Senator Patty Murray

Patty Murray has served as Washington’s senior United States senator since 1993 and is the most senior Senate Democrat. Washington’s first female U.S. senator, she rose through the caucus into top leadership roles and became the first woman in American history to serve as Senate president pro tempore from 2023 to 2025.

Born in Bothell, Washington, Murray earned a degree in physical education from Washington State University and worked as a preschool and parenting teacher before entering politics through local education advocacy. Her grassroots organizing, especially around protecting early education funding, propelled her from school board service into the Washington State Senate and ultimately into a breakthrough 1992 U.S. Senate campaign.

In the Senate, Murray developed a reputation as an institution builder and dealmaker with a strong focus on education, health care, veterans’ services, and middle class economic security. She has repeatedly used her committee leverage to steer federal investment toward Washington’s research economy, transportation and port infrastructure, and worker protection priorities.

Murray has also been central to major budget and appropriations fights, including negotiating the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she has continued to shape the terms of federal spending, pairing pragmatic legislative strategy with a durable political brand rooted in the “mom in tennis shoes” identity that launched her career.

Mainstream Liberal