Patty Murray Biography, Career, Family, Spouse, Kids and Net Worth

A photo of Patty Murray

This article will answer every question you have about Patty Murray. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about her.

  1. What does Patty Murray do for a living?
  2. Who are Patty Murray’s parents and siblings?
  3. What are Patty Murray’s interests and hobbies?
  4. Is Patty Murray married or does she have a girlfriend/boyfriend?
  5. Does Patty Murray have any children?
  6. Where is Patty Murray now?
  7. How tall is Patty Murray?
  8. How much money does Patty Murray earn?
  9. What is Patty Murray’s net worth?

N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.

Who is Patty Murray?

Patricia Lynn Murray is a popular American politician who is a senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to 1992. She was Washington’s 1st female U.S. Senator and is expected to assume the role of Senate Presidents pro tempore in the 118th Congress.

She worked as a preschool teacher and, later, as a parenting teacher at Shoreline Community College. A long-time advocate for environmental and education issues, Murray ran for the Washington State Senate in 1988 and defeated two-term incumbent Bill Kiskaddon. She served one term before launching a campaign for the United States Senate in 1992. She has been re-elected five times, most recently in 2022.

Murray has been a part of party leadership since 2001 as a senator. Having served as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Conference secretary, and assistant Democratic leader. Among several committee chair positions. Murray garnered national attention in 2013. When she and Republican representative Paul Ryan announced that they had negotiated a 2-year, bipartisan budget, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. Murray is currently the 6th-most senior Senator, the third-most senior Senate Democrat, and the dean of Washington’s congressional delegation.

Patty Murray Career

Murray has said, a state representative once told her she could not make a difference because she was just a “mom in tennis shoes as a citizen-lobbyist for environmental and educational issues. The phrase stuck, and she later used it in her successful campaigns for Shoreline School District board of directors (1985–89), and Washington State Senate from1989 to 93. And United States Senate from 1993 to the present. she was successful in gathering grassroots support to strike down proposed preschool program budget cuts. Murray unseated two-term incumbent Republican state Senator Bill Kiskaddon in 1988.

U.S. Senate from 1993 to present

Election 1992

Murray revealed her candidacy for the U.S. Senate following The Seattle Times published a series of articles alleging that incumbent Democratic Senator Brock Admas had sexually assaulted a number of women in 1992. Adams denied the allegation, but his popularity walked considerably and he chose to retire rather than risk losing the seat for his party. Murray defeated Congressman Don Bonker for the Democratic nomination.

In the general election, she defeated Republican Congressman Rod Chandler, 54% to 46%, despite being outspent by a wide margin. Chandler seemed to have the upper hand in 1 of the debates until for some unknown reason he quoted the Roger Miller song “Dang Me. He was further damaged by the unpopularity of President George H. W. Bush in the Pacific Northwest.

A photo of Patty Murray
A photo of Patty Murray

How old is Patty Murray?

Murray is 72 years old as of 2022, having been born on October 11, 1950, in Both, Washington. She shared her birthday with popular people such as Amitabh Bachchan, Andrea Navedo, Cardi B, Chris Spielman, Constance Zimmer, Daryl Hall, David Morse, Dawn French, and many more.

Patty Murray Family

Who are Patty Murray’s Parents?

Murray was born and raised in Bothell to her parents David L. Johns and Beverly A McLaughlin. Her mother was an accountant while her father served in World War II and was awarded a Purple Heart.

Does Patty Murray have Siblings?

Murray was born and raised in Bothell, Washington where she grew up with her parents and six siblings including a twin sister.

Patty Murray Education

Murray graduated from Washington State University in 1972 with a degree in physical education.

Patty Murray Spouse

Murray has been longtime married to her husband, Bob Murray, since 1972. Murray met her future husband while she was volunteering at the Seattle Veterans Hospital.

Patty Murray Kids

Murray and her spouse have two children a son named Randy Murray and a daughter named Sara Murray.

Patty Murray Height

Adding up her well-curved beautiful body, she stands at a height of 5 ft 6 in (1.70 m) and a weight of 156 lbs (71 kg).

1998

She faced Congresswomen Linda Smith. A staunch conservative and Maverick who was 1 of 9 House Republicans to vote against confirming U.S House Speaker Newt Gingrich in early 1997. Opposed gay rights and viewed homosexuality as a “morally unfit inclination. Murray heavily outspent her and was reelected, 58% to 42%.

2004

Murray faced Republican U.S. Representative George Nethercutt. Term limits became an issue in the campaign in 2004. As Democrats seized on Nethercutt’s broken term-limits pledge that he had made when he unexpectedly unseated Speaker Tom Foley in 1994. Nethercutt was also hampered by his lack of name recognition in the more densely populated western part of the state, home to 2-3rds of the state’s population.

