Candy Desk

The Candy Desk is a tradition of the United States Senate since 1968, whereby a Republican senator who sits at a desk near a busy entrance, keeps a drawer full of candy for members of the body. The same desk has not always been used; the present Candy Desk was moved to its position after over three decades on the Democratic side of the chamber, where it was used by several senators, including Illinois Senator Barack Obama. The current occupant of the Candy Desk is Illinois Senator Mark Kirk.

In 1965, California's George Murphy joined the Senate, and kept candy in his desk to offer his colleagues, and to consume himself, though eating is not allowed on the Senate floor. When he left the Senate after a six-year term, other Republican senators maintained the custom. The nascent tradition did not become publicly known until the mid-1980s, when Washington Senator Slade Gorton disclosed it in announcing that he would be sitting at the Candy Desk.

Senators who have maintained the Candy Desk tradition include John McCain, Harrison Schmitt, and Rick Santorum, who stocked it with confectionary from his home state of Pennsylvania, including from the Hershey Chocolate Company. After Santorum left the Senate in 2007, the Candy Desk was maintained by a number of senators for a short time each, before Kirk began his stay in 2011. The desk is currently supplied with candy made in Illinois, including Milky Way bars, Mars bars, and Jelly Belly jellybeans.