Career Timeline of Maria Cantwell: Major Achievements and Milestones

Discover the career path of Maria Cantwell, from the first major opportunity to industry-changing achievements.

Maria Cantwell is a prominent American politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Washington since 2001. As a member of the Democratic Party, her political career began in the Washington House of Representatives (1987-1993), followed by a term in the United States House of Representatives (1993-1995). Her continued service in the Senate demonstrates her long-standing commitment to public service and the representation of her constituents in Washington state.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Career & Achievements Success & Recognition

1980: Referenced Gorton's Campaign Theme

In 1980, Cantwell referenced Gorton's campaign theme in her campaign.

1982: Worked on Jerry Springer's Campaign

In 1982, Maria Cantwell worked on Jerry Springer's unsuccessful Ohio gubernatorial campaign.

1984: Campaigned for Alan Cranston

In 1984, Maria Cantwell campaigned for U.S. Senator Alan Cranston in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

1984: Worked on Alan Cranston's Campaign

In 1984, Maria Cantwell worked on Alan Cranston's presidential campaign.

1986: Led Library Campaign

In 1986, Maria Cantwell led a successful campaign to build a new library in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

1986: Elected to State House of Representatives

In 1986, Maria Cantwell was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives.

1986: Elected to Washington State House

In 1986, at the age of 28, Maria Cantwell was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives, defeating George Dahlquist.

1987: Elected to Washington House of Representatives

In 1987, Maria Cantwell was elected to the Washington House of Representatives.

1988: Re-elected to State House

In 1988, Maria Cantwell was re-elected to the Washington State House of Representatives.

1990: Re-elected to Third Term in State House

In 1990, Maria Cantwell was re-elected to a third term in the Washington State House of Representatives.

1990: Helped Write Growth Management Act

In 1990, as a state representative, Maria Cantwell helped write and negotiate the passage of Washington's Growth Management Act.

1992: Elected to Congress

In 1992, Maria Cantwell was elected to Congress after serving in the state house of representatives.

January 3, 1993: Resigned from State House

On January 3, 1993, Maria Cantwell resigned from the Washington State House of Representatives to prepare to be sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives.

1993: Supported Clinton's Budget

In 1993, Maria Cantwell supported President Clinton's budget, which raised taxes and passed without the votes of many Democrats.

1993: Elected to US House of Representatives

In 1993, Maria Cantwell was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

1995: End of Term in US House of Representatives

In 1995, Maria Cantwell's term in the United States House of Representatives concluded.

1995: Live Internet Broadcast of Mariners-Yankees Game

In 1995, as vice president of marketing for RealNetworks, Maria Cantwell oversaw the live internet streaming broadcast of a Mariners-Yankees baseball game, marking the start of internet broadcasts of Major League Baseball games.

October 1999: Formed Exploratory Committee for Senate Run

In October 1999, Maria Cantwell formed an exploratory committee to consider a run for U.S. Senate.

January 19, 2000: Committed to Senate Race

On January 19, 2000, Maria Cantwell committed to running for U.S. Senate.

2000: Limited Debates Against Gorton

In 2000, Maria Cantwell agreed to only two debates with Slade Gorton during her Senate campaign.

2000: Campaign Against Gorton

In 2000, Maria Cantwell campaigned against Slade Gorton for the U.S. Senate, focusing on issues like Social Security and prescription drugs.

2000: Elected to the United States Senate

In 2000, Maria Cantwell was elected to the United States Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Slade Gorton.

2000: Senate Election Victory

In 2000, Maria Cantwell won the Senate election after a recount, becoming the third woman to defeat an incumbent senator since 1992.

2001: Became US Senator

In 2001, Maria Cantwell became the junior United States Senator from Washington.

2001: Co-sponsored Clean Money Act

In 2001, Maria Cantwell co-sponsored the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act.

October 10, 2002: Statement on Iraq War Authorization

On October 10, 2002, Maria Cantwell released a press statement quoting her U.S. Senate floor remarks, stating that her vote for the resolution did not indicate that all questions had been answered by the Administration before moving forward with military action.

October 11, 2002: Vote on Iraq War Authorization

On October 11, 2002, Maria Cantwell voted in favor of the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq.

2002: Proponent of McCain-Feingold Bill

In 2002, Maria Cantwell was a proponent of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill.

2003: Vote Against Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act

In 2003, Maria Cantwell was among 34 senators who voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which was later signed into law by President George W. Bush.

2004: Vote Against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act

In 2004, Maria Cantwell voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which made it an additional crime to kill or harm a fetus during a criminal assault upon the mother, despite the bill passing the Senate and being signed into law by President Bush.

2005: Blocked drilling in ANWR

In 2005, Maria Cantwell blocked Senator Ted Stevens's efforts to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) by gathering enough votes to prevent a final vote on the measure attached to a defense spending and Hurricane Katrina recovery bill.

2005: Co-sponsored Pension Fairness Act

In 2005, Maria Cantwell co-sponsored the "Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act of 2005".

January 2006: Vote on Samuel Alito Nomination

In January 2006, Maria Cantwell publicly announced her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, voted for the cloture motion, and ultimately voted against his confirmation.

