Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin Bio
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first openly LGBTQ person and first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin. Baldwin previously served seven terms in the U.S. House (1999-2013) representing Wisconsin’s 2nd district and three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1993-1999). A Smith College and University of Wisconsin Law School graduate, she served on local government in Dane County before elected office. Baldwin has championed progressive positions on health care, LGBT rights, and reproductive rights and serves as secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
Early Life and Background
Baldwin was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. Her mother, who died in 2017, was 19 and going through a divorce when Baldwin was born. Baldwin was raised by her grandparents and spent Saturdays with her mother, who suffered from mental illness and opioid addiction. Her maternal grandfather, biochemist David E. Green, was Jewish (the son of immigrants from Russia and Germany), and her maternal grandmother, who was Anglican, was English-born. Baldwin’s aunt is biochemist Rowena Green Matthews. Through her maternal grandfather, Baldwin is a third cousin of comedian Andy Samberg.
Path to US Politics
Baldwin graduated from Madison West High School in 1980 as the class valedictorian. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1989. Before entering state politics, Baldwin first held political office at age 24 when she was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 1986. She served on the board until 1994. She also served one year on the Madison Common Council to fill a vacancy. Baldwin has worked as an attorney in private practice.
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin Career
Early Career (1993-2013)
Baldwin ran to represent Wisconsin’s 78th Assembly district in central Madison in 1992. She won the Democratic primary with 43% of the vote. In the general election, Baldwin defeated Labor and Farm Party nominee Mary Kay Baum and Republican nominee Patricia Hevenor, 59-23-17%. She was one of just six openly gay political candidates nationwide to win a general election that year. Baldwin was reelected with 76% of the vote in 1994 and was reelected to a third term with 71% of the vote in 1996. In 1998, U.S. Congressman Scott Klug of the 2nd district, based in Madison, announced he would retire, prompting Baldwin to run for the seat. Baldwin’s ads leaned into the fact that Wisconsin had never sent a woman to Congress, and many of her ads targeted younger voters. She won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 37% of the vote. In the general election, she defeated Republican nominee Josephine Musser, 53-47%. Baldwin’s campaign drew strong turnout in Dane County, using a team of volunteers, many of whom were students. The turnout was said to have helped Russ Feingold’s reelection campaign that year, and was acknowledged by Feingold as a factor.
Senate Breakthrough (2013-Present)
Baldwin ran as the Democratic nominee against Republican nominee Tommy Thompson, who had formerly been governor and Secretary of Health and Human Services. She announced her candidacy on September 6, 2011, in a video emailed to supporters. She ran uncontested in the primary election, and spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention about tax policy, campaign finance reform, and equality in the United States. She was endorsed by Democracy for America, and she received campaign funding from EMILY’s List, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, and LPAC. Baldwin was endorsed by the editorial board of The Capital Times, who wrote that “Baldwin’s fresh ideas on issues ranging from job creation to health care reform, along with her proven record of working across lines of partisanship and ideology, and her grace under pressure mark her as precisely the right choice to replace retiring U.S. Senator Herb Kohl”. Thompson said during the campaign that Baldwin’s “far-left approach leaves this country in jeopardy”. The candidates had three debates, on September 28, October 18, and October 26. According to Baldwin’s Federal Election Commission filings, she raised about $12 million, over $5 million more than Thompson.
Notable Events and Milestones
In November 2012, Baldwin became the first openly gay candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate, with 51.4% of the vote. Because of her 14 years in the House of Representatives, under Senate rules she had the highest seniority in her entering class of senators. She was succeeded in Congress by State Representative Mark Pocan, who had earlier succeeded her in the state legislature. Baldwin won a second term in 2018 with 55.4% of the vote, defeating Republican Leah Vukmir by a margin of approximately 11%. In April 2023, Baldwin announced her intention to run for a third Senate term. She narrowly defeated Republican nominee Eric Hovde even as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump won Wisconsin.
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin Career Wins
Baldwin has achieved significant milestones throughout her political career, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person and first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin. Her victories span across multiple levels of government, from the Wisconsin State Assembly to the U.S. Senate, demonstrating her consistent electoral success and strong support from Wisconsin voters.
Senate and Congressional Highlights
Baldwin is the first openly lesbian woman elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly (1993), the first openly lesbian woman and first woman elected to the U.S. House from Wisconsin (1998), and the first openly LGBTQ person and first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin (2012). She was reelected to the Senate in 2018 and 2024, demonstrating strong voter support throughout her career. Baldwin has been the dean of the United States congressional delegation from Wisconsin since 2023, when Representative Ron Kind retired. She has also served as secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017.
Policy Achievements
Throughout her career, Baldwin has championed progressive positions and achieved significant policy victories. As a senator, she has focused on healthcare, LGBT rights, and reproductive rights. Baldwin is credited with writing the ACA provision that allows Americans to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26. She has been a vocal advocate for single-payer health care and introduced the Health Security for All Americans Act multiple times. In 2022, she voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a gun reform bill introduced after a deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In 2022, Baldwin also voted with Democrats to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped the cost of insulin for seniors on Medicare at $35 a month and allowed Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Baldwin was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, in a family with diverse heritage. Her maternal grandfather, biochemist David E. Green, was Jewish (the son of immigrants from Russia and Germany), and her maternal grandmother, who was Anglican, was English-born. Baldwin’s aunt is biochemist Rowena Green Matthews. Through her maternal grandfather, Baldwin is a third cousin of comedian Andy Samberg.
Personal Life
Baldwin was in a relationship with Lauren Azar for 15 years; the couple registered as domestic partners in 2009. They separated in 2010. Baldwin was baptized Episcopalian but considers herself “unaffiliated” with a religion. In 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named Baldwin one of 50 heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.