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Maria Cantwell

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Maria E. Cantwell
United States Senator
from Washington
Assumed office
January 3, 2001–
Serving with Patty Murray
Preceded bySlade Gorton
Succeeded byIncumbent (2013)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Washington's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1993– January 3, 1995
Preceded byJohn Miller
Succeeded byRick White
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseNone
Alma materMiami University

Maria E. Cantwell (born October 13, 1958) is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously she served in Washington House of Representatives and one term as member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington's 1st congressional district.

Cantwell and Michigan's Debbie Stabenow are the first women who have defeated elected incumbent senators in U.S. history.

Political views

Cantwell serves on the Finance Committee, the Indian Affairs Committee, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. She also served on the Judiciary Committee during her first two years (2001–2002).

While she scores high on a progressive chart from ProgessivePunch.org,[1] Cantwell has made several controversial votes during her time in the Senate that have created friction between her and members of the Democratic Party.

On the issue of the Iraq war, on October 11 2002 Cantwell voted in favor of the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq. Her October 10 2002, press release, however, quotes her as stating on the floor of the U.S. Senate, "... Mr. President, my vote for this resolution does not mean that I am convinced of the Administration has answered all the questions. I believe the following issues must be addressed before the U.N. or the U.S. move forward with military action." Cantwell detailed six specific areas where her questions and concerns were as yet unanswered at the time of her vote to authorize war, i.e., "First: Continued Multilateral Approach ... Second: Successful Military Strategy ... Third: A Postwar Commitment Strategy ... Fourth: Fighting the Broader War on Terrorism ... Fifth: Maintaining Middle East Stability ... Sixth: Protecting Iraqi Civilians."

In 2006 Cantwell voted against the Kerry-Feingold Amendment to S.2766 that would have set a timetable for withdrawal,[2] but in favor of the Levin-Reed Amendment[3] that would encourage beginning a phased withdrawal by the end of the year, with no timetable for completion.


On the issue of abortion, Cantwell calls herself "100% pro-choice", and she consistently supports the positions of the pro-choice movement. She was one of 34 senators to vote against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which passed and was signed into law by President Bush on November 5 2003, and has been ruled against by multiple federal courts. She also voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which made it a crime to kill or harm a fetus during a criminal assault upon the mother. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 61-38, and was signed into law by President Bush on April 1 2004.

Cantwell is the chair of the Senate Democrats 20/20 Energy Independence campaign and is a co-chair of the Apollo Alliance.[4] One of Cantwell's main accomplishments was the passage of an amendment "To prevent energy market manipulation," which passed 57-40 in the Senate; a previous effort was defeated by a vote of 50-48.[5]

In the summer of 2005, Cantwell voted for CAFTA, which angered many who opposed free trade agreements. Others argued that due to the state's unique economy, any senator from Washington almost had to vote for free trade pacts. Her votes on CAFTA, the PATRIOT Act, and Iraq prompted a 2006 Democratic primary challenge from Hong Tran, a Seattle legal aid attorney, and a third party challenge from Aaron Dixon, the former captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party.

Citing his potential views on abortion and the environment, Cantwell was one of 22 senators to vote against United States Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

In December 2005 Cantwell scored what many perceived as one of the strongest victories of her first term when she blocked Alaska senator Ted Stevens' efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Stevens attached the measure to a bill that provided money for defense spending and Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Cantwell managed to round up the votes of 41 Democrats and 2 Republicans, enough to block a final vote.[6] Stevens removed the ANWR measure from the larger bill, but promised to bring the matter up at a later date.

In January 2006, after publicly announcing her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Cantwell, along with 18 other Democrats and all 53 present Republicans, voted for the cloture motion.[7] The success of this motion ended an unlikely attempt to filibuster the confirmation of Judge Alito that was being led by Senator John Kerry and Senator Ted Kennedy.[8] Alito was confirmed the next day by a vote of 58-42, with most Democrats, including Cantwell, voting against.

