U.S. Senate (2001–present)
Elections 2000 At the urging of party activists and officials, Cantwell formed an exploratory committee in October 1999 to consider a run for U.S. Senate against Democrat Insurance Commissioner
Deborah Senn and incumbent Republican Senator
Slade Gorton. She committed to the race on January 19, 2000. Cantwell entered the campaign a year after Senn, who was endorsed by the Washington State Labor Council and NARAL, and used her personal wealth to fund television advertisements. Early on, privacy became an issue; Senn cited her record protecting
medical privacy as insurance commissioner, while Cantwell promoted
internet privacy and cited her opposition to the
Clipper chip. Senn later used television advertisements to accuse Cantwell of avoiding debates, as she had agreed to two debates while Senn preferred more. They participated in three debates, during which they attacked each other. Senn attacked RealNetworks and Cantwell's role in the company; Cantwell accused Senn of wanting to run against RealNetworks, and said that Senn was uninformed on internet issues. Cantwell was endorsed by
The Seattle Times, the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
The Spokesman-Review, and
The News Tribune. She won the nomination, defeating Senn by a 3–1 margin in the primary. Although he won re-nomination, Gorton got fewer votes than Cantwell and Senn's combined total.
Social security,
prescription drugs,
dams,
gun control, and
campaign finance reform were among the most important issues in Cantwell's race against Gorton, which drew national attention. Cantwell also adopted the slogan "Your voice for a change", a veiled reference to Gorton's campaign theme in 1980, challenging incumbent
Warren Magnuson's age. She said Gorton supported "19th-century solutions to 21st-century problems". Cantwell was endorsed by
The Seattle Times and the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the state's two biggest newspapers. Gorton was endorsed by the smaller
The News Tribune and two of the largest Eastern Washington newspapers,
The Spokesman-Review and
Tri-City Herald. At times, the campaign was accused of pettiness as national PACs and groups funded television attack ads. After a Cantwell campaign worker
deep-linked to a humorous photo on Gorton's website, he accused Cantwell's campaign of hacking, and Senn accused Cantwell of hypocrisy. "Fiddling with people's websites and calling it good fun ... adds a very childish and unworthy character to the race", Senn's campaign spokeswoman Barbara Stenson said. Cantwell spent over $10 million of her own money on her campaign, pledging not to accept money from
PACs. When RealNetworks stock declined at the end of 2000, she spent time raising funds for debt retirement, but kept her pledge not to accept PAC money. In the waning weeks of the campaign, the
Federal Election Commission ruled that Cantwell violated federal campaign finance law by securing $3.8 million in bank loans for her campaign and failing to properly disclose the loans until January 30, 2001. The complaint alleged she had received a $600,000 line of credit without sufficient collateral, and another $1,000,000, all at a preferential interest rate. After review, the Federal Election Commission sent a letter of admonishment, saying that the loans were "made on a basis that assures repayment, and that each loan bore the usual and customary interest rate". The election was among the closest in Washington history. Cantwell had a tiny lead in the initial returns on election night, but the race remained too close to call. Gorton overtook her the next day, amassing a 12,500-vote lead by the second week of absentee ballot counting. The election result was certified on November 22 with Cantwell leading by 1,953 votes out of 2.5 million cast, credited to support from the
Puget Sound region. The 0.08% margin triggered an automatic recount, which increased her lead to 2,229 votes, or 0.09%. It was the last Senate race to be called in the 2000 election, which resulted in a 50–50 tie ahead of a contentious
presidential election recount. Cantwell and
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan became the third and fourth women to defeat incumbent senators, after
Kay Bailey Hutchison's 1993 and
Dianne Feinstein's 1992 special-election victories.
