Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States Senator from Maryland | |||||||||||||
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2017 | |||||||||||||
Preceded by | Charles Mathias | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Chris Van Hollen | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district | |||||||||||||
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1987 | |||||||||||||
Preceded by | Paul Sarbanes | ||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Ben Cardin | ||||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||||
Born | Barbara Ann Mikulski July 20, 1936 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||||
Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||
Education | Mount Saint Agnes College (BA) University of Maryland, Baltimore (MSW) | ||||||||||||
Signature | |||||||||||||
Barbara Ann Mikulski (
Raised in the
From the death of Senator
On March 2, 2015, Mikulski announced that she would retire after five terms in the Senate and would not seek reelection in 2016.[8][9] In January 2017, Mikulski joined Johns Hopkins University as a professor of public policy and advisor to University President Ronald J. Daniels.[10]
Early life, education, and career
Mikulski was born and raised in the
After graduating with a
Early political career
Mikulski first received national attention in 1970 because of her remarks at a conference at
America is not a
. He pays the bill for every major government program and gets nothing or little in the way of return. Tricked by the political rhetoric of the illusionary funding for black-oriented social programs, he turns his anger to race—when he himself is the victim of class prejudice.[He] has worked hard all his life to become a 'good American;' he and his sons have fought on every battlefield—then he is made fun of because he likes the flag. The ethnic American is overtaxed and underserved at every level of government. He does not have fancy lawyers or expensive lobbyists getting him tax breaks on his income. Being a home owner, he shoulders the rising property taxes—the major revenue source for the municipalities in which he lives. Yet he enjoys very little from these unfair and burdensome levies.
... [T]he ethnic American also feels unappreciated for the contribution he makes to society. He resents the way the
blue collar and no collar based on mutual need, interdependence and respect, an alliance to develop the strategy for new kinds of community organization and political participation.[16]
Mikulski's activism led to a seat on the Baltimore City Council in 1971. In 1973 incoming Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee Robert S. Strauss appointed then Baltimore City Councilperson Mikulski to chair the Democratic Party Commission on New Delegate Selection and Party Structure. She was instrumental in solidifying democratizing reforms to the national delegate selection process.[17][18]
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1976,
U.S. Senate
Elections
Mikulski first ran for the U.S. Senate in
As an advocate for campaign finance reform, Mathias refused to accept any contribution over $100 to "avoid the curse of big money that has led to so much trouble in the last year".[20] However, he still managed to raise over $250,000, nearly five times Mikulski's total. Ideologically, Mikulski and Mathias agreed on many issues, such as closing tax loopholes and easing taxes on the middle class. On two issues, however, Mathias argued to reform Congress and the U.S. tax system to address inflation and corporate price fixing, contrary to Mikulski.[19] In retrospect, The Washington Post felt the election was "an intelligent discussion of state, national, and foreign affairs by two smart, well-informed people".[21]
With Maryland voters, Mathias benefited from his frequent disagreements with the Nixon administration and his liberal voting record. On November 5, 1974, he was re-elected by a 57% to 43% margin, though he lost badly in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, where Mikulski was popular.[19] This election is the only election that Mikulski has ever lost.[22]
Mathias announced his retirement before the
In the campaign, Chavez attacked Mikulski, a lifelong Baltimore resident, as a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat".[24] Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation a central issue of the political campaign.[25] Chavez wrote that the term referred to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which she coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal" in reference to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.[24] Using political advertisements and press conferences, Chavez attacked Mikulski's former aide Teresa Brennan as "anti-male" and a "radical feminist", implying that Brennan and Mikulski were radical lesbians and that "fascist feminism" was Mikulski's political philosophy.[26][27] Brennan had not been part of Mikulski's staff for five years, but Chavez implied Brennan was still working on Mikulski's campaign.[28] Mikulski did not respond in kind to the attacks. She defeated Chavez with 61% of the vote.[29] She also served alongside Paul Sarbanes, the man she'd succeeded in the House.
Mikulski, popularly known as "Senator Barb",
In September 2009, the "tell-all" book The Clinton Tapes revealed that during the
From 2007 to 2017, Mikulski served alongside Ben Cardin, who succeeded her in the 3rd District and held it for 20 years until succeeding Sarbanes in the Senate.
Legislation
On June 3, 2013, Mikulski introduced the
On April 1, 2014, Mikulski introduced the
Committee assignments
In the 114th Congress, Mikulski served on the following
- Committee on Appropriations (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- As Ranking Member of the full committee, Mikulski may serve as an ex officio member of any subcommittee of which she is not a full member
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Subcommittee on Children and Families
- Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging
- Select Committee on Intelligence
Other
Women were not allowed to wear pants on the U.S. Senate floor until 1993.