In May 2006, Cantwell, along with 38 of 44 Senate Democrats, voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611).[9] The controversial bill includes provisions to improve border security, increases fines and other punishments for employers of illegal immigrants, creation of a guest worker program (which includes an almost doubling of the number of H1-B visas)[10], and creates a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country.[11] The bill, with support from GOP leadership, passed 62-36.

Environmental record

Cantwell received the highest rating possible from the League of Conservation Voters for her environmental voting record. She is known for supporting alternative energy research and for protecting Washington's forests from logging and the construction of paved roads and has earned endorsement from various prominent environmental advocacy groups.[12] and other environmental groups[13][14] She has opposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on multiple occasions, has voted to reduce oil usage by 40% by 2025, and has opposed legislation to relax or terminate CAFE standards.[15] The Seattle Times has described Cantwell's environmental record as "pristine"[16] and The Wilderness Society has described Cantwell as an "environmental champion".[17]

Committee Assignments

Currently she serving as chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard. She is also a member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Committee on Finance, Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Early life

Cantwell was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was raised in a predominantly Irish neighborhood on the south side of Indianapolis. Her father, Paul F. Cantwell,[18] served as county commissioner, city councilman, state legislator, and Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Andrew Jacobs, Jr.. Her mother, Rose M., was an administrative assistant.

After high school, Cantwell went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration. She moved to Seattle, Washington in 1983 to campaign for Alan Cranston in his unsuccessful bid for the 1984 Democratic Presidential nomination. She then moved to the Seattle suburb of Mountlake Terrace because it reminded her of Indianapolis, and led a successful campaign to build a new library there.

Maria Cantwell never married and has no children.

Early political career

In 1986, Cantwell was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives at the age of 28. In her campaign, she had knocked on every door in her district.[19] As a state representative, she helped write Washington's Growth Management Act of 1990, which required cities to develop comprehensive growth plans, and she negotiated its passage. She also worked on legislation regulating nursing homes.

File:CANTWELLMEDIA.jpg
Sen. Cantwell with a media aide prior to a press conference on the use of the nuclear option and the right to filibuster.

In 1992, Cantwell became the first Democrat elected to the United States House of Representatives from Washington's first congressional district in 40 years. During her first term, she helped convince the Clinton Administration to drop its support of the Clipper chip, she voted in support of NAFTA, and she supported President Clinton's 1993 budget. Republican Rick White used that vote to narrowly defeat her in the Republican landslide year of 1994.

In the private sector

After her defeat, Cantwell vowed to leave politics. Political ally Rob Glaser offered her a job as vice president of marketing for RealNetworks. Among her accomplishments was the live (Internet streaming) broadcast of a Mariners-Yankees baseball game in 1995. (Cantwell is an avid Mariners fan.)

In 1998, the company faced heavy criticism because privacy groups alleged that the RealJukebox software program incorporated spyware to track unsuspecting users' listening patterns and download history. In response, RealNetworks amended its privacy policy to fully disclose its privacy practices regarding user listening patterns. Subsequently, RealNetworks submitted to independent outside audits of its privacy practices. Several lawsuits regarding the alleged privacy violations were settled out of court.

Cantwell became a multimillionaire with the stock options from RealNetworks. In August of 2000, during her Senate campaign, Cantwell sold 110,000 shares of RealNetworks stock at about $44/share.

2000 campaign

At the urging of party activists and officials, Cantwell formed an exploratory committee in October 1999 to consider a run for United States Senate against Democrat Deborah Senn and incumbent Republican Slade Gorton. She committed to running on January 19, 2000.


Primary

Cantwell was behind Senn by a year in getting into the race. She quickly lost the Washington State Labor Council and NARAL endorsements to Senn. Early on, privacy became an issue. Senn cited her record protecting medical privacy as insurance commissioner. Cantwell promoted Internet privacy and cited her opposition to the Clipper Chip.

In her television advertising late in the campaign, Senn accused Cantwell of ducking debates. Cantwell had agreed to two debates; Senn preferred more. They ended up having three debates, during which the candidates harshly attacked each other. Senn attacked RealNetworks and Cantwell's role in the company. Cantwell accused Senn of wanting to run against RealNetworks and said that Senn was uninformed on Internet issues.

