Olympia Snowe
Olympia Snowe | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Maine | |
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2013 | |
Preceded by | George Mitchell |
Succeeded by | Angus King |
Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee | |
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 | |
Preceded by | John Kerry |
Succeeded by | John Kerry |
First Lady of Maine | |
In role February 24, 1989 – January 5, 1995 | |
Governor | John McKernan |
Preceded by | Constance Brennan |
Succeeded by | Mary Herman |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd district | |
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1995 | |
Preceded by | Bill Cohen |
Succeeded by | John Baldacci |
Member of the Maine Senate from the 12th district | |
In office January 5, 1977 – January 3, 1979 | |
Preceded by | Elmer Berry[1] |
Succeeded by | Barbara Trafton[2] |
Personal details | |
Born | Olympia Jean Bouchles February 21, 1947 Augusta, Maine, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouses | |
Education | University of Maine (BA) |
Signature | |
Website | Official website |
Olympia Jean Snowe (
On February 28, 2012, Snowe announced that she would not seek re-election in November 2012, and retired when her third term ended on January 3, 2013.[7] She cited hyper-partisanship leading to a dysfunctional Congress as the reason for her retirement from the Senate. Her seat went to former governor Angus King, a former Democrat and current independent.
Snowe is a senior fellow for the Bipartisan Policy Center and co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform.[8]
Early life
Snowe was born Olympia Jean Bouchles in
When she was eight years old, her mother died of
Early political career
Snowe entered politics and rose quickly, winning a seat on the Board of Voter Registration and working for
U.S. House of Representatives
Snowe was elected to the
Snowe married
Tragedy struck Snowe once more in 1991 when her stepson Peter McKernan died from a heart ailment at the age of 20.[citation needed]
U.S. Senate
Elections
In
Tenure
Snowe was an important voice during the Senate's 1999
In October 2002, Snowe voted in favor of the War in Iraq.
In February 2006, TheWhiteHouseProject.org named Snowe one of its "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run and/or be elected president in 2008.[citation needed]
Snowe voted in favor of the nominations of
.In April 2006, Snowe was selected by Time as one of "America's 10 Best Senators".[17] She was the only woman so recognized. Time praised Snowe for her sensitivity to her constituents, also noting that: "Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington." She received an honorary degree from Bates College in 1998, and another from the University of Delaware in 2008. Snowe did not miss any of the 657 votes on the Senate floor during the 110th Congress from 2007 to 2009.[18] She was one of only eight senators who did not miss any votes during that session.[18]
Snowe is the fourth woman to serve on the
Snowe was the youngest female Republican ever elected to the United States House of Representatives; she is also the first woman to have served in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of the U.S. Congress. She never lost an election in her 35 years as an elected official, and in the 2006 midterm senatorial elections, she won with a reported 73.99% of votes. However, on Tuesday, February 27, 2012, citing excessive partisanship and a dispiriting political environment, Snowe announced she would not run for re-election in November 2012. Her unexpected decision delivered a potential blow to Republicans, who needed just a handful of seats to regain control of the Senate; Snowe was considered one of their safer incumbents.[21]
Gang of 14
On May 23, 2005, Snowe was one of fourteen senators dubbed the
Committee assignments
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
- Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard(Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Science and Space
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
- Committee on Finance
- Subcommittee on Health Care
- Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-term Growth
- Subcommittee on International Trade and Global Competitiveness
- Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Ranking Member)
- Select Committee on Intelligence
Caucus memberships
- Dairy Farmer Caucus
- Health Technology Caucus (Co-Chair)
- International Conservation Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Senate Tourism Caucus
- Senate Women's Caucus
- Sportsmen's Caucus
- Senate Hunger Caucus
- Senate Oceans Caucus
Political positions
Snowe shares a centrist ideology with
Snowe supported both President Clinton's involvement in Kosovo and President George W. Bush's invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq. On fiscal issues, she has voiced support for cutting taxes as economic stimulus, although she joined fellow Republican senators Lincoln Chafee and John McCain in voting against the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. In 2004, she opposed the accelerated implementation of the Bush tax cuts citing budget concerns and she was joined by Senators Collins, McCain, and Chafee.[28]
Snowe is a member of the
In the
In 2007, Olympia Snowe was among the Republicans who voted in favor of the
"In October 2009, Snowe was the sole Republican in the Senate to vote for the Finance Committee’s health care reform bill."
