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Democratic Presidential Candidate of the Week, #29: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

We try to get to these earlier in the week, but sometimes, it just doesn't work out. Anyhow, here are the folks we've already profiled:

And now, the first of two consecutive Tammys:

Tammy Baldwin standing at a podium and speaking

Full Name: Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin
Age on January 20, 2029: 66 (and she'll turn 67 a little more than 3 weeks later)
Background: Nobody is ever going to accuse Baldwin of being a carpetbagger. She was born in Madison, raised in Madison, went to law school in Madison, spent her pre-Congress professional life working in Madison, and her permanent residence is in Madison.

There are three formative events from Baldwin's private life that have a very significant bearing on her political career. The first is that her mother suffered from mental illness and opioid addiction, and struggled to get treatment for either condition. As her father had abandoned the family, Baldwin was raised by her maternal grandparents.

The second is that Baldwin herself was struck with a serious health crisis when she was 9. She contracted a meningitis-like disease, and spent 3 months in the hospital, followed by several more months in a full-body cast. Because her grandparents had not been appointed as her legal guardians, their insurance did not cover her, and the bills hit the family hard. Thereafter, her grandparents acquired guardianship, but in that pre-ACA era, they could not get coverage for their granddaughter because... pre-existing condition.

The third, which unfolded during Baldwin's career in Congress, is that late in her grandmother's life, the Senator became her primary caregiver. It proved extremely difficult to keep up with the bills, even with an insurance plan in place, and it was even harder to find in-home help, assisted living, or a nursing facility for her grandmother. Baldwin felt much guilt because, while she helped as much as she could, she had to be in Washington much of the time.

Despite these various challenges (and, again, the third came well into her political career), Baldwin did well in school, graduating from Madison West High School as the class valedictorian, and following that with a B.A. in political science from Smith College and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Baldwin is famous, of course, as the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress. There were other members who came out during their terms, but she was the first to be out before her first campaign. We can find no indication as to when she came out, though she did go to Smith, so if she wasn't out already by then, it presumably didn't come as too much of a surprise when she finally did so. She was in a relationship with a woman from 1998-2010, and that's about all that is publicly known about her dating/marital history.
Political Experience: Baldwin's first serious involvement with politics came when she interned for Gov. Tony Earl (D-WI) in the mid-1980s. She quickly became interested in politics as a career, though she was initially not clear if that would be behind-the-scenes as a staffer/strategist, or in front of the curtain as a candidate. Her decision was made after observing numerous politicians in action: "I'm as smart as they are. I can do that," she said to herself.

