Mark Warner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States Senator fromVirginia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office January 3, 2009 Serving with Tim Kaine | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Warner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chair of theNational Governors Association | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office July 20, 2004 – July 18, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Dirk Kempthorne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mike Huckabee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 69thGovernor of Virginia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 12, 2002 – January 14, 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lieutenant | Tim Kaine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jim Gilmore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Tim Kaine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chair of theDemocratic Party of Virginia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office May 4, 1993 – September 18, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Goldman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Suzie Wrenn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Mark Robert Warner (1954-12-15)December 15, 1954 (age 70) Indianapolis,Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Senate website Campaign website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Warner supportingAvril Haines's confirmation asDirector of National Intelligence Recorded January 20, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as theseniorUnited States senator fromVirginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of theDemocratic Party, Warner served as the69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. He is vice chair of theSenate Democratic Caucus and vice chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee.
In 2006, Warner was widely expected to pursue theDemocratic nomination in the2008 U.S. presidential election, but he announced in October 2006 that he would not run, citing a desire not to disrupt his family life. Warner delivered thekeynote address at the2008 Democratic National Convention, 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.[1]
Warner was elected to the Senate in2008 and reelected in2014 and2020. He became Virginia's senior senator in 2013, when SenatorJim Webb retired. He is the honorary chairman ofForward Together PAC.[2]
Before entering politics, Warner became involved in telecommunications-relatedventure capital during the 1980s. He founded and led the Columbia Capital firm. He also co-founded Capital Cellular Corporation. With anet worth of $214.1 million, Warner is thethird-wealthiest member of Congress and its wealthiest Democrat.[3]
Warner was born inIndianapolis,Indiana, the son of Marjorie (née Johnston) and Robert F. Warner. He has a younger sister, Lisa. He grew up inIllinois, and later inVernon, Connecticut, where he graduated fromRockville High School,[4] 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."[5] He wasclass president at Rockville High School[4] and hosted a weekly pick-up basketball game at his house, "a tradition that continues today."[5]
Warner graduated fromGeorge Washington University, earning hisBachelor of Arts degree inpolitical science in 1977. He was inducted intoPhi Beta Kappa and graduatedvaledictorian, with a 4.0 grade point average. Warner was the first in his family to graduate from college.[5] GWU later initiated him intoOmicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, as an alumni member in 1995. While at George Washington University, he worked onCapitol Hill to pay for his tuition, riding his bike early mornings to the office of U.S. SenatorAbraham Ribicoff.[5] His sophomore year, Warner took time off from school to serve as the youth coordinator onElla Grasso'ssuccessful gubernatorial bid in Connecticut.[6] Upon returning to Washington, Warner took a part-time job in the office of then-RepresentativeChris Dodd. He went on to serve as Dodd's senatorial campaign manager during his freshman year of law school.[7] When his parents visited him at college, he got two tickets for them to tour theWhite House; 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."[5]
Warner then graduated fromHarvard Law School with aJuris Doctor in 1980 and coached the law school's first intramuralwomen's basketball team. Warner then took a job raising money for the Democratic Party based in Atlanta from 1980 to 1982.[8] Warner has never practiced law.[5]
Warner founded two ultimately unsuccessful businesses before becoming a general contractor for cellular businesses and investors. As founder and managing director of Columbia Capital, aventure capital firm, he helped found or was an early investor in a number of technology companies, includingNextel. 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.[9][10][11] As of 2025[update], he is the second wealthiest U.S. senator.[3]
Warner involved himself in public efforts related to health care, transportation, telecommunications, information technology and education. He managedDouglas Wilder's successful 1989 gubernatorial campaign and served as chairman of thestate 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).[citation needed]
He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996 against incumbent RepublicanJohn Warner (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.[12] He lost to the incumbent, 52%-47%, losing most parts of the state including the north.[13]
In 2001, Warner campaigned for governor as amoderate Democrat after years of slowly building up a power base in rural Virginia, particularlySouthwest Virginia. His opponents were RepublicanMark Earley, thestate's attorney general, and theLibertarian candidate William B. Redpath. Warner won with 52.16 percent of the votes, 96,943 votes ahead of the next opponent.[14] Warner had a significant funding advantage, spending $20 million compared with Earley's $10 million.[15]
After he was elected in 2002, Warner drew upon a $900 million "rainy day fund" left by his predecessor,Jim Gilmore.[16] Warner campaigned in favor of two regional sales tax increases, especially inNorthern Virginia andHampton Roads, to fund transportation. Virginians rejected both regional referendums to raise thesales tax.