When Snowe announced in February 2012 that she would not seek re-election, it was reported that she and Democrat Ben Nelson, who also did not seek re-election, had the closest overlap [clarification needed] of any two members of the U.S. Senate.[40]
In 2012, Snowe endorsed Republican candidate Mitt Romney for President of the United States.[41]
After the Senate
After leaving the Senate, Snowe announced her support for same-sex marriage.[42]
Snowe has been on the board of directors for the investment counsel firm T. Rowe Price since 2013.[43] She opposed Donald Trump as the GOP nominee in 2016.[44] She said that Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton were the least partisan 2016 presidential candidates.[45]
On November 8, 2020, five days after the election, while President Trump and some other members of the Republican Party were claiming he had won the election, Snowe congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.[46] On January 9, 2021, following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, she called on President Trump to "resign from office now to allow our nation to begin to heal and prepare for the transition to the Biden presidency".[47]
Electoral history
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (June 2010) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 405,596 | 74.01% | ||
Democratic | Jean Hay Bright | 113,131 | 20.59% | ||
Independent
|
William H. Slavick | 26,222 | 5.37% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 437,689 | 68.94% | ||
Democratic | Mark Lawrence | 197,183 | 31.06% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe | 308,244 | 60.24% | ||
Democratic | Tom Andrews | 186,042 | 36.36% | ||
Independent
|
Plato Truman | 17,205 | 3.36% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 153,022 | 49.13% | ||
Democratic | Patrick K. McGowan | 130,824 | 42.01% | ||
Green
|
Jonathan K. Carter | 27,526 | 8.84% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 121,704 | 51.02% | ||
Democratic | Patrick K. McGowan | 116,798 | 48.97% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 167,226 | 66.17% | ||
Democratic | Kenneth P. Hayes | 85,346 | 33.77% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 148,770 | 77.32% | ||
Democratic | Richard R. Charette | 43,614 | 22.67% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 192,166 | 75.72% | ||
Democratic | Chipman C. Bull | 57,347 | 22.60% | ||
Constitution | Kenneth E. Stoddard | 4,242 | 1.67% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 136,075 | 66.65% | ||
Democratic | James Patrick Dunleavy | 68,086 | 33.35% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe (incumbent) | 186,406 | 78.50% | ||
Democratic | Harold L. Silverman | 51,026 | 21.49% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Olympia Snowe | 87,939 | 50.82% | ||
Democratic | Markham J. Gartley | 70,691 | 40.85% | ||
Independent
|
Frederick W. Whittaker | 8,035 | 4.64% | ||
Independent
|
Eddie Shurtleff | 1,923 | 1.11% | ||
Independent
|
Robert H. Burmeister | 1,653 | 0.96% | ||
Independent
|
Margaret E. Cousins | 1,573 | 0.91% | ||
Independent
|
Robert L. Cousins | 1,223 | 0.71% |
See also
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
- Women in the United States Senate
- Rockefeller Republican
References
- ^ "Data" (PDF). lldc.mainelegislature.org. 1975. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
- ^ "Data" (PDF). lldc.mainelegislature.org. 1979. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
- ^ Kane, Paul; Cillizza, Chris (February 29, 2012). "Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) says she'll retire, citing partisanship in Congress". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ McGregor, Jena (February 29, 2012). "Losing Olympia Snowe". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ "Olympia J. Snowe: The Caretaker". Time. 2006-04-14. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ Hulse, Carl (February 10, 2009). "Maine Senators Break With Republican Party on Stimulus". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ "Maine GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe won't seek re-election". USA Today. 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
- ^ "Olympia Snowe". Bipartisan Policy Center. 28 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ "Maine senator has history of being in the middle of things". Associated Press. April 11, 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ Battle, Robert. "Ancestries of United States Senators: Olympia Snowe". self-published. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ Broder, David S. (1997-06-08). "A Real Woman's Issue". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ 'Peter Snowe Killed in Turnpike Crash,' Lewiston Daily Sun, April 11, 1973, pg. 1, 2
- ^ "TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND PASS H.R. 3706, A BILL ... -- House Vote #289 -- Aug 2, 1983". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL ... -- House Vote #506 -- Mar 2, 1988". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "TO PASS, OVER PRESIDENT REAGAN'S VETO, S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS ... -- House Vote #527 -- Mar 22, 1988". GovTrack.us.