2006 The close 2004 gubernatorial race between Democrat
Christine Gregoire and Republican
Dino Rossi suggested to many that the 2006 contest might also be close. Cantwell and Republican nominee
Mike McGavick dominated their primaries; initial speculation favored a Republican victory. "At one point", wrote analyst
Larry Sabato, "all the talk in this race concerned Cantwell's cool relations with anti-war Democratic elements and McGavick's relatively united base. But Democrats appear to have closed ranks behind their junior senator." Cantwell was reelected by a 17-point margin, even winning several traditionally Republican counties in Eastern Washington, including
Spokane County. , which served from 2007 until 2009. During the campaign, Cantwell was heavily criticized for declining most of the invitations she received to debate McGavick in public fora. Media outlets across the state, including
The Olympian and the
Yakima Herald-Republic, rebuked her, claiming she was afraid to confront McGavick and calling it "unacceptable" and "simply not fair". Cantwell agreed to two debates with McGavick in Seattle and Spokane, lasting 60 and 30 minutes, respectively. When she ran for Senate in 2000 against Gorton, Gorton also agreed to only two debates of a similar format. Similarly, when Washington's senior senator,
Patty Murray, ran for reelection in 2004, she agreed to only two debates with George Nethercutt, although each lasted an hour.
2012 Cantwell was reelected to a third term, defeating Republican State Senator
Michael Baumgartner.
2018 Cantwell was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Republican
Susan Hutchison.
2024 Cantwell was reelected to a fifth term, defeating Republican Raul Garcia.
Tenure Cantwell was a proponent of the
McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill of 2002, and co-sponsored the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act of 2001. In 2005, she wrote a letter in support of the
Perkins Loan program, and in July 2006 she told the
Seattle Times she opposed
Social Security privatization. Cantwell co-sponsored the "Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act of 2005". Also in 2005, Cantwell voted for the
Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which angered many who opposed free trade agreements. Others argued that due to the state's unique economy, any senator from Washington almost had to vote for free trade pacts. Cantwell was one of 22 senators to vote not to confirm
United States Supreme Court nominee
John Roberts, citing his potential views on abortion and the environment. In January 2006, after publicly announcing her opposition to Supreme Court nominee
Samuel Alito, Cantwell, 18 other Democrats and all 53 present Republicans, voted for the
cloture motion. The success of this motion ended an unlikely attempt to
filibuster Alito's confirmation led by Senators
John Kerry and
Ted Kennedy. Alito was confirmed the next day by a vote of 58–42, with most Democrats, including Cantwell, voting against confirmation. In 2010, Cantwell voted to invoke cloture to begin debate on the
Don't ask, don't tell policy in the military. In the
2016 United States presidential election, Cantwell received one electoral vote for vice president from a
faithless elector in Washington. Cantwell has led efforts to improve internet privacy laws. In 2024, Cantwell crafted legislation to require airline passengers to request a refund for a canceled flight rather than automatically receiving one.
Abortion and contraceptives Cantwell has expressed support for making
Plan B contraceptives available to girls 16 and under. In 2007, she co-sponsored the Prevention First Act, a bill that sought to increase national access to
family planning and preventative methods as a means to reduce unwanted pregnancies. It included giving women access to Plan B, as well as expanding
Medicaid to cover family planning. She was criticized by her Republican challenger, State Senator Michael Baumgartner, who suggested that she was too extreme and too far to the left of Washington voters on this issue, and expressed concern about 11-year-olds getting these drugs without a prescription. Cantwell calls herself "100%
pro-choice", and consistently supports the
pro-choice movement's positions. She was one of 34 senators to vote against the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which President
George W. Bush signed into law. She also voted against the
Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which made it an additional crime to kill or harm a fetus during a criminal assault upon the mother. That bill passed the Senate by a vote of 61–38, and was signed into law by Bush in 2004.