Cantwell secured the endorsements of The Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Spokesman-Review, and the News Tribune. She easily won her party's nomination, defeating Senn 3-to-1 in the primary. Although he won renomination, Slade Gorton got fewer votes than Cantwell and Senn's combined total. Cantwell cited this as evidence that Washington was ready for a change.

General election

Social security, prescription drugs, dams, and campaign finance reform were among the most important issues in Cantwell's race against Gorton. Cantwell also adopted the slogan, "Your voice for a change," a veiled reference to Gorton's campaign theme in 1980, challenging incumbent Warren Magnuson's age. She claimed Gorton supported "19th century solutions to 21st century problems."


Cantwell won the endorsements of The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the state's two biggest newspapers. Gorton won the Tri-City Herald and the News Tribune.

At times the campaign was accused of pettiness. After a Cantwell campaign worker deep-linked to a humorous photo on the Gorton website, Gorton accused Cantwell's campaign of hacking his website, and Senn accused Cantwell of hypocrisy because of the incident. "Fiddling with people's websites and calling it good fun ... adds a very childish and unworthy character to the race," said Senn's campaign spokeswoman Barbara Stenson.[20]

The election results were extremely close. Early on, Cantwell enjoyed a lead, and TV networks projected a Cantwell victory. As absentee ballots streamed in, Gorton overtook Cantwell and achieved a lead of 15,000 votes. When the liberal Puget Sound area finished counting ballots and the county totals were certified on November 23, Cantwell had regained the lead; she was ahead by 1,953 votes out of 2.5 million cast, about .08%. A mandatory recount increased her lead to 2,229 votes, or .09%.

In 2000, Maria Cantwell and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan became the first women to defeat incumbent senators.

Campaign Finance

Cantwell spent over $10 million of her own money on her campaign, pledging not to accept money from PACs. When RealNetworks stock declined at the end of 2000, she spent time raising funds for debt retirement, although she kept her pledge not to accept PAC money, as documented by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.[21]

In the waning weeks of the 2000 campaign, the Federal Election Commission ruled that Cantwell violated federal campaign finance law by securing $3.8 million in bank loans for her campaign and failing to properly disclose the loans until January 30 2001.[22] The Federal Election Commission sent a letter of admonishment.[23]

2006 re-election campaign

Main article: Washington United States Senate election, 2006

The close 2004 gubernatorial race between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi suggested to many that the 2006 contest might go either way.[24] Both Cantwell and her opponent Republican Mike McGavick dominated their primaries; initial speculation favored a Republican victory.[25] "At one point," wrote analyst Larry Sabato, "all the talk in this race concerned Cantwell's cool relations with anti-war Democratic elements and McGavick's relatively united base. But Democrats appear to have closed ranks behind their junior senator."[26] Cantwell ended up winning re-election by a 16 point margin, even winning several traditionally Republican counties in Eastern Washington including Spokane County.[27][28]

During the 2006 campaign, Cantwell received heavy criticism for declining most of the invitations she received to debate McGavick in public forums. Media outlets across the state, including the The Olympian and the Yakima Herald-Republic, rebuked Cantwell, claiming that she is afraid to confront McGavick, calling it "unacceptable"[29] and "simply not fair." Cantwell agreed to a total of two debates with her opponent in Seattle and Spokane, lasting 60 and 30 minutes, respectively. However, when Cantwell ran as a challenger for the Senate against the incumbent Slade Gorton in 2000, Gorton only agreed to two debates of a similar format. In another comparison, when Washington's Senior Senator Patty Murray ran for re-election in 2004, she only agreed to two debates with George Nethercutt, although both debates lasted one hour.[30]

Cantwell was a key proponent of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill of 2002 and cosponsored the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act of 2001.[31][32] In 2005 she wrote a letter in support of the Perkins Loan program[33], and told the Seattle Times in July 2006 that she is opposed to Social Security privatization[34]. Cantwell cosponsored the "Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act of 2005".[35]

Cantwell earned the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters[36] and other environmental groups[37][38] for opposing oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and by cosponsoring the Roadless Area Conservation Act, legislation aimed at preserving Washington's forests from logging and the building of paved roads. She has also worked to invest in alternative energy and to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, by sponsoring the Clean EDGE Act of 2006.[39]

