Waiting in the wings of GOP seniority: Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican first elected in 1976.
It's unclear whether Sen. Ted Stevens, awaiting sentencing on seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms, will retain his seat as he faces a too-close-to-call re-election bid in Alaska.
Even if Stevens wins, he may face a challenge returning to the Senate as a felon, especially since he faces years in prison. The next most senior member, Sen. Dick Lugar, a Republican from Indiana, is widely rumored as a potential secretary of state in the Obama administration.
The makeup of the Senate is still in limbo as three close races are sorted out in Alaska, Minnesota and Oregon. But Hatch's potential ascension to the most senior Republican could garner him more authority on Capitol Hill.
"Hatch has kind of re-enforced what a Republican power he is in D.C. with the way he raised money and worked during the election," says Kirk Jowers, head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and a Washington attorney. "Being the most senior Republican would add to that prestige."
Hatch helped raise millions for the National Republican Senatorial Committee's re-election efforts, and was named vice-chairman of the organization a few months ago.
That said, the position carries no inherent power, especially for the minority party, Jowers adds.
"Republicans are in the distinct minority now and there's just not a lot of power to go around for Republicans regardless of seniority, status or standing," Jowers said.
Hatch wants no part of the speculation, saying he thinks it's inappropriate to discuss Stevens' and Lugar's standing in the Senate.
"As for overall seniority in the Senate, it clearly has its advantages and commands a certain amount of respect that would be beneficial to a member's state," Hatch said in a statement.
Ascending in seniority, however, likely wouldn't change Hatch's standing on any of the committees he sits on. Hatch was term-limited out of his chairmanship and ranking-member status on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is several years away from either status on the Finance Committee, where he is the second-ranking Republican.