Environment and energy Cantwell opposed drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and was one of the most vocal critics of the increase of oil and gasoline prices during 2008. Advocating increased regulation of futures markets and
windfall profits taxes on oil profits, she has drawn scathing criticism from the
Wall Street Journal. In 2005, Cantwell scored what many perceived as one of the biggest victories of her first term when she blocked Senator
Ted Stevens's efforts to allow drilling in ANWR. Stevens attached the measure to a bill that provided money for defense spending and
Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Cantwell rounded up the votes of 41 Democrats and three Republicans, enough to block a final vote. Stevens removed the
ANWR drilling measure from the larger bill, promising to bring the matter up at a later date. In 2004, Cantwell received the highest rating possible from the
League of Conservation Voters for her environmental voting record. She is known for supporting alternative energy research and for protecting Washington's forests from logging and the construction of paved roads and has been endorsed by various prominent environmental advocacy groups. She has opposed drilling in ANWR on multiple occasions, has voted to reduce oil usage by 40% by 2025, and has opposed legislation to relax or terminate CAFE standards.
The Seattle Times has called Cantwell's environmental record "pristine", and the
Wilderness Society has called her an "environmental champion". In 2009, Cantwell introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act (S. 2877), also called the Cantwell-Collins bill, a "cap and dividend"
emissions trading proposal. Senator
Susan Collins co-sponsored it. Cantwell chaired the Senate Democrats 20/20 Energy Independence campaign and co-chaired the Apollo Alliance in 2006. One of her main accomplishments was the passage of an amendment "To prevent energy
market manipulation", which passed 57–40 in the Senate in November 2006; a previous effort was defeated by a vote of 50–48. In 2011,
The Humane Society of the United States praised Cantwell's no-tolerance policy and effective removal of the practice of shark finning, which kills an estimated 73 million sharks per year. In February 2019, in response to reports that the EPA intended to decide against setting limits for
perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (
PFOS) and
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water as part of an upcoming national strategy to manage the chemicals, Cantwell was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Acting EPA Administrator
Andrew R. Wheeler calling on the EPA "to develop enforceable federal drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, as well as institute immediate actions to protect the public from contamination from additional per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)." In September 2019, Cantwell was one of eight senators to sign a bipartisan letter to congressional leadership requesting full and lasting funding of the Land and Water Conservation Act to aid national parks and public lands, benefit the $887 billion American outdoor recreation economy, and "ensure much-needed investment in our public lands and continuity for the state, tribal, and non-federal partners who depend on them".
Foreign policy Criticism of Amanda Knox's wrongful conviction On December 4, 2009, the day that an Italian court wrongly convicted 22-year-old Washingtonian
Amanda Knox of the
murder of Meredith Kercher, Cantwell released a statement expressing her dismay, saying she had "serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted [the] trial". She called the evidence against Knox insufficient, said Knox had been subjected to "harsh treatment" after her arrest, and said there had been "negligence" in the handling of evidence. She also complained that jurors had not been
sequestered, allowing them to view "negative news coverage" about Knox, and that one of the prosecutors had a misconduct case pending in relation to another trial. Cantwell said she would seek
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's assistance. A State Department spokesman said in December 2009 that the department had followed the case closely and would continue to do so. He added: "It is still in the early days but ... we haven't received any indications necessarily that Italian law was not followed." Knox was later exonerated.
Iraq War On October 11, 2002, Cantwell voted in favor of the
Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq. Her October 10, 2002, press release quoted her as saying on the Senate floor, "my vote for this resolution does not mean that I am convinced of the Administration has answered all the questions. I believe the following issues must be addressed before the U.N. or the U.S. move forward with military action." Cantwell detailed six specific areas in which her questions and concerns had yet to be satisfactorily addressed at the time of her vote to authorize war: "First: Continued Multilateral Approach ... Second: Successful Military Strategy ... Third: A Post-War Commitment Strategy ... Fourth: Fighting the Broader War on Terrorism ... Fifth: Maintaining Middle East Stability ... Sixth: Protecting Iraqi Civilians." In 2006, Cantwell voted against the
Kerry-Feingold Amendment to S. 2766, which would have set a timetable for
withdrawal, but for the Levin-Reed Amendment, which would encourage beginning a phased withdrawal by the end of the year, with no timetable for completion.
