Early life

One of seven children, Murray was born in Bothell, Washington, to Beverly A. (née McLaughlin) and David L. Johns. Her mother was an accountant. Her father fought in World War II and was awarded a Purple Heart. Her ancestry includes Welsh, Irish, Scottish, and French-Canadian roots. When she was a teenager, her family was forced to apply for welfare assistance when her father became disabled due to the onset of multiple sclerosis. He had been the manager of a five-and-ten store. She attended Saint Brendan Catholic School as a young child.

Murray received her Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education from Washington State University in 1972. She was a preschool teacher for several years and taught a parenting class at Shoreline Community College from 1984-87.

Early career

As a citizen-lobbyist for environmental and educational issues, she says she was once told by a state representative that she could not make a difference because she was just a "mom in tennis shoes". The phrase stuck, and she later used it in her successful campaigns for Shoreline School District Board of Directors (1985-1989), Washington State Senate (1989-1993), and United States Senate (1993-present). Murray was successful in gathering grassroots support to strike down proposed preschool program budget cuts.

Her 1988 State Senate campaign was successful and she unseated two-term incumbent Republican Bill Kiskaddon.

United States Senator

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Ranking Member)
• Committee on the Budget

Caucus memberships

• Senate Oceans Caucus
• Senate Aerospace Caucus

Legislation

On February 28, 2013, Murray introduced the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act into the United States Senate. The bill would prevent the United States Forest Service from removing a building from the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area in the State of Washington unless the agency determines that the structure is unsafe for visitors. Murray argued that the bill should be passed in order to help the tourism industry in the area, but protecting the lookout point in question. The bill would be "a very small step in what will be a very long recovery" and that it would "provide a glimmer of hope for the long-term recovery of this area." Murray was referring to the recovery of the area from the casualties and damage caused by the 2014 Oso mudslide. The bill passed in both the House and the Senate.

Political positions

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

In October 2002, Murray was one of 21 Democrats in the Senate to vote against the War Authoritization for invading Iraq. Quoted from her Senate speech:

Mr. President, if we do take action in Iraq, there is no doubt that our armed forces will prevail. We will win a war with Iraq decisively, and, God willing, we will win it quickly. But what happens after the war? That will have as big an impact on our future peace and security. Will we be obligated to rebuild Iraq? If so, how? Our economy is reeling, our budget is in deficit, and we have no estimate of the cost of rebuilding. And with whom? As New York Times columnist Tom Friedman points out, there's a retail store mentality that suggests to some - if "you break it, you buy it."

In December 2002, while speaking to students at Columbia River High School in Vancouver, Murray made a number of remarks about Osama bin Laden, as she attempted to explain why the US had such problems winning hearts and minds in the Muslim world, and how bin Laden had garnered support among some in the Middle East. Among other things, she had stated that bin Laden has "been out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building daycare facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. He's made their lives better. We have not done that." This attracted attention from political opponents, who argued that this constituted support for bin Laden. Republican state chairman Chris Vance was outraged, and said it was "despicable to imply that the American government should learn a lesson from the madman who murdered thousands of American citizens".

Global Trade Exchange

Senator Patty Murray put the controversial intelligence ports-data project Global Trade Exchange into the Homeland security budget.

Fiscal year 2014 federal budget

On December 10, 2013, Murray announced that she and Republican Representative Paul Ryan had reached a compromise agreement on a two-year, bipartisan budget bill, called the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. The deal would cap the federal government's spending for Fiscal Year 2014 at $1.012 trillion and for Fiscal Year 2015 at $1.014 trillion. The proposed deal would eliminate some of the spending cuts required by the sequester by $45 billion of the cuts scheduled to happen in January and $18 billion of the cuts scheduled to happen in 2015. This does not decrease federal spending; instead, by reducing the amount of spending cuts the government was going to be forced to make by the sequester, it actually increases government spending by $45 billion and $18 billion over what would have been spent had the sequester remained in place. The deal is supposed to make up for this increase in spending by raising airline fees and changing the pension contribution requirements of new federal workers. The eliminated sequester cuts were spread evenly between defense spending and non-defense discretionary spending. The bill did not make any changes to entitlement programs.

The deal was scheduled to be voted on first in the House and then the Senate. Some people believed House Democrats would pass the deal as a way to reduce the sequester cuts. However, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) told a morning news show on December 12, 2013, that "members of his party are outraged that House Republicans are planning to adjourn without addressing unemployment benefits." Van Hollen said that "it is too early to say" whether a majority of House Democrats would vote in favor of the budget bill. The deal was also unpopular with many conservatives.

Health care

In 2014, Murray introduced legislation in the Senate called The Emergency Contraception Access and Education Act. Her bill received a number of cosponsors including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Barbara Boxer, Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker. The bill would change the law to make hospitals that receive federal money to provide rape victims with emergency contraception. Murray has earned a reputation as an advocate for access to quality healthcare for women. In July 2014, she pushed an amendment to a bill in the Senate that would make sure that health insurance plans offer contraceptive coverage to patients regardless of employers' beliefs, religious or otherwise. Her amendment required 60 votes to move forward, and all but three Republican Senators voted against the measure.

Other

In May 2006, Murray, along with 38 of 44 Senate Democrats, voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611). The bill includes provisions to improve border security, increases fines and other punishments for employers of illegal immigrants, creation of a guest worker program (which includes an almost doubling of the number of H-1B visas), and creates a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. The bill, with support from some in the GOP leadership, passed 62-36.

