Following his first election in 1972, Biden was reelected to six more Senate terms, in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008, usually getting about 60% of the vote.
He did not face strong opposition; Pete du Pont, then governor, chose not to run against him in 1984.
Biden spent 28 years as a junior senator due to the two-year seniority of his Republican colleague William Roth.
After Tom Carper defeated Roth in 2000, Biden became Delaware's senior senator.
He then became the longest-serving senator in Delaware history, and as of 2018, he was the 18th-longest-serving senator in U.S. history.
In May 1999, Biden became the youngest senator to cast 10,000 votes.

With a net worth between $59,000 and $366,000, and almost no outside income or investment income, Biden was consistently ranked one of the least wealthy members of the Senate.
Biden said he was listed as the second-poorest member in Congress and was not proud of the distinction, but attributed it to having been elected early in his career.
He has said he realized early in his senatorial career how vulnerable poorer public officials are to offers of financial contributions in exchange for policy support, and he pushed campaign finance reform measures during his first term.
Biden earned $15.6 million in 2017–18.
By 2019, Biden called his middle-class status a "state of mind".
In July 2019, the Bidens reported that their assets had increased to between $2.2 million and $8 million, thanks to speaking engagements and a deal to write a set of books.

The political writer Howard Fineman has said, "Biden is not an academic, he's not a theoretical thinker, he's a great street pol.
He comes from a long line of working people in Scranton—auto salesmen, car dealers, people who know how to make a sale.
He has that great Irish gift."
Political columnist David S. Broder has viewed Biden as having grown since he came to Washington and since his failed 1988 presidential bid: "He responds to real people—that's been consistent throughout.
And his ability to understand himself and deal with other politicians has gotten much much better."
Traub concludes that "Biden is the kind of fundamentally happy person who can be as generous toward others as he is to himself."
Following his first election in 1972, Biden was reelected to six more Senate terms, in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008, usually getting about 60% of the vote. He did not face strong opposition; Pete du Pont, then governor, chose not to run against him in 1984. Biden spent 28 years as a junior senator due to the two-year seniority of his Republican colleague William Roth. After Tom Carper defeated Roth in 2000, Biden became Delaware's senior senator. He then became the longest-serving senator in Delaware history, and as of 2018, he was the 18th-longest-serving senator in U.S. history. In May 1999, Biden became the youngest senator to cast 10,000 votes.
With a net worth between $59,000 and $366,000, and almost no outside income or investment income, Biden was consistently ranked one of the least wealthy members of the Senate. Biden said he was listed as the second-poorest member in Congress and was not proud of the distinction, but attributed it to having been elected early in his career. He has said he realized early in his senatorial career how vulnerable poorer public officials are to offers of financial contributions in exchange for policy support, and he pushed campaign finance reform measures during his first term. Biden earned $15.6 million in 2017–18. By 2019, Biden called his middle-class status a "state of mind". In July 2019, the Bidens reported that their assets had increased to between $2.2 million and $8 million, thanks to speaking engagements and a deal to write a set of books.
The political writer Howard Fineman has said, "Biden is not an academic, he's not a theoretical thinker, he's a great street pol. He comes from a long line of working people in Scranton—auto salesmen, car dealers, people who know how to make a sale. He has that great Irish gift." Political columnist David S. Broder has viewed Biden as having grown since he came to Washington and since his failed 1988 presidential bid: "He responds to real people—that's been consistent throughout. And his ability to understand himself and deal with other politicians has gotten much much better." Traub concludes that "Biden is the kind of fundamentally happy person who can be as generous toward others as he is to himself."
Joe Biden