Barbara Mikulski

Barbara Mikulski Bio

Barbara Ann Mikulski (born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who represented Maryland in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she earlier served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987 and began her elected career on the Baltimore City Council. She was the first woman elected to the Senate from Maryland, chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee from 2012 to 2015, and at the time of her retirement ranked as the third-longest-serving female United States senator and the longest-serving senator in Maryland history.

Trained as a social worker and community organizer, Mikulski built her political career on issues including health care, education, pay equity, and federal investment in science. After leaving the Senate in 2017, she joined Johns Hopkins University as a professor of public policy and advisor to University President Ronald J. Daniels.

Early Life and Background

Barbara Ann Mikulski was born on July 20, 1936, in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore, Maryland. She is the eldest of three daughters of Christine Eleanor Kutz and William Mikulski. Her parents were both of Polish descent, and her immigrant great-grandparents had owned a bakery in Baltimore. Raised in a Polish-American and devoutly Catholic household, Mikulski attended the Institute of Notre Dame, where she worked in her parents’ grocery store and delivered groceries to elderly neighbors who could not leave their homes.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Mount Saint Agnes College, now part of Loyola University Maryland, in 1958. She went on to earn a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, in 1965. Early in her professional life, she worked as a social worker for Catholic charities and the Baltimore Department of Social Services, helping at-risk children and educating seniors about the Medicare program. During this period, she briefly considered joining the Sisters of Mercy but decided against it, later noting that the vow of obedience did not appeal to her independent spirit.

Path to US Politics

Mikulski first received national attention in 1970 with a highly publicized address on the “ethnic movement” at a conference at The Catholic University of America, convened by Monsignor Geno Baroni. Her remarks became one of the major documents of the ethnic movement and helped establish her as a voice for working-class communities. Her activism in Baltimore included leading opposition to the planned construction of Interstate 95 through the Fells Point and Canton neighborhoods, an effort that succeeded and led to the creation of the Southeast Community Organization.

In 1971, Mikulski was elected to the Baltimore City Council, where she served until 1976. In 1973, incoming Democratic National Committee Chair Robert S. Strauss appointed her to chair the Democratic Party Commission on New Delegate Selection and Party Structure, where she helped solidify democratizing reforms to the national delegate selection process. In 1974, she won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate but lost the general election to Republican incumbent Charles Mathias, the only election she ever lost. She returned to the ballot two years later and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Barbara Mikulski Career

Early Career (1971–1976)

Mikulski began her elected career on the Baltimore City Council in 1971, the same year she helped found the Southeast Community Organization. Her work on housing, transportation, and neighborhood preservation earned her a reputation as a tough and effective local advocate. She became known for her plain-spoken style and her ability to bring together coalitions across ethnic and racial lines.

Her 1974 Senate campaign against Charles Mathias brought her statewide visibility. Although she lost the general election by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin, she remained popular in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and the campaign positioned her for a successful run for federal office two years later.

Breakthrough (1976–1986)

In 1976, Mikulski won a crowded seven-way Democratic primary for Maryland’s 3rd congressional district after Paul Sarbanes gave up the seat to run for the Senate. She won the November election easily and went on to be reelected four more times in the heavily Democratic district, never facing substantial opposition. Her decade in the House allowed her to build a record on health, education, and labor issues that would define her Senate career.

When Charles Mathias announced his retirement in 1986, Mikulski entered the race for his Senate seat. The general election against Republican Linda Chavez, a former Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, became only the second time in modern U.S. history that two women faced each other in a statewide general election. Mikulski won with 61 percent of the vote, becoming the first woman elected to the United States Senate from Maryland.

Democratic Party Era (1987–2017)

During her five terms in the Senate, Mikulski served on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. From the death of Senator Daniel Inouye in December 2012 until 2015, she chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, becoming the first woman and the first Marylander to hold the position. At the time of her retirement, she was the ranking minority member of the committee.

She was reelected with large majorities in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010. After her 2010 victory, she surpassed Margaret Chase Smith as the longest-serving female senator, a milestone recognized by ABC News. On March 17, 2012, she became the longest-serving female member of Congress in U.S. history, surpassing Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts. She also gained attention in 1993 when, along with Senator Carol Moseley Braun, she wore pants on the Senate floor in defiance of the chamber’s dress code, helping to bring about a formal change in the rule.

On March 2, 2015, Mikulski announced that she would not seek reelection in 2016 and would retire after five terms. In January 2017, she joined Johns Hopkins University as a professor of public policy and advisor to University President Ronald J. Daniels.

Notable Events and Milestones

Mikulski’s signature legislative efforts included the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013 and the Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced in 2014 to strengthen protections against gender-based pay discrimination. She was also a vocal advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment and a long-time champion of federal investment in space science, including the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. In 2016, she nominated Hillary Clinton for President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention.

Barbara Mikulski Career Wins

Barbara Ann Mikulski compiled a lengthy record of election victories at the local, congressional, and Senate levels over four decades, becoming one of the most successful Democratic politicians in Maryland history.

Senate Election Highlights

Mikulski won five Senate elections, beginning with her 1986 victory over Republican Linda Chavez, in which she became the first woman elected to the United States Senate from Maryland. She was reelected in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010, often with wide margins. Her 2010 win pushed her past Margaret Chase Smith as the longest-serving female senator, and her 2012 tenure total made her the longest-serving female member of Congress in U.S. history.

Other Wins and Achievements

Beyond the Senate, Mikulski won election to the Baltimore City Council in 1971 and to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, where she was reelected four times. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in November 2015. In 2013, she was honored with a Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the President of Poland for her contributions to Polish-American relations.

Barbara Mikulski Family

Family Background and Heritage

Barbara Ann Mikulski is the eldest of three daughters of Christine Eleanor Kutz and William Mikulski. Her parents were both of Polish descent, and her immigrant great-grandparents had owned a bakery in Baltimore. Raised in a Polish-American and devoutly Catholic family, she grew up in the Highlandtown neighborhood of East Baltimore and worked in her parents’ grocery store during her high school years.

Personal Life

Mikulski has never married and has no children. She stands 4 feet 11 inches tall and often joked, “I may be short, but I won’t be overlooked.” A practicing Roman Catholic, she lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and remains active in public policy through her work at Johns Hopkins University.