In 2004, Warner worked with Democratic and moderate Republican legislators and the business community to reform thetax code, 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 AAAbond rating, 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 theAtlantic Coast Conference into revoking an invitation it had already extended toSyracuse University. Warner wanted the conference, which already included theUniversity of Virginia, to addVirginia Tech instead — and he got his way."[17]
Warner's popularity may have helped Democrats gain seats in theVirginia House of Delegates in 2003 and again in 2005, reducing the majorities built up by Republicans in the 1990s. Warner chaired theNational Governors Association in 2004-2005 and led a national high school reform movement. He chaired theSouthern Governors' Association and was a member of theDemocratic Governors Association. In January 2005, a two-year study,[18] the Government Performance Project, in conjunction withGoverning magazine and thePew Charitable Trust graded each state in four management categories: money, people, infrastructure and information. Virginia andUtah 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."[19]
TheVirginia Constitution forbids any governor from serving consecutive terms, so Warner could not run for reelection in 2005. The2005 Virginia gubernatorial election became a contest between two other statewide figures who had served alongside Warner,Lieutenant Governor and formerRichmond MayorTim Kaine, andAttorney General and formerVirginia Secretary of Public SafetyJerry Kilgore. Warner supported and campaigned for Kaine, aDemocrat, against Kilgore, aRepublican.
On November 8, Kaine was elected governor with 52% of the vote. Kilgore received 46%, andRuss Potts, amoderate Republican state senator who ran as an independent, 2%. Many nationalpundits considered Kaine's victory further evidence of Warner's political clout in Virginia.[citation needed]
On November 29, 2005, Warnercommuted thedeath sentence ofRobin Lovitt tolife imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Lovitt was convicted of murdering Clayton Dicks at anArlington pool hall in 1999. After his trial in 2001, Lovitt's lawyers stated that a court clerk illegally destroyedevidence that was used against Lovitt during his trial, but that could have possibly exonerated him upon furtherDNA testing.[20] Lovitt's death sentence would have been the 1,000th carried out in the United States since theSupreme Courtreinstated capital punishment as permissible under theEighth Amendment to theConstitution 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 deniedclemency in 11 other death penalty cases that came before him as governor.[21]
Warner also arranged for DNA tests of evidence left from the case ofRoger 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 ofTime, by repeatedly claiming innocence and protesting the unfairness of the death penalty. DNA results announced on January 12, 2006, confirmed Coleman's guilt.[22]
In July 2005, his approval ratings were at 74%[23] and in some polls reached 80%.[24] Warner left office with a 71% approval rating in one poll.[25]
Warner was believed to be preparing to run for the Democratic nomination for president in2008, and had "done everything but announce his candidacy" before suddenly announcing in October 2006 he would not run for president, citing family reasons.[26] 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 governorJim Gilmore (and Warner's predecessor), for virtually the entire campaign.[27] Warner delivered the keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.[28]
In a Washington Post/ABC News Poll dated September 24, 2008, Warner held a 30-point lead over Gilmore.[29]
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 andHanover. In many cases, he ran up huge margins in areas of the state that had traditionally voted Republican.[30] This was the most lopsided margin for a contested Senate race in Virginia sinceChuck Robb 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 sinceHarry Byrd, Jr. left the Democrats to become an independent (while still caucusing with the Democrats) in 1970.[citation needed]
In 2014, Warner facedEd Gillespie, who had previously served asCounselor to the President underGeorge W. Bush and chairman of theRepublican National Committee. Warner's margin of victory—only 17,000 votes—was much narrower than expected.[31]
In 2020, Warner defeated Republican nominee Daniel Gade, a college professor and U.S. Army veteran,[32] with 56% of the vote to Gade's 44%.[33]
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.[34]
In 2009, Warner voted for theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 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.[35]
In 2010, Warner, SenatorLamar Alexander, and RepresentativesTom Petri andDavid Price requested that theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences formThe Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.[36]
