thomas began sitting at the desk. Wyoming, the state he was representing, has no members of the National Confectioners Association, and therefore no candymakers large enough to donate hundreds of dollars of candy to fill the desk. Senate ethics rules "forbid members accepting gifts worth $100 or more a year from a single source," Upon Toomey's retirement in 2023, Indiana Senator Todd Young took over the candy desk. He has put some well-known Indiana-made candies such as Kraft caramels and Albanese Candy gummies in it, as well as some lesser-known, mostly local brands. The candy is all donated by the companies, Young said. ==Location==

The candy desk is not a specific desk in the Senate Chamber, but rather a specific seating within the chamber, and any desk that the senator seated in that position chooses to use becomes the candy desk. The desk's location has remained static since at least the 97th Congress (1981–1983). It is next to the eastern door to the senate chamber. Most senators enter the chamber through this door, which is adjacent to elevators leading to one of the stops on the United States Capitol subway system. The desk is the first desk on the right, or Republican, side, and is in the last row of desks. Traditionally, the candy desk is always on the Republican side of the Senate Chamber and is used by a Republican senator. Since 2026, the desk has been occupied by Oklahoma Senator Alan Armstrong. ==Other candy desks==

The Democrats have also had a candy desk since at least 1985. A rolltop desk located on the front wall, belonging to the United States Senate Democratic Conference Secretary, is also filled with sweets. This tradition began "sometime later" than the better known candy desk; Hershey's Kisses were the most popular candy from this desk during the 1980s, followed by small caramels. Candy for this desk is paid for through a "candy fund" to which senators who would like to partake of the desk's contents contribute. Until he left the Senate in 2015, Jay Rockefeller was responsible for collecting the money and purchasing the candy. This tradition is less widely known; a 2009 article claimed that even the Historian of the United States Senate does not know much about it. Other senators sometimes keep candy in their desks as well. Katherine Buck, a United States Senate Page at the time, wrote in 2005: ==Tenants==