Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 78th district, and from 1999 to 2013 represented Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. In 2012, Baldwin was elected to the United States Senate, defeating Republican nominee Tommy Thompson. In 2018, Baldwin was reelected, defeating Republican nominee Leah Vukmir. On April 12, 2023, Baldwin announced her candidacy for reelection in the 2024 United States Senate election in Wisconsin.
Baldwin, who is a lesbian, became the first openly LGBT woman elected to the House of Representatives and to the Senate in 1999 and 2013, respectively. She was also the first woman to be elected to either chamber from Wisconsin. Baldwin identifies as a progressive, and she has a consistent progressive voting record. She supports Medicare for All, LGBTQ rights, and gun control, and opposed the Iraq War.
Early life, education, and early political career
Baldwin was born and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. Her mother, who died in 2017, was 19 and going through a divorce when Baldwin was born. Baldwin was raised by her grandparents and spent Saturdays with her mother, who suffered from mental illness and opioid addiction. Her maternal grandfather, biochemist David E. Green, was Jewish (the son of immigrants from Russia and Germany), and her maternal grandmother, who was Anglican, was English-born. Baldwin's aunt is biochemist Rowena Green Matthews. Through her maternal grandfather, Baldwin is a third cousin of comedian Andy Samberg.
Baldwin graduated from Madison West High School in 1980 as the class valedictorian. She earned a B.A. from Smith College in 1984 and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1989. She was a lawyer in private practice from 1989 to 1992.
Baldwin was first elected to political office in 1986 at the age of 24, when she was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors, a position she held until 1994. She also served one year on the Madison Common Council to fill a vacancy in the coterminous district.
Wisconsin Assembly (1993–1999)
Elections
In 1992, Baldwin ran to represent Wisconsin's 78th Assembly district in western Madison. She won the Democratic primary with 43% of the vote. In the general election, Baldwin defeated Mary Kay Baum (Labor and Farm Party nominee) and Patricia Hevenor (Republican Party nominee) by a vote of 59%-23%-17%. She was one of just six openly gay political candidates nationwide to win a general election in 1992.
In 1994, Baldwin won election to a second term with 76% of the vote. In 1996, she was elected to a third term with 71% of the vote.
Tenure
Baldwin was the first openly lesbian member of the Wisconsin Assembly and one of a very few openly gay politicians in the country at the time. In 1993, she said she was disappointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton's support of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In early 1994, she proposed legalizing same-sex marriage in Wisconsin. In 1995, she proposed domestic partnerships in Wisconsin.
Baldwin opposes capital punishment in Wisconsin.
Committee assignments
Criminal Justice Committee
Education Committee (Chair)
U.S. House of Representatives (1999–2013)
Elections
In 1998, U.S. Congressman Scott Klug of the 2nd district, based in Madison, announced he would retire, prompting Baldwin to run for the seat. She won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 37% of the vote. In the general election she defeated Republican nominee Josephine Musser 53%-47%.
Baldwin was the first woman elected to Congress from Wisconsin. She was also the first openly gay person elected to the House of Representatives, and the first open lesbian elected to Congress. In 2008, Baldwin and Representative Barney Frank co-founded the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
In 2000, Baldwin won reelection to a second term, defeating Republican John Sharpless 51%-49%, a difference of 8,902 votes. She lost eight of the district's nine counties, but carried the largest, Dane County, with 55% of the vote.