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.[37]
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.[38]
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.[citation needed]
In October 2014, Warner was implicated in a federal investigation of the 2014 resignation of Virginia State SenatorPhillip Puckett. 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."[39] A Warner spokesman acknowledged that the conversation occurred, but said Warner made no "explicit" job offer[40] and that he and Puckett were simply "brainstorming".[41] In January 2015, theRepublican Party of Virginia filed a formal complaint against Warner with theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Ethics, alleging that Warner's interactions with Puckett violated theHonest Leadership and Open Government Act.[42]
Warner has been identified as aradical centrist,[43] working to foster compromise in the Senate.[44] He was ranked the 10th most bipartisan member of the U.S. Senate during the114th United States Congress in the Bipartisan Index, created byThe Lugar Center and theMcCourt School of Public Policy to assess congressional bipartisanship.[45] According to the same methodology, Warner was the second most bipartisan Democrat in the115th United States Congress.
From 2008 to 2014, Warner's top ten campaign contributors includedJP Morgan Chase, theBlackstone Group, and Columbia Capital.[46] BlackRock had never contributed until Warner bought shares in the BlackRock Equity Dividend Fund in 2011.[46]
Source:[47]
Warner ispro-choice and supportsRoe v. Wade.[48]
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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."[49]
He voted for the 2010Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly called Obamacare, helping the Senate reach the required sixty votes to prevent it from going to afilibuster.[50] He and 11 Senate freshmen discussed adding an amendment package aimed at addressing health care costs by expanding health IT and wellness prevention.[51]
In January 2019, Warner was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019, a bill that would amend theSurface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 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 theBlack Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care.[52]
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 inVirginia,West Virginia,Wyoming,Alabama,Colorado,North Dakota andNew Mexico" would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month.[53]
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, to write a key portion of theDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that seeks to end taxpayer bailouts of failing Wall Street financial firms by requiring "advance funeral plans" for large financial firms.[54]
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.[55]
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 andElizabeth Warren have stated their opposition to the legislation.[56]
In June 2019, Warner andAmy Klobuchar 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.[57]
_Mark_Warner_speaks_at_the_September_2020_Hospitality_Roundtable.jpg)
Warner was the original Democratic sponsor of the Startup Act legislation and has partnered with the bill's original author,Jerry Moran, to introduce three iterations of the bill: Startup Act in 2011, Startup Act 2.0 in 2012 andStartup Act 3.0 in early 2013. Warner has called the legislation the "logical next step" after enactment of theJOBS Act.[58]
In 2015, Warner criticized theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, saying: "I'm concerned in particular with some of the indiscriminate bombing in Yemen ... [Gulf states] need to step up and they need to step up with more focus than the kind of indiscriminate bombing."[59]
In June 2017, Warner voted to support Trump's $350 billionarms deal with Saudi Arabia.[60]
In September 2016, in advance ofUN Security Council resolution 2334 condemningIsraeli settlements in the occupiedPalestinian territories, Warner signed anAIPAC-sponsored letter urging President Obama to veto "one-sided" resolutions against Israel.[61]
In December 2017, Warner criticized Donald Trump's decision torecognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying that it "comes at the wrong time and unnecessarily inflames the region."[62]
In July 2017, Warner voted for theCountering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which grouped togethersanctions againstIran, Russia andNorth Korea.[63]
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.[64]
In May 2018, Warner voted forGina Haspel to be the next CIA director.[65]
In 2016, American foreign policy scholarStefan Halper served as an FBI operative and contacted members ofTrump's 2016 presidential campaign.[65][66][67] 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.[68]
Warner welcomed the arrest of WikiLeaks founderJulian Assange, who exposedAmerican war crimes in Iraq andAfghanistan, saying that Assange is "a dedicated accomplice in efforts to undermine American security."[69]