Electoral history

Washington's 1st congressional district election, 1992
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Maria Cantwell 148,844 54.9
Republican Gary Nelson 113,897 42.0
Independent Patrick L. Ruckert 4,322 1.6
Natural Law Party Anne Fleming 4,211 1.6
Washington's 1st congressional district election, 1994
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Rick White 100,554 51.7
Democratic Maria Cantwell (Incumbent) 94,110 48.3 -6.6
Washington United States Senate election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Maria Cantwell 1,199,437 49.1
Republican Slade Gorton (Incumbent) 1,197,208 49.0 -3.6
Washington United States Senate election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Maria Cantwell (Incumbent) 1,184,659 56.9 +7.8
Republican Mike McGavick 832,106 39.9

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Maria Cantwell Progressive Score". ProgressivePunch.org. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  2. ^ "S.Amdt. 4442 Vote Summary". United States Senate. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "S.Amdt. 4320 Vote Summary". United States Senate. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Apollo Partners National Advisory Board". Apollo Alliance. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  5. ^ "S.Amdt. 2087 Vote Summary". United States Senate. 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Alicia Mundy (2005-12-22). "Hulk meets his match in drilling fight". Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |publsher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Charles Babington (2006-01-31). "Senate to Vote On Alito Today". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Alito filibuster is unlikely". Seattle Times. 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "S. 2611 Vote Summary". United States Senate. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "The H-1B and L-1 Visas and America's High-Tech Workforce". IEEE-USA. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  11. ^ "S.2611". Library of Congress. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "League of Conservation Voters Endorses Senator Maria Cantwell for Reelection". League of Conservation Voters. 2005-08-29. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Maria Cantwell: U.S. Senator". Cascade Sierra Club. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE ACTION FUND ENDORSES SENATOR MARIA CANTWELL IN HER 2006 RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN". Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. 2006-07-17. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  15. ^ http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Maria_Cantwell.htm
  16. ^ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002250292_sundayjoni24.html
  17. ^ http://www.wilderness.org/NewsRoom/Release/20070319.cfm
  18. ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/cantwell.htm
  19. ^ "2002 Woman of Distinction". The YWCA of Olympia.
  20. ^ Manny Frishberg (2000-06-15). "Fishy Linking Nets Campaign War". Wired News. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Cantwell, Maria (D-WA)". OpenSecrets.org. 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Feds say Cantwell violated election law". KING-TV. 2004-02-19. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "MUR 5198". Federal Election Commission. 2004-02-23. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Poll Results — WA". 2005-05-17. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "2006 Primary Election Results". Washington Secretary of State. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "September 19 Primary Updates". Center of Politics. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  27. ^ "2006 General Election Results". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
  28. ^ "U.S. Senate, Washington". CNN. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
  29. ^ "Cantwell passes up chance to debate issues in vital region". Yakima Herald-Republic. 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Neil Modie (2006-09-30). "Cantwell, McGavick quibble over debates". Seattle P-I. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "S. 27". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  32. ^ "Sen. Wellstone's Legislation Offers Alternative to Current System Through Public Financing". Clean Money Clean Elections PAC. 2004-04-05. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "July 28, 2005 Federal Perkins Loan letter" (PDF). 2005-07-28. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ "Where they stand on Social Security". Seattle Times. 2006-07-28. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ "S. 991: Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act of 2005". Govtrack.US. 2005-05-10. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ "League of Conservation Voters Endorses Senator Maria Cantwell for Reelection". League of Conservation Voters. 2005-08-29. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ "Maria Cantwell: U.S. Senator". Cascade Sierra Club. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2006-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE ACTION FUND ENDORSES SENATOR MARIA CANTWELL IN HER 2006 RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN". Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. 2006-07-17. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  39. ^ Daniel Seligman (2006-09-14). "Apollo Alliance Statement on the Clean EDGE ACT". Apollo Alliance. Retrieved 2006-11-07.

See also

External links

Political offices

Template:USRep succession box

Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from Washington
2001–Present
Served alongside: Patty Murray 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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