Baldwin's first stint in office came while she was in law school; she was appointed to an unfinished term on the Madison Common Council. Her first electoral victory came in 1986, when she ran for, and won, a seat on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. After four terms there, she ran for and won three terms in the Wisconsin state Assembly, then seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. She won her U.S. Senate seat in 2012, which means she's currently serving her third term in the upper chamber. Overall, if you do the math, she's 17-0 in elections.
Signature Issue(s): Healthcare, for obvious reasons.
What Would Her Pitch Be?: "The time has come for universal healthcare in America."
Instructive Quote: "I have no idea what goes on in another person's mind. As a legislator, I need to be good at persuading people, counting votes and getting to 50 percent plus one. I don't go back and say, 'Why did this person get to the right position?' It's only, 'Are you yes or are you no?'"
Completely Trivial Fact: Baldwin's grandmother was head costume designer in the University of Wisconsin Theater Department. Baldwin inherited the sewing machine that her grandmother used, and she herself uses it to this day to create clothes for herself and gifts for friends and colleagues. The Senator explains that she embraced this hobby because "I can see the results really quickly. Congress can be a little slow."
Recent News: Just yesterday, Baldwin introduced (for a second time), the Healthcare for Our Troops Act. This would extend health insurance to all members of the National Guard and Reserve, thus giving them the same benefit that is already extended to soldiers and veterans of the federal armed forces.
Strengths for the Democratic Primaries: (1) Baldwin has a knack, very much like Sherrod Brown, for making progressive policies palatable to (some) white, blue-collar voters. She couples this with a pretty strong "woman of the people" style; for example, she recently joined Seth Meyers to drink a New Glarus Spotted Cow beer on TV (so, she's probably got the vote of reader A.H. in Newberg, OR, locked up); (2) Wisconsinites tend to have an upper hand in the Iowa caucuses relative to fancypants politicians from the coastal states and (3) Democratic primary voters love to hear about healthcare reform (see Clinton, Bill; Obama, Barack; Sanders, Bernie).
Weaknesses for the Democratic Primaries: (1) Many Democratic voters want a "safe" candidate in 2028. They might come around to a woman, like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). They might come around to a gay candidate, like Pete Buttigieg. They might come around to a Jew, like Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA). But someone who is a woman, gay, AND of Jewish heritage (her maternal grandfather was Jewish, she was baptized Episcopalian but considers herself "unaffiliated" with a religion)? That is probably a bit too much for those voters; (2) While it is true that Wisconsinites (and other Midwesterners) have an upper hand in Iowa, it's also true that she is not likely to have the "Midwest" lane to herself; and (3) As Gavin Newsom is demonstrating right now, the key to the 2028 nomination could be an ability to get attention, particularly by poking Republicans in the eye. This is not Baldwin's style.
Polls: Baldwin's approval rating is right around 50%, which is a solid number these days. In her Senate runs, she has consistently out-run the Democratic presidential/gubernatorial candidates by a couple of points.
How Does the Readership Feel?: We asked readers for their thoughts on Baldwin running for president; here are some of those responses:
- P.D.N. in Boardman, OH: I'm proud and happy for the people of Wisconsin sending Tammy Baldwin to the Senate. But a Democratic woman for president? And a lesbian? In 2028? aintgonnahappen.com
- T.B. in Winston-Salem, NC: Someday soon, there will be a viable female candidate for president. The day when one of the major parties nominates a homosexual for that office is in a much more distant future.
- J.C. in Honolulu, HI: Sen. Baldwin is a very likable candidate. She has over 25 years of service representing Wisconsin. With Wisconsin being a purple state, she needs to stay in the Senate. I could see Senator Baldwin as a VP candidate or in a Cabinet position. However, in Wisconsin, any Senate vacancy goes to the voters, and not an appointment from the Governor, as in other states. And just a little bit of history: The last time this Senate seat was held by a Republican was when it was occupied by Joe McCarthy. Since 1957, this seat has been held by Democrats: William Proxmire, Herbert Kohl and now Tammy Baldwin. If I was Chuck Schumer, I would advise Baldwin to stay in the Senate.
- B.F. in Madison, WI: Sen. Baldwin has been representing me in Congress in some capacity for all of my adult life, except 2012, when I moved back in with my parents and had the privilege of voting against Paul Ryan twice on the same ballot.
  
  As the northern Senator Tammy, she has done relatively little to make waves and/or headlines. Much of her legislative strength comes from her personal diplomacy, making relationships with the other Senators. I think of her as the anti-Ted Cruz.
  
  All this to say, I think she fills a very valuable niche in the Senate and I think many of her strengths would be unhelpful to her in the Democratic primary, should she try to run for President.
- S.P. in Harrisburg, PA: Sen. Baldwin does not have a huge national profile, and does not seem to have anything noteworthy to put her above any other low-profile candidate seeking the Democratic nomination. She may help with certain groups, and could potentially win Wisconsin, so she may be an attractive VP candidate.
As a reminder, we write the entire profile before we read and add the readers' comments.
The Bottom Line: There's a context in which Baldwin would be an excellent candidate. However, that context is probably somewhere between 4 and 20 years into the future. We don't think she's what Democratic voters will be shopping for in 2028.

Next week, it's #28, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). If readers have comments about Duckworth running for president in 2028, please send them to comments@electoral-vote.com.

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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