On May 13, 2020, Warner andJoe Manchin were the two Democratic senators to vote against the Lee-Leahy FISA amendment, which strengthened oversight of counterintelligence.[70]
In December 2018, Warner called Chinese telecommunications giantHuawei a threat to U.S. national security.[71]
In February 2019, Warner was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to Energy SecretaryRick Perry and Homeland Security SecretaryKirstjen Nielsen 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."[72]
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.[73]
In March 2023, Warner andJohn Thune 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).[74] Warner's dedication to the telecommunications industry was recognized in 2013 as he was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame.[75]
In January 2025, Warner co-sponsored theKids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which was introduced by SenatorsBrian Schatz,Chris Murphy,Ted Cruz, andKatie Britt. SenatorsTed Budd,Peter Welch,John Curtis,Angus King, andJohn Fetterman 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.[76]
In 2011, Warner voted for the four-year extension of theUSA PATRIOT Act. Also in 2011, he engaged Northern Virginia's high-tech community in apro bono effort to correct burial mistakes and other U.S. Army management deficiencies atArlington National Cemetery.[77] In 2012, he successfully pushed the Navy to improve the substandard military housing in Hampton Roads.[78]
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.[79] He succeeded in pushing the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand access toPTSD treatment for female military veterans returning from service inIraq andAfghanistan.[80]
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."[81]
U.S. Secretary of the NavyRay Mabus awarded Warner theDistinguished Public Service Medal, the Navy's highest honor for a civilian, for his consistent support of Virginia's military families and veterans.[82]
Between 2010 and 2013, Warner invested considerable time and effort in leading the Senate'sGang of Six, along withSaxby Chambliss.[83] Chambliss and Warner sought to craft a bipartisan plan along the lines of theSimpson-Bowles Commission to address U.S. deficits and debt.[84]
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.[85] Although President Obama showed interest in the plan, leaders in Congress from both parties kept a deal from being made.[86] In 2011, the bipartisanConcord Coalition awarded Warner and Chambliss its Economic Patriots Award for their work with the Gang of Six.[87]
On April 17, 2013, Warner voted to expand background checks for gun purchases as part of the Manchin-Toomey Amendment.[88][89] He also voted against the2013 Assault Weapons Ban, but changed his position in a 2018 op-ed and has co-sponsored similar efforts since then.[90][91][92]
In 2017, Warner called himself a strong supporter ofSecond Amendment rights and vowed to advocate for responsible gun ownership for hunting, recreation, and self-defense.[93]
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.[94]
In 2025, Warner was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for theLaken Riley Act.[95]
Warner supportssame-sex marriage, announcing his support in a statement on hisFacebook page in March 2013. His announcement came shortly after SenatorClaire McCaskill announced her support for it.[96] In July 2015, Warner and Tim Kaine cosponsored theEquality 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."[97]
In April 2014, the Senate debated theMinimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress). The bill would amend theFair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase thefederal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over two years.[98] The bill was strongly supported by President Obama and many Democratic senators, but strongly opposed by congressional Republicans.[99][100][101] Warner expressed a willingness to negotiate with Republicans about some of the provisions of the bill, such as the timeline for the phase-in.[100] He said that any increase needs to be done "in a responsible way."[102]
On the Senate Budget Committee, Warner was appointed chair of a bipartisan task force on government performance in 2009.[103] He was a lead sponsor of the 2010Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which imposed specific program performance goals across all federal agencies and set up a more transparent agency performance review process.[104]
On May 21, 2013, Warner introduced theDigital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (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."[105][106] On November 6, 2013, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee unanimously passed DATA.[107]