- ^ Trygstad, Kyle; Miller, Joshua; Toeplitz, Shira (28 February 2012). "Olympia Snowe Shocks Colleagues With Retirement". rollcall.com. CQ Roll Call. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ Calabresi, Massimo; Perry Bacon Jr. (2006-04-16). "America's 10 Best Senators". Time. Archived from the original on 2006-11-10. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
- ^ a b "Senate members who missed votes: 100th Congress". The Washington Post. 2009. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ "Topping 122 Feet, Snowman in Maine Vies for World Record". Fox News (Associated Press). 1 March 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "Tallest snowman". Guinness World Records. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer (February 29, 2012). "Olympia Snowe Won't Seek Re-election". The New York Times. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ "Olympia Snowe on Principles & Values". ontheissues.org. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "How Maine's GOP Senators Are Key to Obama's Agenda". Time. 2009-02-12. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009.
- ^ "Senate votes to repeal ban on gays openly serving in military". CNN. December 20, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ "Archived copy". Human Rights Campaign. Archived from the original on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Olympia Snowe, former Senator for Maine – GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
- ^ a b "Olympia Snowe's Ratings and Endorsements". votesmart.org.
- ^ Andrews, Edmund L. (21 May 2004). "Mutiny by 4 Republicans Over Bush's Tax Cutting Forces Delay on the Budget Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Gay marriage ban defeated in Senate vote". MSNBC. 2006-06-07. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ a b "9 Snowe votes that angered the GOP". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Endorsement of John McCain". Youtube. 2007-02-02. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
- ^ "Snowe Responds to President's Outline on the State of the American Economy". Senate Office of Olympia Snowe. 2009-04-14. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Goddard, Lisa. "The Senate immigration vote: How they voted". CNN. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ Willis, Derek. "Fails To Advance Dream Act – H.R.5281: Removal Clarification Act of 2010". ProPublica. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Olympia Snowe on Immigration". www.ontheissues.org. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
- ^ Republican's Vote Lifts a Health Bill, but Hurdles Remain, The New York Times, October 14, 2009.
- ^ "GOP Tries to Stall Bill to Fund Pentagon". Retrieved 2018-07-24.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ Olympia Snowe announces her retirement from the U.S. Senate Archived 2012-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, policyshop.net; February 29, 2012; accessed June 26, 2014.
- ^ Sonmez, Felicia (29 December 2011). "Romney nabs N.C. Sen. Richard Burr endorsement, gaining support of one-quarter of Senate GOP". The Washington Post.
- ^ Lisa Desjardins (April 5, 2013). "Now out of Senate, Snowe supports same-sex marriage". CNN. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^ "Investor Relations – T. Rowe Price Group". T. Rowe Price Group. Archived from the original on 2016-07-08. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
- ^ Mali, Meghashyam (2016-08-10). "Republican exodus from Trump grows". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
- ^ "Olympia Snowe, speaking at Lesley event, says Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton least partisan of potential presidential candidates". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
- ^ Snowe, Olympia [@FormerSenSnowe] (November 8, 2020). "Congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. The President-elect's speech reflects the opportunity we now have to heal our nation. We can also celebrate the historic election of VP-elect Kamala Harris who has proven there are no boundaries to what is possible for all women" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Snowe, Olympia [@FormerSenSnowe] (January 9, 2021). "President Trump should resign from office now to allow our nation to begin to heal and prepare for the transition to the Biden presidency" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Federal Elections 2006: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives 4 / 15" (PDF). fec.gov. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
Further reading
- Nine & Counting: The Women of the Senate, Boxer, Collins, Snowe et al., ISBN 0-06-095706-9.
- Fighting for Common Ground: How We can Fix the Stalemate in Congress, Snowe, ISBN 1602862176
External links
- U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe official U.S. Senate website
- Olympia Snowe for Senate official campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Profile at SourceWatch
- U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe audio clips from the Senate Republican Conference
- "The Anguished Moderate", The Washington Post, July 15, 2007.
- Olympia Snowe Archived 2016-05-13 at the Wayback Machine Video produced by Makers: Women Who Make America