Israel In April 2017, Cantwell co-sponsored the
Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S.270), which would have made it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment, for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and
Israeli settlements in the occupied
Palestinian territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government. After previously declining to support resolutions blocking the sale of arms to Israel in 2024 and 2025, Cantwell joined 39 other senate democrats in April 2026 to vote in support of blocking the sale of bombs and armored bulldozers to Israel.
Health care reform Cantwell supports
health care reform in the United States, and cosponsored Senator
Ron Wyden's
Healthy Americans Act. In her role as a member of the
Finance Committee, she had an influential role in crafting health care reform legislation. On September 29, 2009, when the Finance Committee considered health care reform legislation, Cantwell supported amendments to establish a public health care option that would compete with private insurers. In 2009,
The Stranger ran an article on Cantwell's opposition to the inclusion of a public option in the health-care reform plan. They reported: "Seattle congressman Jim McDermott supports it. Washington senator Patty Murray wants it. So does President Barack Obama. So does the often conservative
Seattle Times editorial page. So do 72 percent of Americans, according to a recent poll. So what's going on with Washington's junior senator, Maria Cantwell? Why doesn't she want Congress to include a public option—a new government-run health-care plan that will be available to everyone, and will compete with private insurance companies to bring down costs—in its health-care-reform package?" Cantwell cited her concerns with getting the bill through the Senate as the reason for her opposition.
Immigration In 2006, Cantwell, along with 38 of 44 Senate Democrats, voted for the
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (
S. 2611). This legislation included provisions to improve border security, increased fines and other punishments for employers of illegal immigrants, created a guest worker program (which included a near doubling of the number of H1-B
visas), and created a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. The bill, with support from Republican leadership, passed 62–36. Debate would have also commenced on the
DREAM Act, but was halted by a Republican filibuster. In 2025, Cantwell signed a letter from Patty Murray’s office to ICE Director Todd Lyons that cited explicit concerns about the treatment of immigrants at the Tacoma detention center.
Minimum wage In March 2021, Cantwell was among the 42 Democrats to vote unsuccessfully to include a
$15 hourly minimum wage in
the American Rescue Plan.
Sexual abuse in Olympic sports Cantwell chairs the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which has jurisdiction over the
United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the
United States Center for SafeSport (SafeSport), and the issue of sexual abuse in Olympic sports. She has praised the
Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, crafted to protect athletes from emotional and physical abuse and harassment, which created SafeSport to prevent and respond to misconduct.
Support for fellow Democrats Cantwell is a major supporter of fellow Democratic candidates for public office. In 2006, facing her own challenging race, she used
ActBlue to raise $100,000 for
Darcy Burner,
Peter J. Goldmark, and Richard Wright, all of whom were facing difficult House races in Washington. In the 2008 cycle, Cantwell was particularly committed to supporting Senator
Mary Landrieu's reelection. in
Denver,
Colorado. On December 31, 2007, Cantwell became the 10th senator to endorse
Hillary Clinton for
President of the United States. She supported Clinton throughout the primaries, but vowed to vote for the winner of the pledged delegates. After Clinton conceded on June 7, Cantwell endorsed Obama. At the Washington State Democratic Convention on June 15, she said: "I do want to see a strong Democratic woman in the White House ... That's why I'm so glad Michelle Obama will be the next first lady." On October 20, 2013, Cantwell was one of 16 female Democratic senators to sign a letter endorsing
Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee in the
2016 presidential election.
Committee assignments Cantwell's committee assignments for the 118th Congress are as follows: •
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (Chair) • As chair, Cantwell is an
ex officio member of all subcommittees. •
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources •
Committee on Finance •
Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure •
Subcommittee on Health Care •
Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight •
Committee on Indian Affairs •
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship •
Joint Committee on Taxation Caucus memberships •
Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues • Congressional Hazards Caucus • Congressional Internet Caucus • Congressional Wine Caucus • Senate National Guard Caucus •
Senate New Democrat Coalition • Senate Steel Caucus •
Rare Disease Caucus ==Personal life==