Murray repeatedly cosponsored legislation to create the Wild Sky Wilderness area in the Washington Cascade Range. She eventually succeeded, with the bill being signed by President Bush on May 8, 2008. Murray has also supported legislation to increase the size of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, also in the Washington Cascades.

On August 2, 2006, the New York Times said, "In 1994, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina was said to have engaged in excessive touching of his then-freshman colleague Patty Murray of Washington. Ms. Murray later asked for and received an apology from Mr. Thurmond, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported at the time. Through a spokeswoman, Ms. Murray declined to comment."

2008 presidential election

On January 30, 2008, Murray endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. One month later, the Washington Democratic caucus awarded two-thirds of its delegates to Barack Obama and one-third to Clinton. After Clinton's June 7 concession, Murray switched her endorsement to Obama.

Political campaigns

1992

See also: United States Senate election in Washington, 1992

In 1992, Murray announced her intention to run for the U.S. Senate following the publication of a series of articles by The Seattle Times alleging that incumbent Democratic Senator Brock Adams had sexually assaulted a number of women. Adams denied the allegations, but his popularity statewide was weakened considerably by the scandal and he chose to retire rather than risk losing the seat for his party. Murray defeated Representative Don Bonker to win the Democratic nomination. In the general election she faced Republican Representative Rod Chandler, whom she defeated 54% to 46% despite being outspent by a wide margin. Chandler seemed to have the upper hand in one of the debates until for some unknown reason he quoted the Roger Miller song "Dang Me." He was further damaged by the unpopularity of President George H. W. Bush in the Pacific Northwest.

Results

United States Senate election in Washington, 1992
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray	1,197,973	53.99
	Republican	Rod Chandler	1,020,829	46.01

1998

See also: United States Senate election in Washington, 1998

In 1998, Murray faced Representative Linda Smith, a staunch conservative and maverick who was one of nine House Republicans to vote against confirming House Speaker Newt Gingrich in early 1997, opposed gay rights and viewed homosexuality as a "morally unfit inclination." Murray won re-election by 58% to 42%.

Results

General election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray (incumbent)	1,103,184	58.41
	Republican	Linda Smith	785,377	41.59

2004

See also: United States Senate election in Washington, 2004

In 2004, Murray faced another Republican Representative, George Nethercutt. Term limits became an issue in the campaign, as Democrats seized on Nethercutt's broken term-limits pledge that he had made when he unseated Speaker Tom Foley in 1994. Nethercutt was also hampered by his lack of name recognition in the more densely populated western part of the state, home to two-thirds of the state's population. Washington has not elected a Senator from east of the Cascades since Miles Poindexter in 1916. Other important issues included national security and the war in Iraq. Nethercutt supported the invasion of Iraq, while Murray opposed it. Nethercutt was a heavy underdog from the start and his campaign never gained much traction. In the general election, Murray was re-elected by 55% to 43%.

Results

General election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray (incumbent)	1,549,708	54.98
	Republican	George R. Nethercutt, Jr.	1,204,584	42.74
	Libertarian	J. Mills	34,055	1.21
	Green	Mark B. Wilson	30,304	1.08

2010

See also: United States Senate election in Washington, 2010

The 2010 election was the first Senate election to be held under the new blanket primary since Initiative 872 had passed in 2004. In the August 17 primary, Murray appeared on the ballot alongside four other Democratic candidates, six Republican candidates, a Reform Party candidate and three Independent candidates. Murray received a plurality, 46%, and advanced to the general election along with her main Republican challenger, former State Senator and two-time gubernatorial nominee Dino Rossi, who received 33%. Leading up to the election, Murray was endorsed by several prominent Washington State newspapers. Rossi conceded the election to Murray on November 4, 2010, two days after election day. The final tally showed Murray with 52.36% to Rossi's 47.64%, enabling Murray to go on to serve a fourth term in the United States Senate.

Results

General election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray (incumbent)	1,314,930	52.36
	Republican	Dino Rossi	1,196,164	47.64

Blanket primary election results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Y Patty Murray (incumbent)	670,284	46.22
	Republican	Y Dino Rossi	483,305	33.33
	Republican	Clint Didier	185,034	12.76
	Republican	Paul Akers	37,231	2.57
	Independent	Skip Mercer	12,122	0.84
	Democratic	Charles Allen	11,525	0.79
	Democratic	Bob Burr	11,344	0.78
	Republican	Norma Gruber	9,162	0.63
	Republican	Michael Latimer	6,545	0.45
	Democratic	Mike the Mover	6,019	0.42
	Democratic	Goodspaceguy	4,718	0.33
	Reform	William Baker	4,593	0.32
	Independent	Mohammad Said	3,387	0.23
	Independent	Schalk Leonard	2,818	0.19
	Republican	William Chovil	2,039	0.14
Total votes			1,450,126	100

2016

Murray is seeking a fifth term in 2016. She faces no Democratic challengers in the August 2, 2016 primary election.

Electoral history

Washington Senator (Class III) results: 1992-2010

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1992		Patty Murray	1,197,973	54%		Rod Chandler	1,020,829	46%
1998		Patty Murray	1,103,184	58%		Linda Smith	785,377	42%
2004		Patty Murray	1,549,708	55%		George R. Nethercutt, Jr.	1,204,584	43%		J. Mills	Libertarian	34,055	1%		Mark B. Wilson	Green	30,304	1%
2010		Patty Murray	1,314,930	52%		Dino Rossi	1,196,164	48%

Personal life

Murray is married to Rob Murray and has two grown children, Sara and Randy. Murray's hometown is Bothell, Washington, but she now lives on Whidbey Island, Washington.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]