In 2014, Mikulski was voted the "meanest senator" in Washingtonian's survey of congressional staffers.[41]
Political positions
Mikulski was one of 11 senators to vote against both the
Mikulski has opposed
Mikulski has been an outspoken advocate for the
On October 1, 2008, Mikulski voted in favor of
In October 2013, Mikulski sponsored a bill honoring naturopathic medicine.[47]
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Charles Mathias (inc.) | 503,223 | 57.3 | |
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski
|
374,663 | 42.7 | |
Invalid or blank votes | ||||
Total votes | 877,886 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | {{{votes}}} | |||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski | 307,876 | 49.50% | |
Democratic | Michael D. Barnes | 195,086 | 31.37% | |
Democratic | Harry Hughes | 88,908 | 14.30% | |
Democratic | Debra Hanania Freeman | 9,350 | 1.50% | |
Democratic | Edward M. Olszewski | 7,877 | 1.27% | |
Democratic | A. Robert Kaufman | 6,505 | 1.05% | |
Democratic | Boyd E. Sweatt | 3,580 | 0.58% | |
Democratic | Leonard E. Trout, Jr. | 2,742 | 0.44% | |
Total votes | 621,924 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski | 675,225 | 60.69% | +26.85% | |
Republican | Linda Chavez | 437,411 | 39.31% | −26.85% | |
Majority | 237,814 | 21.37% | −10.96% | ||
Total votes | 1,017,151 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic gain from Republican | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 376,444 | 76.75% | |
Democratic | Thomas M. Wheatley | 31,214 | 6.36% | |
Democratic | Walter Boyd | 26,467 | 5.40% | |
Democratic | Don Allensworth | 19,731 | 4.02% | |
Democratic | Scott David Britt | 13,001 | 2.65% | |
Democratic | James Leonard White | 12,470 | 2.54% | |
Democratic | B. Emerson Sweatt | 11,150 | 2.27% | |
Total votes | 490,477 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 1,307,610 | 71.02% | +10.33% | |
Republican | Alan L. Keyes | 533,688 | 28.98% | −10.33% | |
Majority | 773,922 | 42.03% | +20.66% | ||
Total votes | 1,841,298 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent)
|
349,382 | 84.36% | |
Democratic | Ann L. Mallory | 43,120 | 10.41% | |
Democratic | Kauko H. Kokkonen | 21,658 | 5.23% | |
Total votes | 414,160 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent)
|
1,062,810 | 70.50% | −0.51% | |
Republican | Ross Z. Pierpont | 444,637 | 29.50% | +0.51% | |
Majority | 618,173 | 41.01% | −1.02% | ||
Total votes | 1,507,447 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 408,848 | 89.88% | |
Democratic | A. Robert Kaufman | 32,127 | 7.06% | |
Democratic | Sid Altman | 13,901 | 3.06% | |
Total votes | 454,876 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) | 1,504,691 | 64.80% | −5.70% | |
Republican | E. J. Pipkin | 783,055 | 33.72% | +4.23% | |
Green
|
Maria Allwine | 24,816 | 1.07% | ||
Constitution | Thomas Trump | 9,009 | 0.39% | ||
Write-ins | 360 | 0.02% | |||
Majority | 721,636 | 31.08% | −9.93% | ||
Total votes | 2,321,931 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara Mikulski (Incumbent) | 388,868 | 82.32% | |
Democratic | Christopher J. Garner | 35,579 | 7.53% | |
Democratic | A. Billy Bob Jaworski | 15,131 | 3.20% | |
Democratic | Blaine Taylor | 10,787 | 2.28% | |
Democratic | Theresa C. Scaldaferri | 7,913 | 1.68% | |
Democratic | Sanquetta Taylor | 7,365 | 1.56% | |
Democratic | Lih Young | 6,733 | 1.43% | |
Total votes | 472,376 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Barbara Mikulski (Incumbent) | 1,140,531 | 62.19% | −2.61% | |
Republican | Eric Wargotz | 655,666 | 35.75% | +2.05% | |
Green
|
Kenniss Henry | 20,717 | 1.13% | +0.06% | |
Constitution | Richard Shawver | 14,746 | 0.80% | +0.42% | |
Write-ins | 2,213 | 0.11% | +0.05% | ||
Majority | 484,865 | 26.44% | |||
Total votes | 1,833,873 | 100.00% | |||
Democratic hold | Swing |
Awards and honors
In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Mikulski's name and picture.[60]
The NASA-funded Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore named one of the world's largest astronomy databases after Mikulski (Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes), as she was a long time champion of the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.[61]
In 2011, Mikulski was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[62]
In 2012, when NASA discovered an exploding star, they named it "Supernova Mikulski" in her honor.[63] Also in 2012, Mikulski was presented the Harriet Ross Tubman Lifetime Achievement Award by the Maryland African American Tourism Council.[64]
On August 22, 2013 the President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski honored Mikulski with a Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta for "outstanding achievements in the development of Polish-American cooperation and activity for Poles living in the United States".[65]
In November 2015, Mikulski was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama at a ceremony in the White House.[66][67]
In 2020, the Senator Barbara A. Mikulski Room, with mementos and Mikulski’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, was opened in the Enoch Pratt Free Library.[68][69]
On June 8, 2022, a room in the United States Capitol was named after Mikulski. It is the Barbara Mikulski room, S-115, located on the first floor of the side of the Capitol where the Senate is. It is one of the first two rooms in the Capitol to be named after women who were senators, the other being the Margaret Chase Smith room, which was named on the same day.[68][70]
Personal life
Barbara Mikulski never married and has no children.
