Mark Warner

Mark Warner (born December 15, 1954, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.) is an American politician who was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 2008 and began representing Virginia in that body the following year.

Warner was born in Indiana and later lived in Illinois and then Connecticut. In 1977 he earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. After studying law (J.D., 1980) at Harvard University, Warner served on the staff of U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd. He then became a broker of telephone services and franchises, building a substantial fortune that he later used to found a capital-investment firm. It was involved with numerous high-technology companies, one of which became Nextel, the telecommunications giant. During that time he married (1989) Lisa Collis, and the couple later had three children.

While living in suburban Alexandria, Virginia, Warner became active in state politics. He directed the 1989 gubernatorial campaign of Douglas Wilder, who became Virginia’s first African American governor, and went on to serve as chair (1993–95) of the state Democratic Party. In 1996 he ran for the U.S. Senate. Although he lost the general election, he won the majority of votes in the conservative, rural portions of Virginia. Continuing to build on that political base, Warner ran for governor in 2001 and won with about 52 percent of the vote. While in office (2002–06) Warner encouraged business investment in the state and improved the public educational system. In 2008 he ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the unrelated John Warner, and he easily won.

After taking office in 2009, Warner emerged as one of the Senate’s more-conservative Democrats. He frequently voted against his party’s leadership—notably in the case of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which he supported. In addition, during a 2014 party vote for minority leader in the upcoming congress, he cast a ballot against Sen. Harry Reid, who was then majority leader. Warner took a strong interest in legislation concerning business and technology matters, and, given Virginia’s numerous connections to the military, he became a leader in veterans’ and military affairs.