Friends of Mark Warner

Mark Warner was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2008 after having served as Governor of Virginia, where he returned the Commonwealth to economic prosperity by bringing thousands of new jobs to Virginia while working across the political aisle to turn budget deficits into surpluses.

No stranger to hard work, Mark put himself through George Washington University through a combination of jobs and student loans to become the first in his family to graduate from college. Mark successfully invested in the earliest days of the cell phone industry and eventually co-founded the company that became Nextel. His success allowed him to make early investments in hundreds of start-up technology companies that continue to create jobs and contribute to Virginia’s economy. He has channeled his strong business experience into his public service by focusing on policies that encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and promote fiscal responsibility.

In 2001, Mark was elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and he worked in a bipartisan way with a Republican-led General Assembly to cut spending and apply business principles to state government. Governor Warner worked with Republicans to turn a $6 billion budget shortfall into a $1 billion surplus. Governor Warner applied his extensive business experience to focus on creating nearly 130,000 new private-sector jobs during his four-year term, and he launched innovative programs to improve public schools and strengthen Virginia’s world-class colleges and universities. When he left office in 2006, Virginia was consistently recognized as the nation’s Best Managed State, the Best State for Business, and the Best State for Educational Opportunities.

When Sen. John Warner announced his retirement in 2007, former Governor Warner launched his candidacy and was overwhelmingly elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2008.

Since day one, Mark Warner has worked across the aisle and built consensus in Congress to strengthen America’s economy and solve problems for Virginia families. Building on his government reforms efforts as Virginia’s Governor, Sen. Warner has been a leader in Congress in bipartisan efforts to eliminate red tape, promote accountability, and impose greater transparency in federal spending. As Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Warner has helped lead the investigation into Russia’s attack on our democracy in 2016 and led efforts to improve our nation’s cybersecurity and prevent the manipulation of social media by foreign adversaries and other bad actors. He has also led efforts in the Senate to modernize our healthcare system, combat the opioid crisis, and make healthcare more affordable for all Virginians.

Senator Warner and his wife Lisa Collis are the proud parents of three daughters. They live in Alexandria, Virginia.