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 better 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" to which senators who would like to partake of the desk's contents contribute. Jay Rockefeller then takes this money and purchases the candy. This tradition is not widely known; in fact, it is so little-known that the Historian of the United States Senate does not know much about it.
Wonder who's going to get the candy once he retires? Boxer? Durbin?
But Democrats also maintain a candy stash on their own side, and compared to the Republicans, theyve had a relatively stable sugar supply. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) told HOH that he has been stocking a desk on the Democratic side in a little-known tradition that even the Senate Historians office doesnt know much about with sugary goodies for the past 24 years.
A Rockefeller spokeswoman confirmed that her boss has enjoyed keeping fellow Democrats (and Republicans sometimes, too) on a sugar high for more than two decades. Rockefeller, we hear, has quite a sweet tooth himself and began buying candy for a desk in the Democrats side of the chamber so that he could always have a few of his beloved sweets nearby.
Heard on the Hill: The Candy Men Can : Roll Call News