Mark Warner (15 December 1954-) was the Governor of Virginia (D) from 12 January 2002 to 14 January 2006 (succeeding Jim Gilmore and preceding Tim Kaine) and the US Senator from Virginia from 3 January 2009 (succeeding John Warner).
Biography[]
Mark Warner was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1954, and he grew up in Illinois and Vernon, Connecticut. Warner graduated from George Washington University and Harvard University, the first of his family to graduate from college. He made a significant fortune as a broker of mobile phone franchise licenses, and he became a successful venture capitalist, amassing a personal wealth of $200,000,000. In 1996, he ran for the US Senate as a moderate Democrat, performing strongly in the state's rural areas. However, he lost the election to Republican incumbent John Warner by a margin of 52% to 47%. However, he was elected Governor in 2001, and he lowered food and income taxes while increasing the cigarette and sales taxes, saving the state's AAA bond rating. His popularity reduced the majorities in the House of Delegates built up by the Republicans in the 1990s, and he left office with a 71% approval rating. In 2008, he was then elected to the US Senate, replacing the retiring John Warner, hiis former rival candidate. He supported the 2008 stimulus bill, supported a bipartisan solution to the country's fiscal challenges, voted in favor of Obamacare, supported the relaxation of key banking regulations, supported the Patriot Act, and supported background checks for gun buyers.