Jim Sasser is currently serving his third term in the United States Senate, representing the state of Tennessee. Senator Sasser is chairman of the powerful Senate Budget Committee. Before becoming a U.S. Senator, he served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves from 1957 to 1963 and then practiced law as a member of the firm of Goodpasture, Carpenter, Woods and Sasser in Nashville. In addition to his law practice, Senator Sasser was chairman of the Tennessee Codes Commission until he resigned the post to take his seat in the U.S. Senate.

Senator Sasser has been active in Democratic politics since 1960 when he served as regional director in the last Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver's campaign. he continued his activity through the years and in 1973 was elected chairman of the Tennessee State Democratic Executive Committee. He served in this position until 1976 when he resigned to mount his campaign for the U.S. Senate. He was sworn into the Senate on January 4, 1977.