See also
- Virginia S. Baker
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
- Women in the United States Senate
References
- leap daysover their respective tenures, Sarbanes finished with 10,957 days of Senate service to Mikulski's 10,958 days.
- ^ O'Keefe, Ed (March 21, 2012). "Barbara Mikulski honored as longest-serving woman in Congress". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ^ Dana Bash and Abigail Crutchfield. "Longest-serving female lawmaker says goodbye". CNN.
- ^ "Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Md. will not seek a 6th term". WUSA9. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "MIKULSKI, Barbara Ann – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^ "Barbara Mikulski, Maryland Women's Hall of Fame". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^ Boles, Corey (December 19, 2012). "Mikulski to Take Appropriations Post as Leahy Stays at Judiciary". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Barbara Mikulski, first female chair of Senate Appropriations, returns to minority". The Washington Post. November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ Gaudiano, Nicole (March 2, 2015). "Longtime Sen. Barbara Mikulski to retire". USA Today.
- ^ Grier, Peter (March 2, 2015). "Sen. Barbara Mikulski retiring: Will Martin O'Malley run?". The Christian Science Monitor.
- ^ "Former Sen. Barbara Mikulski, now a Johns Hopkins professor, to receive two honorary degrees". The Hub. May 12, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
- ^ "Barbara Mikulski ancestry". rootsweb.com.
- ^ "Christine Mikulski, Mother of U.S. Senator, Dies". The Washington Post. April 1, 1996. p. B.04.
- ^ a b "The Baltimore Grill: Barbara Mikulski". Baltimore magazine. August 13, 2007.
- ^ "Mikulski, Sen. Barbara A." www.poles.org.
- ^ Wenger, Luke Broadwater, Erin Cox, Yvonne (March 2, 2015). "Mikulski remembered as plain-speaking trailblazer for woman in politics". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ O'Rourke, Lawrence "GENO: The Life and Mission of Geno Baroni", Paulist Press. (1991), p 87.
- ^ David S. Broder "The Democrat's Dilemma" March 1974
- ^ Change Is Not the Same as Progress: The Failures of the McGovern-Fraser Reforms in 1972, Kevin Harris
- ^ a b c Barker, Karlyn (November 6, 1974). "Mathias Is Elected To a Second Term". The Washington Post. p. A12.
- ^ Richards, Bill (February 3, 1974). "Sen. Mathias Re-Election Drive Opens". The Washington Post. p. B1.
- ^ "U.S. Senate Choice in Maryland". The Washington Post. October 22, 1980. p. A22.
- ^ Rodricks, Dan (March 2, 2015). "Mikulski's legacy starts with the 'battle of the road'". baltimoresun.com.
- ISBN 1568024703.
- ^ a b Miller, John J. (July 8, 2004). "The Outing". National Review Online.
- ^ Aitken, Lee (November 3, 1986). "Barbara Mikulski and Linda Chavez Stage a Gloves-Off Battle in a Women-Only U.S. Senate Race". People. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
- ISBN 0738208728.
- ISBN 0739114158.
- ISBN 978-0522860467.
