100 Women We Love: Tammy Baldwin

Wisconsin is known for some pretty impressive things: amazing cheese, the four-time champion Green Bay Packers, and Tammy Baldwin, the state's first female senator and the first openly gay senator in U.S. history. Raised by her mother and maternal grandparents in Madison, Baldwin is a Smith College and University of Wisconsin Law School alumna. Remarkably, her successful political career has seen her become the first woman and first openly gay official in every position she has held—starting with the Wisconsin Assembly, where she was elected in 1992 and re-elected with a whopping 76 percent of the vote two years later; U.S. House of Representatives, where she served seven terms from 1999 to 2013; and as Wisonsin’s U.S. senator today. A Democrat who has described herself as a proud progressive, Baldwin said after winning her seat in 2013, "I didn't run to make history." Nevertheless, her voting record shows a reliably history-making platform, with consistent support of marriage equality, women's reproductive rights, healthcare reform, equal pay, and funding for education and the arts. Coincidentally, one word that sums up Senator Baldwin's positions also happens to be Wisconsin's state motto: Forward. –DN