July 2006: Opposed Social Security Privatization

In July 2006, Maria Cantwell told the Seattle Times that she opposed Social Security privatization.

November 2006: Passage of Amendment to Prevent Energy Market Manipulation

In November 2006, Maria Cantwell achieved the passage of an amendment "To prevent energy market manipulation", which passed 57–40 in the Senate.

2006: Fundraising for Democratic Candidates

In 2006, Maria Cantwell used ActBlue to raise $100,000 for Democratic House candidates Darcy Burner, Peter J. Goldmark, and Richard Wright.

2006: Votes on Iraq War Amendments

In 2006, Maria Cantwell voted against the Kerry-Feingold Amendment, which would have set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, but voted for the Levin-Reed Amendment, which would encourage beginning a phased withdrawal by the end of the year.

2006: Re-election to Senate

In 2006, Maria Cantwell was re-elected to the Senate, defeating Republican Mike McGavick by a significant margin.

2006: Vote for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act

In 2006, Maria Cantwell, along with 38 of 44 Senate Democrats, voted for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611), which included border security improvements, employer punishments, a guest worker program, and a path to citizenship.

2007: Co-sponsored Prevention First Act

In 2007, Maria Cantwell co-sponsored the Prevention First Act, a bill aimed at increasing national access to family planning and preventative methods to reduce unwanted pregnancies, including access to Plan B. This stance faced criticism from Michael Baumgartner.

December 31, 2007: Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

On December 31, 2007, Maria Cantwell became the 10th senator to endorse Hillary Clinton for President of the United States, supporting her throughout the primaries before endorsing Barack Obama after Clinton conceded.

2008: Criticism of oil and gasoline prices

In 2008, Maria Cantwell was a vocal critic of rising oil and gasoline prices, advocating for increased regulation of futures markets and windfall profits taxes on oil profits, which drew criticism from the Wall Street Journal.

2008: Support for Mary Landrieu's Reelection

In the 2008 election cycle, Maria Cantwell was particularly committed to supporting Senator Mary Landrieu's reelection campaign.

September 29, 2009: Support for Public Health Care Option Amendments

On September 29, 2009, Maria Cantwell, as a member of the Finance Committee, supported amendments to establish a public health care option competing with private insurers during the committee's consideration of health care reform legislation.

December 4, 2009: Statement on Amanda Knox conviction

On December 4, 2009, Maria Cantwell released a statement expressing dismay at the Italian court's conviction of Amanda Knox for murder, citing concerns about the Italian justice system and potential anti-American bias.

2009: Opposition to Public Option in Healthcare Reform

In 2009, Maria Cantwell faced scrutiny for her opposition to including a public option in the health-care reform plan, citing concerns about getting the bill through the Senate, despite support from other Washington politicians and a majority of Americans.

2009: Introduced CLEAR Act

In 2009, Maria Cantwell introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act (S. 2877), also known as the Cantwell-Collins bill, which was a "cap and dividend" emissions trading proposal co-sponsored by Senator Susan Collins; it ultimately stalled in the Senate Finance Committee.

2010: Vote on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

In 2010, Maria Cantwell voted to invoke cloture to begin debate on the Don't ask, don't tell policy in the military.

2011: Praised for Shark Finning Policy

In 2011, Maria Cantwell was praised by The Humane Society of the United States for her no-tolerance policy and effective removal of shark finning.

2012: Re-elected to the Senate

In 2012, Maria Cantwell was re-elected to the United States Senate.

October 20, 2013: Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

On October 20, 2013, Maria Cantwell was among 16 female Democratic senators who signed a letter endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee in the 2016 presidential election.

2016: Electoral Vote for Vice President

In the 2016 United States presidential election, Maria Cantwell received one electoral vote for vice president from a faithless elector in Washington.

February 2017: Became Most Senior Junior Senator

In February 2017, Maria Cantwell became the most senior junior senator after Jeff Sessions resigned.

April 2017: Co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act

In April 2017, Maria Cantwell co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S.270), which proposed making it a federal crime for Americans to participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements.

2017: Praised SafeSport Authorization Act

In 2017, Maria Cantwell, as chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, praised the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, which created SafeSport to protect athletes from abuse.

2018: Re-elected to the Senate

In 2018, Maria Cantwell was re-elected to the United States Senate.

February 2019: Letter on PFAS Limits in Drinking Water

In February 2019, Maria Cantwell was among 20 senators who signed a letter to the EPA calling for the development of enforceable federal drinking water standards for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and immediate actions to protect the public from contamination from PFAS.

September 2019: Letter on Land and Water Conservation Act Funding

In September 2019, Maria Cantwell was one of eight senators to sign a bipartisan letter requesting full and lasting funding of the Land and Water Conservation Act.

March 2021: Vote on Minimum Wage in American Rescue Plan

In March 2021, Maria Cantwell was among the 42 Democrats who voted unsuccessfully to include a $15 hourly minimum wage in the American Rescue Plan.

2022: Voted for Respect for Marriage Act

In 2022, Maria Cantwell voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which aimed to codify same-sex marriage rights into federal law.

2024: Legislation on airline passenger refunds

In 2024, Maria Cantwell crafted legislation to require airline passengers to request a refund for a canceled flight rather than automatically receiving one.