On January 27, 2014, the White HouseOffice of Management and Budget's (OMB) marked-up version of the bill was leaked. This version "move[s] away from standards and toward open data structures to publish information" and "requir[es] OMB 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".[108] 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."[109][110]
On April 10, 2014, the Senate voted byunanimous consent to pass the bill, which was then passed by the House in avoice vote on April 28, 2014.[111]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Warner (Incumbent) | 1,235,744 | 52.48% | −28.43% | |
| Democratic | Mark Warner | 1,115,982 | 47.39% | ||
| Write-ins | 2,989 | 0.13% | |||
| Majority | 119,762 | 5.09% | −57.67% | ||
| Turnout | 2,354,715 | ||||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mark Warner | 984,177 | 52.16% | +9.60% | |
| Republican | Mark Earley | 887,234 | 47.03% | −8.79% | |
| Libertarian | Bill Redpath | 14,497 | 0.77% | ||
| Write-ins | 813 | 0.04% | |||
| Majority | 96,943 | 5.14% | −8.11% | ||
| Turnout | 1,886,721 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mark Warner | 2,369,327 | 65.03% | +65.03% | |
| Republican | Jim Gilmore | 1,228,830 | 33.72% | −48.85% | |
| Independent Greens | Glenda Parker | 21,690 | 0.60% | ||
| Libertarian | Bill Redpath | 20,269 | 0.56% | ||
| Write-ins | 3,178 | 0.09% | |||
| Majority | 1,140,497 | 31.30% | −41.53% | ||
| Turnout | 3,643,294 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mark Warner (Incumbent) | 1,073,667 | 49.15% | −15.88% | |
| Republican | Ed Gillespie | 1,055,940 | 48.34% | +14.62% | |
| Libertarian | Robert Sarvis | 53,102 | 2.43% | +1.87% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 1,764 | 0.08% | −0.01% | |
| Plurality | 17,727 | 0.81% | -30.49% | ||
| Turnout | 2,184,473 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mark Warner (Incumbent) | 2,466,500 | 55.99% | +6.84% | |
| Republican | Daniel Gade | 1,934,199 | 43.91% | −4.43% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 4,388 | 0.10% | +0.02% | |
| Majority | 532,301 | 12.08% | +11.27% | ||
| Turnout | 4,405,087 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
Warner is married to Lisa Collis.[5] While on their honeymoon in 1989 inEgypt andGreece, Warner became ill; when he returned home, doctors discovered he had suffered a near-fatalburst appendix. Warner spent two months in the hospital recovering from the illness.[5] During her husband's tenure as governor, Collis was the first Virginiafirst 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 15 acres (61,000 m2) of grapes forIngleside Vineyards; Ingleside bottles aprivate label that Warner offers at charity auctions.[117]
Warner has an estimated net worth of $215 million as of 2018.[3]
He is not related to John Warner, his predecessor in the Senate.
Mark Warner has been awarded several honorary degrees, these include:
| Location | Date | School | Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
 Virginia | 2002 | College of William and Mary | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[118] |
 District of Columbia | 2003 | George Washington University | Doctor of Public Service (DPS)[119] |
 North Carolina | May 15, 2006 | Wake Forest University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[120] |
| Virginia | 2007 | Lord Fairfax Community College | Associate of Humane Letters |
| Virginia | May 20, 2007 | Eastern Virginia Medical School | Doctorate[121] |
| Virginia | May 25, 2013 | George Mason University | Doctorate[122] |
| Virginia | May 19, 2018 | Virginia State University | Doctorate[123] |
| Virginia | May 18, 2024 | Virginia Wesleyan University | Doctor of Laws[124] |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of theVirginia Democratic Party 1993–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Edythe Harrison | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator from Virginia (Class 2) 1996 | Vacant Title next held by Himself2008 |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Virginia 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Keynote Speaker of theDemocratic National Convention 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Himself1996 | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromVirginia (Class 2) 2008,2014,2020 | Most recent |
| Preceded by | Vice Chair of theSenate Democratic Caucus 2017–present Served alongside:Elizabeth Warren | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Virginia 2002–2006 | Succeeded by Tim Kaine |
| Preceded by | Chair of theNational Governors Association 2004–2005 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Virginia 2009–present Served alongside:Jim Webb, Tim Kaine | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Vice Chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee 2017–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Marco Rubio Acting | Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee 2021–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator | Succeeded by |
| United States senators by seniority 21st | Succeeded by | |
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