Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s nearly 13 hour filibuster this week drew attention to that tactic which has been used to delay or prevent Senate action, or to protest something the government is engaged in.
Paul’s filibuster turns out to be the ninth longest filibuster, according to Senate records, by any individual.
The list of the top nine all time is as follows:
Senator Strom Thurmond, Democrat, South Carolina, 1957—24 hours 18 minutes
Senator Alfonse D’Amato, Republican, New York, 1986, 23 hours, 30 minutes
Senator Wayne Morse, Independent, Oregon, 1953, 22 hours, 26 minutes
Senator Robert La Follette, Sr,, Republican, Wisconsin, 1908, 18 hours, 23 minutes
Senator William Proxmire, Democrat, Wisconsin, 1981, 16 hours, 12 minutes
Senator Huey Long, Democrat, Louisiana, 1935, 15 hours, 30 minutes
Senator Alfonse D’Amato, Republican, New York, 1992, 15 hours, 14 minutes
Senator Robert Byrd, Democrat, West Virginia, 1964, 14 hours, 13 minutes
Senator Rand Paul, Republican, Kentucky, 2013, 12 hours, 52 minutes