- ^ Dendy, Dallas L. Jr.; Anderson, Donnald K. (1987). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
- ^ "Barbara Mikulski, the record-breaking not-so-gentle-lady". The Washington Post. March 23, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ Marbella, Jean "Mikulski's milestone: the Senate's longest-serving woman" The Baltimore Sun January 5, 2011
- ^ Netter, Sarah, and Jaffe, Matthew, "Person of the Week: Sen. Barbara Mikulski Makes History as Longest-Serving Female Senator". ABC News, January 7, 2011
- ^ Bash, Dana (March 16, 2012). "Mikulski makes history while creating 'zone of civility' for Senate women". CNN.
- ^ "In 'The Clinton Tapes,' Bill Clinton Disses Bush, Dowd, Gore and More". Politics Daily. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- ^ "S. 1086 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ^ a b c Cox, Ramsey (March 13, 2014). "Senate passes child care bill". The Hill. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ "S. 2199 – All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ a b Cox, Ramsey; Bolton, Alexander (April 9, 2014). "Senate GOP blocks paycheck bill". The Hill. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ a b Robin Givhan (January 21, 2004). "Moseley Braun: Lady in red". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ a b Cooper, Kent (June 9, 2005). "The Long and Short of Capitol Style : Roll Call Special Features 50th Anniversary". Rollcall.com. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ "The Best and Worst of Congress 2014". Washingtonian. October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Roll Call Vote". senate.gov. January 27, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote". senate.gov.
- ^ "Mikulski Joins FTC and HUD to Announce Major Settlement for Victims of Fairbanks Capital". Office of Senator Barbara Mikulski. November 12, 2003. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
- ^ "TimesMachine: Monday July 10, 1978 - NYTimes.com". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ^ "Text – S.Res.221 – 113th Congress (2013–2014): A resolution designating the week of October 7 through October 13, 2013, as "Naturopathic Medicine Week" to recognize the value of naturopathic medicine in providing safe, effective, and affordable health care. – Congress.gov – Library of Congress". congress.gov. September 10, 2013.
- ^ "1974 Senatorial General Election Results - Maryland".
- ISBN 9781483383026. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ "Maryland State Board of Elections". Elections.state.md.us. August 17, 2001. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986" (PDF).
- ^ Maryland State Board of Elections. Elections.state.md.us (February 16, 2001). Retrieved on 2011-06-17.
- ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (1993). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional election of November 3, 1992" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ Maryland State Board of Elections. Elections.state.md.us (October 24, 2000). Retrieved on June 17, 2011.
- ^ 1998 Election Statistics – Legislative Activities – Office of the Clerk. Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved on June 17, 2011.
- ^ Maryland State Board of Elections. Elections.state.md.us (April 6, 2004). Retrieved on June 17, 2011.
- ^ 2004 ELECTION STATISTICS. Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved on June 17, 2011.
- ^ "Maryland Senate Primary Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. September 17, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- ^ "2010 General Election Official Results". elections.maryland.gov.
- ^ Wulf, Steve (March 23, 2015). "Supersisters: Original Roster". Espn.go.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Hubble Archive, Supernova Named in Honor of Mikulski". SpaceNews.com.
- ^ "Mikulski, Barbara A." National Women’s Hall of Fame.
- ^ "HubbleSite – NewsCenter – Space Astronomy Archive and Distant Supernova Are Named in Honor Of U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (04/05/2012) – Release Images". hubblesite.org.
- ^ "Mikulski receives Tubman award; kicks off state-wide remembrance". The Star Democrat. March 11, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ "Prezydent odznaczył Senator USA Barbarę Mikulski" (in Polish). prezydent.pl. August 22, 2013. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- National Archives.
- ^ Phil Helsel – "Obama honoring Spielberg, Streisand and more with medal of freedom," NBC News, November 24, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-25
- ^ a b "Out of 540 U.S. Capitol rooms, two now are named for female senators. One of them is Maryland's Barbara Mikulski". Baltimore Sun. June 8, 2022.
- ^ "Senator Barbara A. Mikulski Room". Enoch Pratt Free Library.
- ^ "She couldn't even use the Senate gym. Now she has a room of her own". Roll Call. June 8, 2022.
- ^ Ron Cassie (August 2016). "Senator Barb: How did the daughter of Polish grocers become dean of the U.S. Senate women?". Baltimore Magazine.
- ^ a b c Colman McCarthy (December 16, 2016). "Sen. Barbara Mikulski's stirring, selfless life". National Catholic Reporter.
External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Barbara Mikulski at Curlie
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- “Louis Rukeyser's Election Guide,” Maryland Public Television, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting