Mark R. Warner
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Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. He is vice chair of the
Senate Democratic Caucus The Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate, sometimes referred to as the Democratic Conference, is the formal organization of all senators who are part of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. For the makeup of the 119th Co ...
and vice chair of the
Senate Intelligence Committee The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Committee or SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of ...
. In 2006, Warner was widely expected to pursue the Democratic nomination in the
2008 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...
, but he announced in October 2006 that he would not run, citing a desire not to disrupt his family life. Warner delivered the
keynote A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...
address at the
2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform an ...
, and was considered to be a potential vice presidential candidate until he took himself out of consideration after winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. Warner was elected to the Senate in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
and reelected in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
and
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
. He became Virginia's senior senator in 2013, when Senator
Jim Webb James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...
retired. He is the honorary chairman of Forward Together PAC. Before entering politics, Warner became involved in telecommunications-related
venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
during the 1980s. He founded and led the Columbia Capital firm. He also co-founded Capital Cellular Corporation. With a
net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...
of $214.1 million, Warner is the third-wealthiest member of Congress and its wealthiest Democrat.


Early life and education

Warner was born in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, Indiana, the son of Marjorie (née Johnston) and Robert F. Warner. He has a younger sister, Lisa. He grew up in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and later in
Vernon, Connecticut Vernon ( ) is the most populous New England town, town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 30,215 at the 2020 United States census ...
, where he graduated from Rockville High School, a public secondary school. He has credited his interest in politics to his eighth grade social studies teacher, Jim Tyler, who "inspired him to work for social and political change during the tumultuous year of 1968." He was
class president A class president, also known as a class representative, is usually the leader of a student body class, and presides over its class cabinet or organization within a student council. In a grade school, class presidents are generally elected by ...
at Rockville High School and hosted a weekly pick-up basketball game at his house, "a tradition that continues today." Warner graduated from
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
(GWU), earning his bachelor's degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
in 1977. He was inducted into
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
and graduated
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
, with a 4.0 grade point average. Warner was the first in his family to graduate from college. GWU later initiated him into
Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...
, the National Leadership Honor Society, as an alumni member in 1995. While at GWU, he worked on
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
to pay for his tuition, riding his bike early mornings to the office of U.S. Senator
Abraham Ribicoff Abraham Alexander Ribicoff (April 9, 1910 – February 22, 1998) was an American politician from the state of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives and Senate ...
. His sophomore year, Warner took time off from school to serve as the youth coordinator on
Ella Grasso Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso (née Tambussi; May 10, 1919 – February 5, 1981) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after r ...
's successful gubernatorial bid in Connecticut. Upon returning to Washington, Warner took a part-time job in the office of then-Representative
Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...
. He went on to serve as Dodd's senatorial campaign manager during his freshman year of law school. When his parents visited him at college, he got two tickets for them to tour the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
; when his father asked him why he didn't get a ticket for himself, he replied, "I'll see the White House when I'm president." Warner then graduated from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
with a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
in 1980 and coached the law school's first intramural
women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...
team. Warner then took a job raising money for the Democratic Party based in Atlanta from 1980 to 1982. Warner has never practiced law.


Early career

Warner founded two ultimately unsuccessful businesses before becoming a general contractor for cellular businesses and investors. As founder and managing director of Columbia Capital, a
venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
firm, he helped found or was an early investor in a number of technology companies, including
Nextel Nextel Communications, Inc. was an American wireless service operator that merged with and ceased to exist as a subsidiary of Sprint Corporation, which would later be bought by T-Mobile US and folded into that company. Nextel in Brazil, and form ...
. He co-founded Capital Cellular Corporation in 1989, using his knowledge of federal telecommunications law to trade pieces of cellular spectrum, and built up an estimated net worth of more than $215 million. , he is the second wealthiest U.S. senator.


State activism

Warner involved himself in public efforts related to health care, transportation, telecommunications, information technology and education. He managed
Douglas Wilder Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction ...
's successful 1989 gubernatorial campaign and served as chairman of the state Democratic Party from 1993 to 1995. Warner also served, in the early 1990s, on the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board and sat in on monthly committee meetings of the Rail and Public Transportation Division (headed by Robert G. Corder).


1996 U.S. Senate election

He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996 against incumbent Republican
John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...
(no relation) in a "Warner versus Warner" election. Mark Warner performed strongly in the state's rural areas, making the contest much closer than many pundits expected.Biodata Document Number: K1650003526
Resource Center Online. Gale, 2003; reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008; retrieved September 25, 2008.
He lost to the incumbent, 52%-47%, losing most parts of the state including the north.


Governor of Virginia


Elections


2001

In 2001, Warner campaigned for governor as a moderate Democrat after years of slowly building up a power base in rural Virginia, particularly
Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...
. His opponents were Republican
Mark Earley Mark Lawrence Earley (born July 26, 1954) is an American attorney and former politician. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was elected to the Virginia State Senate (1988–1998), and then elected Attorney General of Virginia (1998 ...
, the state's attorney general, and the
Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
candidate William B. Redpath. Warner won with 52.16 percent of the votes, 96,943 votes ahead of the next opponent. Warner had a significant funding advantage, spending $20 million compared with Earley's $10 million.


Tenure

After he was elected in 2002, Warner drew upon a $900 million "rainy day fund" left by his predecessor,
Jim Gilmore James Stuart Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat and former attorney who served as the 68th governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002. A member of the Republican Party, Gilmore also chaired the Republican Nation ...
. Warner campaigned in favor of two regional sales tax increases, especially in
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
and
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...
, to fund transportation. Virginians rejected both regional referendums to raise the
sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
. In 2004, Warner worked with Democratic and moderate Republican legislators and the business community to reform the
tax code Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...
, lowering food and some income taxes while increasing the sales and cigarette taxes. His tax package effected a net tax increase of approximately $1.5 billion annually. Warner credited the additional revenues with saving the state's AAA
bond rating In investment, the bond credit rating represents the credit worthiness of corporate or government bond (finance), bonds. The ratings are published by Credit rating agency, credit rating agencies and used by investment professionals to assess the li ...
, held at the time by only five other states, and allowing the single largest investment in K-12 education in Virginia history. Warner also entered into an agreement with Democrats and moderate Republicans in the Virginia Senate to cap state car tax reimbursements to local governments. During his tenure as governor, Warner influenced the world of college athletics. "Warner used his power as Virginia's governor in 2003 to pressure the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
into revoking an invitation it had already extended to
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
. Warner wanted the conference, which already included the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
, to add
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
instead — and he got his way." Warner's popularity may have helped Democrats gain seats in the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
in 2003 and again in 2005, reducing the majorities built up by Republicans in the 1990s. Warner chaired the
National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...
in 2004-2005 and led a national high school reform movement. He chaired the
Southern Governors' Association The Southern Governors' Association (SGA), formerly the Southern Governors Conference, was a United States association of governors founded in 1934 and dissolved in 2016. It was the oldest and historically the largest of the regional governors asso ...
and was a member of the
Democratic Governors Association The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.–based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial List of current United States governors, governors affiliated with the Democratic Party (United St ...
. In January 2005, a two-year study, the Government Performance Project, in conjunction with ''Governing'' magazine and the Pew Charitable Trust graded each state in four management categories: money, people, infrastructure and information. Virginia and
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
received the highest ratings average with both states receiving an A− rating overall, prompting Warner to dub Virginia "the best managed state in the nation." The
Virginia Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme ...
forbids any governor from serving consecutive terms, so Warner could not run for reelection in 2005. The
2005 Virginia gubernatorial election The 2005 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2005, to elect the Governor of Virginia. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, the son-in-law to Linwood Holton, won the elec ...
became a contest between two other statewide figures who had served alongside Warner,
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
and former Richmond Mayor
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...
, and
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
and former
Virginia Secretary of Public Safety The secretary of public safety and homeland security is a Virginia government executive that serves as a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. Duties # Work with and through others, including federal, state, and local officials as well as th ...
Jerry Kilgore. Warner supported and campaigned for Kaine, a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
, against Kilgore, a Republican. On November 8, Kaine was elected governor with 52% of the vote. Kilgore received 46%, and
Russ Potts Harry Russell Potts Jr. (March 4, 1939 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman, journalist, and politician who served as a Republican state senator in Virginia, representing the 27th district from 1992 to 2008. An independent candi ...
, a moderate Republican state senator who ran as an independent, 2%. Many national
pundits A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...
considered Kaine's victory further evidence of Warner's political clout in Virginia. On November 29, 2005, Warner commuted the
death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
of
Robin Lovitt Robin McKennel Lovitt (born November 6, 1963) is a convicted murderer in the U.S. state of Virginia. He was sentenced to death, after being convicted of the November 18, 1998, stabbing murder of Clayton Dicks in Arlington County, Virginia. Lovitt ...
to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
without the possibility of parole. Lovitt was convicted of murdering Clayton Dicks at an
Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...
pool hall in 1999. After his trial in 2001, Lovitt's lawyers stated that a court clerk illegally destroyed
evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
that was used against Lovitt during his trial, but that could have possibly exonerated him upon further
DNA testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
. Lovitt's death sentence would have been the 1,000th carried out in the United States since the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
reinstated capital punishment as permissible under the Eighth Amendment to the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
in 1976. In a statement, Warner said, "The actions of an agent of the commonwealth, in a manner contrary to the express direction of the law, comes at the expense of a defendant facing society's most severe and final sanction." Warner denied
clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
in 11 other death penalty cases that came before him as governor. Warner also arranged for DNA tests of evidence left from the case of Roger Keith Coleman, who was put to death by the state in 1992. Coleman was convicted in the 1981 rape and stabbing death of his 19-year-old sister-in-law, Wanda McCoy. Coleman drew national attention, even making the cover of ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
,'' by repeatedly claiming innocence and protesting the unfairness of the death penalty. DNA results announced on January 12, 2006, confirmed Coleman's guilt. In July 2005, his approval ratings were at 74% and in some polls reached 80%. Warner left office with a 71% approval rating in one poll.


U.S. Senate


Elections


2008

Warner was believed to be preparing to run for the Democratic nomination for president in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, and had "done everything but announce his candidacy" before suddenly announcing in October 2006 he would not run for president, citing family reasons. On September 13, 2007, he announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring John Warner (no relation) in 2008. Warner immediately gained the endorsement of most national Democrats. He held a wide lead over his Republican opponent, fellow former Virginia governor
Jim Gilmore James Stuart Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat and former attorney who served as the 68th governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002. A member of the Republican Party, Gilmore also chaired the Republican Nation ...
(and Warner's predecessor), for virtually the entire campaign. Warner delivered the keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. In a Washington Post/ABC News Poll dated September 24, 2008, Warner held a 30-point lead over Gilmore. In the November election, Warner defeated Gilmore with 65% of the vote to Gilmore's 34%. He carried all but four counties in the state— Rockingham, Augusta,
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
and
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. In many cases, he ran up huge margins in areas of the state that had traditionally voted Republican. This was the most lopsided margin for a contested Senate race in Virginia since
Chuck Robb Charles Spittal Robb (born June 26, 1939) is an American former U.S. Marine Corps officer and politician who served as the 64th governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 and a United States senator representing Virginia from 1989 until 2001. A me ...
took 72% of the vote in 1988. As a result of Warner's victory, Virginia had two Democratic U.S. senators for the first time since Harry Byrd, Jr. left the Democrats to become an independent (while still caucusing with the Democrats) in 1970.


2014

In 2014, Warner faced
Ed Gillespie Edward Walter Gillespie (born August 1, 1961) is an American politician, strategist, and lobbyist who served as the 61st Chair of the Republican National Committee from 2003 to 2005 and was counselor to the President from 2007 to 2009 during th ...
, who had previously served as
Counselor to the President Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office. The current officeholders are Alina Habba and Peter Navarro. The position should no ...
under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and chairman of the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
. Warner's margin of victory—only 17,000 votes—was much narrower than expected.


2020

In 2020, Warner defeated Republican nominee Daniel Gade, a college professor and U.S. Army veteran, with 56% of the vote to Gade's 44%.


Tenure

Upon arriving in the U.S. Senate in 2009, Warner was appointed to the Senate's Banking, Budget, and Commerce committees. Warner was later named to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2011. In 2009, Warner voted for the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the G ...
, the stimulus bill. As a member of the Budget Committee, he submitted an amendment designed to help the government track how the stimulus dollars were being spent. In 2010, Warner, Senator
Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...
, and Representatives
Tom Petri Thomas Evert Petri (born May 28, 1940) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1979 to 2015; he is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Early lif ...
and David Price requested that the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
form
The Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences The Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences was convened in 2010 by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at the request of Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) and Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Representatives Tom Petri (R-Wisconsin) ...
. When offered the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in preparation for the 2012 election cycle, Warner declined because he wanted to keep a distance from the partisanship of the role. In the fall of 2012, supporters approached Warner about possibly leaving the Senate to seek a second term as Virginia's governor. After considering the prospect, Warner announced shortly after the November 2012 elections that he had chosen to remain in the Senate because he was "all in" on finding a bipartisan solution to the country's fiscal challenges. Warner became the senior senator on January 3, 2013, when Jim Webb left the Senate and was replaced by Tim Kaine, who was lieutenant governor while Warner was governor. In October 2014, Warner was implicated in a federal investigation of the 2014 resignation of Virginia State Senator
Phillip Puckett Phillip P. Puckett (born August 10, 1947 in Russell County, Virginia) is an American politician. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1998 and resigned on June 9, 2014. He represented the Virg ...
. He was alleged to have "discussed the possibility of several jobs, including a federal judgeship, for the senator's daughter in an effort to dissuade him from quitting the evenly divided state Senate." A Warner spokesman acknowledged that the conversation occurred, but said Warner made no "explicit" job offer and that he and Puckett were simply "brainstorming". In January 2015, the
Republican Party of Virginia The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) is the Virginia chapter of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. It is based at the Richard D. Obenshain Center in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond. As of May 2024, it controls all three statew ...
filed a formal complaint against Warner with the
United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a Select or special committee (United States Congress), select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to ...
, alleging that Warner's interactions with Puckett violated the
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 () is a law of the United States federal government that amended parts of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. It strengthens public disclosure requirements concerning lobbying activity an ...
. Warner has been identified as a
radical centrist Radical centrism, also called the radical center, the radical centre, and the radical middle, is a concept that arose in Western nations in the late 20th century. The '' radical'' in the term refers to a willingness on the part of most radical ...
, working to foster compromise in the Senate. He was ranked the 10th most bipartisan member of the U.S. Senate during the
114th United States Congress The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from Ja ...
in the Bipartisan Index, created by The Lugar Center and the
McCourt School of Public Policy Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy is located in Washington, D.C. The McCourt School offers one undergraduate degree, five master's degree programs, nine dual degrees, global learning opportunities in a range of destinations ...
to assess congressional bipartisanship. According to the same methodology, Warner was the second most bipartisan Democrat in the
115th United States Congress The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...
.


Campaign contributions

From 2008 to 2014, Warner's top ten campaign contributors included
JP Morgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the United States, and the world's largest bank by mark ...
, the
Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...
, and Columbia Capital. BlackRock had never contributed until Warner bought shares in the BlackRock Equity Dividend Fund in 2011.


119th United States Congress The 119th United States Congress is the current term of the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened on ...
Committee assignments

Source: * Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs ** Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection ** Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment (Ranking Member) **
Subcommittee on Digital Assets A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
* Committee on the Budget * Committee on Finance * Committee on Rules and Administration * Select Committee on Intelligence (Vice Chairman) *
Joint Committee on the Library The Joint Committee on the Library is a Joint Committee of the United States Congress devoted to the affairs and administration of the Library of Congress, which is the library of the federal legislature. There are five members of each house on th ...


Political positions


Abortion

Warner is pro-choice and supports ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
''.


Health care

On a video in his senate office, Warner promised Virginians, "I would not vote for a health-care plan that doesn't let you keep health insurance you like." He voted for the 2010
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
(ACA), commonly called Obamacare, helping the Senate reach the required sixty votes to prevent it from going to a
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
. He and 11 Senate freshmen discussed adding an amendment package aimed at addressing health care costs by expanding health IT and wellness prevention. In January 2019, Warner was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019, a bill that would amend the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of Visual perception, sight ...
to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis. It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care. In September 2019, amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown, Warner was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating for the passage of legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as "families in Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Colorado, North Dakota and New Mexico" would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month.


Finance

From the start of his Senate term, Warner attempted to replicate in Washington, D.C. the bipartisan partnerships that he used effectively during his tenure as Virginia governor. In 2010, Warner worked with a Republican colleague on the Banking Committee,
Bob Corker Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Rela ...
, to write a key portion of the Dodd-Frank Act that seeks to end taxpayer bailouts of failing Wall Street financial firms by requiring "advance funeral plans" for large financial firms. In 2013, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress gave Warner and Corker its Publius Award for their bipartisan work on financial reform legislation. In 2018, Warner became one of the few Democrats in the Senate supporting a bill that would relax "key banking regulations". As part of at least 11 other Democrats, Warner argued that the bill would "right-size post-crisis rules imposed on small and regional lenders and help make it easier for them to provide credit".
Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...
and
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...
have stated their opposition to the legislation.


Campaign finance

In June 2019, Warner and
Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...
introduced the Preventing Adversaries Internationally from Disbursing Advertising Dollars (PAID AD) Act, a bill that would modify U.S. federal campaign finance laws to outlaw the purchasing of ads that name a political candidate and appear on platforms by foreign nationals in the midst of an election year.


Foreign affairs and national security


Saudi Arabia and Yemen

Warner was the original Democratic sponsor of the Startup Act legislation and has partnered with the bill's original author,
Jerry Moran Gerald Wesley Moran ( ; born May 29, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Kansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was chair of the National Republican Senato ...
, to introduce three iterations of the bill: Startup Act in 2011, Startup Act 2.0 in 2012 and
Startup Act 3.0 Startup Act 3.0 () was legislation considered in the 113th Congress intended to encourage the growth and viability of startup companies in the United States through a series of changes to American tax, immigration, and regulatory policies. It is th ...
in early 2013. Warner has called the legislation the "logical next step" after enactment of the
JOBS Act The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, is a law intended to encourage funding of small businesses in the United States by easing many of the country's securities regulations. It passed with bipartisan support, and was signed int ...
. In 2015, Warner criticized the
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...
, saying: "I'm concerned in particular with some of the indiscriminate bombing in Yemen ... ulf statesneed to step up and they need to step up with more focus than the kind of indiscriminate bombing." In June 2017, Warner voted to support Trump's $350 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia.


Israel and Palestine

In September 2016, in advance of UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s in the occupied
Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...
, Warner signed an
AIPAC The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...
-sponsored letter urging President Obama to veto "one-sided" resolutions against Israel. In December 2017, Warner criticized Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying that it "comes at the wrong time and unnecessarily inflames the region."


Sanctions on Iran, Russia, and North Korea

In July 2017, Warner voted for the
Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill was passed by the Senate on July 27, 2017, 98–2, after it passed the House 41 ...
, which grouped together sanctions against
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, Russia and
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
.


Central America

In April 2019, Warner was one of 34 senators to sign a letter to Trump encouraging him "to listen to members of your own Administration and reverse a decision that will damage our national security and aggravate conditions inside Central America", asserting that Trump had "consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance" since becoming president and that he was "personally undermining efforts to promote U.S. national security and economic prosperity" by preventing the use of Fiscal Year 2018 national security funding. The senators argued that foreign assistance to Central American countries created less migration to the U.S., citing the funding's helping to improve conditions in those countries.


Intelligence and counter-intelligence

In May 2018, Warner voted for
Gina Haspel Gina Cheri Walker Haspel (born October 1, 1956) is an American intelligence officer who was the seventh director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from May 21, 2018, to January 20, 2021. She was the agency's deputy director from 2017 to 2 ...
to be the next CIA director. In 2016, American foreign policy scholar Stefan Halper served as an FBI operative and contacted members of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. In May 2018, Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned Republican lawmakers that it would be "potentially illegal" to reveal Halper's identity. Warner welcomed the arrest of WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
, who exposed American war crimes in Iraq and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, saying that Assange is "a dedicated accomplice in efforts to undermine American security." On May 13, 2020, Warner and
Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III ( ; born August 24, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia from 2010 to 2025. He was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until he registered as ...
were the two Democratic senators to vote against the Lee-Leahy FISA amendment, which strengthened oversight of counterintelligence.


Telecommunications and infrastructure security

In December 2018, Warner called Chinese telecommunications giant
Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...
a threat to U.S. national security. In February 2019, Warner was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to Energy Secretary
Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...
and Homeland Security Secretary
Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, principal White House deputy chief of staff ...
urging them "to work with all federal, state and local regulators, as well as the hundreds of independent power producers and electricity distributors nation-wide to ensure our systems are protected" and affirming that they were "ready and willing to provide any assistance you need to secure our critical electricity infrastructure." In July 2019, Warner was a cosponsor of the Defending America's 5G Future Act, a bill that would prevent Huawei from being removed from the Commerce Department's "entity list" without an act of Congress and authorize Congress to block administration waivers for U.S. companies to do business with Huawei. The bill would also codify Trump's executive order from the previous May that empowered his administration to block foreign tech companies deemed a national security threat from conducting business in the U.S. In March 2023, Warner and
John Thune John Randolph Thune ( ; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005. A Republican, Thune has been the Senate majority leader and Senate Republica ...
led a bipartisan group of 12 senators to introduce the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, legislation to comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries by better empowering the Department of Commerce to review, prevent, and mitigate information communications and technology transactions that pose undue risk to our national security by giving the federal government more control over them. A provision in the legislation could also impose a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a $1 million fine for accessing "banned apps" with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Warner's dedication to the telecommunications industry was recognized in 2013 as he was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame. In January 2025, Warner co-sponsored the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which was introduced by Senators
Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel Schatz ( ; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member ...
,
Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from the state of Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the U ...
,
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
, and
Katie Britt Katie Elizabeth Boyd Britt (née Boyd; born February 2, 1982) is an American politician and attorney serving since 2023 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Alabama. A member of the ...
. Senators
Ted Budd Theodore Paul Budd (born October 21, 1971) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator for North Carolina since 2023. A member of the Republica ...
,
Peter Welch Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2023 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party (Unit ...
,
John Curtis John Ream Curtis (born May 10, 1960) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Utah. A member of the Republican Party, Curtis served from 2017 to 2025 as the U.S. representative for Utah's 3rd congre ...
,
Angus King Angus Stanley King Jr. (born March 31, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician who has served since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Maine. A Independent politician, political independent, h ...
, and
John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman ( ; born August 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2019 as the mayor o ...
also co-sponsored the Act, which would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media platforms and prevent social media companies from feeding "algorithmically targeted" content to users under 17.


Defense

In 2011, Warner voted for the four-year extension of the USA PATRIOT Act. Also in 2011, he engaged Northern Virginia's high-tech community in a ''pro bono'' effort to correct burial mistakes and other U.S. Army management deficiencies at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...
. In 2012, he successfully pushed the Navy to improve the substandard military housing in Hampton Roads. Also in 2012, Warner pushed the Office of Personnel Management to address chronic backlogs in processing retirement benefits for federal workers, many of whom live in Washington's northern Virginia suburbs. He succeeded in pushing the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand access to
PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...
treatment for female military veterans returning from service in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. In August 2013, Warner was one of 23 Democratic senators to sign a letter to the Defense Department warning that some payday lenders offer "predatory loan products to service members at exorbitant triple digit effective interest rates and loan products that do not include the additional protections envisioned by the law" and asserting that service members and their families "deserve the strongest possible protections and swift action to ensure that all forms of credit offered to members of our armed forces are safe and sound." U.S. Secretary of the Navy
Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previo ...
awarded Warner the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Navy's highest honor for a civilian, for his consistent support of Virginia's military families and veterans.


Economy

Between 2010 and 2013, Warner invested considerable time and effort in leading the Senate's Gang of Six, along with
Saxby Chambliss Clarence Saxby Chambliss (; born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party (Unite ...
. Chambliss and Warner sought to craft a bipartisan plan along the lines of the
Simpson-Bowles Commission The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Simpson–Bowles or Bowles–Simpson from the names of co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles; or NCFRR) was a bipartisan Presidential Commission on deficit reductio ...
to address U.S. deficits and debt. Although the Gang of Six ultimately failed to produce a legislative "grand bargain", they did agree on the broad outlines of a plan that included spending cuts, tax reforms that produced more revenue, and reforms to entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security—entitlement reforms that are opposed by most Democrats. Although President Obama showed interest in the plan, leaders in Congress from both parties kept a deal from being made. In 2011, the bipartisan Concord Coalition awarded Warner and Chambliss its Economic Patriots Award for their work with the Gang of Six.


Gun laws

On April 17, 2013, Warner voted to expand background checks for gun purchases as part of the Manchin-Toomey Amendment. He also voted against the 2013 Assault Weapons Ban, but changed his position in a 2018 op-ed and has co-sponsored similar efforts since then. In 2017, Warner called himself a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and vowed to advocate for responsible gun ownership for hunting, recreation, and self-defense. In January 2019, Warner was one of 40 senators to introduce the Background Check Expansion Act, a bill that would require background checks for either the sale or transfer of all firearms including all unlicensed sellers. Exceptions to the bill's background check requirement included transfers between members of law enforcement, loans for hunting or sporting events on a temporary basis, gifts to members of one's immediate family, transfers as part of an inheritance, and giving a firearm to another person temporarily for immediate self-defense.


Immigration

In 2025, Warner was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the
Laken Riley Act The Laken Riley Act is a United States law that requires the detention, without Bail, bond, of Illegal immigration to the United States, illegal immigrants admitting to, charged with, or convicted of theft-related crimes, assaulting a police of ...
.


LGBT issues

Warner supports
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
, announcing his support in a statement on his Facebook page in March 2013. His announcement came shortly after Senator
Claire McCaskill Claire Conner McCaskill (; born July 24, 1953) is an American former politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019 and as State Auditor of Missouri, state auditor of Missouri from 1999 to ...
announced her support for it. In July 2015, Warner and Tim Kaine cosponsored the Equality Act along with 38 other senators and 158 members of the House of Representatives, with Kaine saying, "it's critical that we prohibit discrimination in housing, education and the workplace."


Minimum wage

In April 2014, the Senate debated the Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress). The bill would amend the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and " time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppre ...
(FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over two years. The bill was strongly supported by President Obama and many Democratic senators, but strongly opposed by congressional Republicans. Warner expressed a willingness to negotiate with Republicans about some of the provisions of the bill, such as the timeline for the phase-in. He said that any increase needs to be done "in a responsible way."


Transparency

On the Senate Budget Committee, Warner was appointed chair of a bipartisan task force on government performance in 2009. He was a lead sponsor of the 2010
Government Performance and Results Act The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) () is a United States law enacted in 1993,Congress, U. S., and An Act. "Government Performance and Results Act of 1993." In ''103rd Congress. Congressional Record''. 1993. one of a series ...
(GPRA), which imposed specific program performance goals across all federal agencies and set up a more transparent agency performance review process. On May 21, 2013, Warner introduced the
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act) is a law that aims to make information on federal expenditures more easily accessible and transparent. The law requires the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish common s ...
(DATA). "The legislation requires standardized reporting of federal spending to be posted to a single website, allowing citizens to track spending in their communities and agencies to more easily identify improper payments, waste and fraud." On November 6, 2013, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee unanimously passed DATA. On January 27, 2014, the White House
Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...
's (OMB) marked-up version of the bill was leaked. This version "move away from standards and toward open data structures to publish information" and "requir sOMB in consultation with Treasury to review and, if necessary, revise standards to ensure accuracy and consistency through methods such as establishing linkages between data in agency financial systems". Warner responded: "The Obama administration talks a lot about transparency, but these comments reflect a clear attempt to gut the DATA Act. DATA reflects years of bipartisan, bicameral work, and to propose substantial, unproductive changes this late in the game is unacceptable. We look forward to passing the DATA Act, which had near universal support in its House passage and passed unanimously out of its Senate committee. I will not back down from a bill that holds the government accountable and provides taxpayers the transparency they deserve." On April 10, 2014, the Senate voted by
unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a propo ...
to pass the bill, which was then passed by the House in a
voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...
on April 28, 2014.


Electoral history


Personal life

Warner is married to Lisa Collis. While on their honeymoon in 1989 in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, Warner became ill; when he returned home, doctors discovered he had suffered a near-fatal burst appendix. Warner spent two months in the hospital recovering from the illness. During her husband's tenure as governor, Collis was the first Virginia first lady to use her birth name. Warner and Collis have three daughters. Warner is involved in farming and winemaking at his Rappahannock Bend farm. There, he grows of grapes for
Ingleside Vineyards Ingleside Vineyards is a winery located in the Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA, an American Viticultural Area located in the Northern Neck region of Virginia. Ingleside is one of the oldest and largest wineries in the state, esta ...
; Ingleside bottles a
private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...
that Warner offers at charity auctions. Warner has an estimated net worth of $215 million as of 2018. He is not related to John Warner, his predecessor in the Senate.


Honorary degrees

Mark Warner has been awarded several honorary degrees, these include:


References


Further reading

;Archival records
Archived website of the Office of the Virginia Governor

Archived website of Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner, 2005-2006
part o

at ttp://www.virginiamemory.com/collections/archival_web_collections Virginia Memory
A Guide to the Governor Mark R. Warner, Executive Office, Records, 2001-2006
a
The Library of Virginia


at ttp://www.lva.virginia.gov/ The Library of Virginia
A Guide to the Governor Mark R. Warner, Press Office records, 2001-2006 (bulk 2002-2006)
a
The Library of Virginia

A Guide to the Governor Mark R. Warner, Transition Office, Records, 2001
a
The Library of Virginia

A Guide to the Governor Mark R. Warner, Virginia Liaison Office, Records, 2002-2005
a
The Library of Virginia


External links


Senator Mark Warner
official U.S. Senate website
Mark Warner for Virginia
campaign website * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Mark * 1954 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Virginia politicians 21st-century United States senators 21st-century Virginia politicians Presbyterians from Virginia American technology company founders American venture capitalists Businesspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Businesspeople from Connecticut Businesspeople from Illinois Businesspeople from Indianapolis Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni Democratic Party governors of Virginia Democratic Party of Virginia chairs Democratic Party United States senators from Virginia Governors of Virginia Harvard Law School alumni People from Vernon, Connecticut Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia Politicians from Indianapolis United States congressional aides Virginia Democrats