An analysis of multiple outside rankings, Senator Tammy Baldwin ranks as one of the most reliable Democratic votes, meaning she can be considered a safe vote for the Democratic Party in Congress.
HER BACKGROUND
Now Wisconsin’s junior senator, Baldwin was born in Madison in 1962. Her mother was 19, going through a divorce, and Baldwin was raised by her grandparents. Her mother also became addicted to opioids after being prescribed narcotics to treat chronic pain. “I think she felt a sense of stigma in terms of why wasn’t she able to raise her own daughter,” Baldwin said.
At Smith College, Baldwin majored in political science and mathematics, and earned a J.D. from University of Wisconsin Law School. She was a lawyer in private practice until 1993 when she served as a Wisconsin State legislator. Baldwin spent seven terms in the U.S, Congress (1999-2013), the first woman in history to represent Wisconsin in the House. In 2012, she was elected to the Senate.
Baldwin is the first openly LGBT woman elected to the House and to the Senate. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; her own Senate website describes her as “committed to working across party lines.”
In the Senate, she is on the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Fun fact: Actor and comedian Andy Samberg is Tammy Baldwin’s third cousin.
ON THE ISSUES
- Baldwin supports Medicare for All and LGBTQ rights.
- She supports commonsense gun safety legislation.
- She supports a woman’s right to choose and received a 100% score from Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
- She has fought against dark money and unlimited corporate donations in elections.
- The student debt crisis and college affordability are top priorities for her.
