The candy desk is a tradition of the United States Senate established in 1968. The desk, located on the Republican side of the Senate chamber, was first stocked with candy and treats by Senator George Murphy. Those entrusted with the candy desk have included John McCain, Slade Gorton, Bob Bennett, and Rick Santorum. Most senators take advantage of the desk, even though eating is not allowed on the Senate floor. The desk is currently occupied by Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois.
The tenant of the candy desk is charged with stocking it with candy from his or her home state, but funding has been an issue. Originally senators would ask for a specific candy and leave a few dollars to keep the desk stocked with their favorites, but as time continued, and the candy desk became a more solid tradition of the Senate, lobby groups and organizations, specifically the National Confectioners Association, and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, organized donations.
The candy desk is not a specific desk in the Senate Chamber, but instead whichever desk the senators choose to use becomes the candy desk when it is placed in the correct location and filled with sweets. The location of the desk has remained static since at least the 97th Congress. It is located next to the eastern door to the senate chamber. Most senators enter the chamber through this door, as it 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 located 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.
George Murphy was elected as the Senator from California in 1965, for the 89th Congress. Murphy, known as a song-and-dance man from musicals, was also known for his sweet tooth. A short time after joining the Senate, he started keeping candy in his desk, then, in 1968, he moved desks and ended up at the spot where the candy desk is now known to be. Since more senators now passed his desk on a daily basis, he started offering the contents of his desk to his colleagues. Murphy was defeated in the 1970 Senate elections, but subsequent senators have carried on the tradition of supplying candy in their desk for the enjoyment of the Senate as a whole.
Rick Santorum sat at the candy desk from 1997 to 2007. Being the senator from Pennsylvania, he filled the candy desk with Hershey candy and Just Born products (such as Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales). During this time period, Hershey shipped roughly 100 pounds of chocolate and other candy four times a year to Santorum to fill the desk with.
Issues arose after Santorum was not again elected to the senate in 2007, and Senator Craig Thomas began his tenure at the candy 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. That issue was worked around by asking many small, local, Wyoming confectionery businesses and chocolatiers to give small amounts of candy that were rotated in and out of the desk.
Senate ethics rules ‘forbid members accepting gifts worth $100 or more a year from a single source,’ which can become a problem if a large amount of candy is consumed from the desk each year. An exception to this rule allows larger gifts of objects created or produced in the state the senator is from, as long as the items are primarily not used by the senator and his staff. This is so senators can ‘offer visitors home-grown snacks, such as Florida orange juice or Georgia peanuts.’
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 more well known Candy desk, and Hershey 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’ which senators that would like to partake in the desk’s contents contribute to. Jay Rockefeller then takes this money and purchases the candy.
Other senators sometimes keep candy in their desks as well. One senator with a particularly strong hankering for chocolate is Jim Talent from Missouri. Once during a vote, he called people away from the candy desk to his own on the other side of the row. There were oohs and aahs until six people walked away with Russell Stover Low-Carb Chocolates.
The Daily Omnivore 
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