Washington has not elected a senator from east of the Cascades since Miles Poindexter in 1916. Other important issues included national security and the war in Iraq. Nethercutt supported the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, while Murray opposed it. Nethercutt was a heavy underdog from the start and his campaign never gained much traction. Murray was reelected, 55% to 43%.

2010

The 2010 election was the first Senate election to be held under the new blanket primary since Initiative 872 had passed in 2004. Primary, Murray appeared on the ballot alongside four other Democratic candidates, and 6 Republican candidates On August 17. A Reform Party candidate and three independent candidates.

She received a plurality, 46%, and advanced to the general election along with her main Republican challenger, former state Senator, and 2 Saints gubernatorial nominee Dino Rossi, who received 33%. Leading up to the election, several prominent Washington State newspapers endorsed Murray. Rossi conceded the election to Murray on November 4, 2010, two days after election day. She won 52.08% of the vote to Rossi’s 47.37%, Murray’s smallest reelection margin to date.

2016

In 2016, Murray ran for a 5th. She faces 3 Democratic challengers in the August 2, 2016, primary election. Murray faced King County Councilman Chris Vance in the general election. She defeated Vance, 59% to 41%.

2022

She won reelection to a 6th term over Republican Tiffany Smiley in the 2022 election.

Legislation

Patty introduced the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act into the Senate on February 28, 2013. The bill would prevent the United States Forest Service from removing a building from the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area in the state of Washington unless the agency determines that the structure is unsafe for visitors. She argued that the bill should be passed in order to assist the tourism industry in the area while protecting the lookout point in question.

The bill would be, a very small step in what will be a very long recovery” and would “provide a glimmer of hope for the long-term recovery of this area”, she said, referring to the area’s recovery from the casualties and damage caused by the 2014 Oso mudslide. The bill passed both the House and the Senate.

Political positions

Abortion

She supports abortion rights. Murray opposed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill criminalizing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, saying on the Senate floor: “I oppose the fact that we are still voting on whether women and doctors are best equipped to make health care decisions — or politicians here in D. C. She also voted against restricting US funding for UN family planning programs.

Agriculture

Murray was 1 of 38 senators to sign a letter from United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue warning dairy farmers in March 2019. Have continued to face market instability and is struggling to survive the fourth year of sustained low prices” and urging his department to “strongly encourage these farmers to consider the Dairy Margin Coverage program.

Murray and 18 other Democratic senators sent USDA Inspector General (IG) Phyllis K. Fong a letter requesting that the IG investigate USDA instances of retaliation in June 2019. And political decision-making and asserting that not to do so would mean these “actions could be perceived as a part of this administration’s broader pattern of not only discounting. The value of federal employees, but suppressing, undermining, discounting, and wholesale ignoring scientific data produced by their own qualified scientists.

Environmental policy

She was one of 19 senators to sign a letter to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt questioning Pruitt’s decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan in October 2017. Asserting that the repeal’s proposal used “mathematical sleights of hand to overstate the costs of industry compliance with the 2015 Rule and understate the benefits that will be lost if the 2017 repeal is finalized. And that denying science and fabricating math would fail to “satisfy the requirements of the law, nor will it slow the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The inexorable rise in sea levels, or the other dire effects of global warming that our planet is already experiencing.”

In response to reports of the EPA intending to decide against setting drinking water limits for Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid in February 2019. And perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as part of an upcoming national strategy to manage the aforementioned class of chemicals. Murray was 1 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.

Health care

Murray introduced legislation in the Senate called The Emergency Contraception Access and Education Act in 2014. The bill would require hospitals that earn federal funding to provide rape victims with emergency contraception. She introduced an amendment to a bill in the Senate to require health insurance plans to offer contraceptive coverage to patients regardless of employers’ beliefs, religious or otherwise in July 2014. Her amendment required 60 votes to move forward, and all but 3 Republicans voted against the measure.

Murray was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar, and Seema Verma in December 2018 And Steve Mnuchin, arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to authorize states to “increase health care costs for millions of consumers. While weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions”. The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and “re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress.

Labor

Murray signed a letter to United States Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta that advocated that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiate a full investigation into a complaint filed in July 2019. Including interactions with customers such as customers throwing hot coffee and threatening employees with firearms on May 20 by a group of Chicago-area employees of McDonald’s that detailed workplace violence incidents. The senators argued that McDonald’s could and must “do more to protect its employees, but employers will not take seriously their obligations to provide a safe workplace if OSHA does not enforce workers’ rights to a hazard-free workplace.

LGBTQ rights

Murray was one of 69 members of the US House and Senate to sign a letter to then-FDA commissioner Sylvia Burwell, requesting that the FDA revise in September 2014. Its policy bans the donation of corneas and other tissues by men who have had sex with another man in the preceding 5 years.

In each meeting of congress, Murray and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) reintroduced the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act into the Senate and House in 2016 beginning. This bill, if passed, would prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, commercial sexual orientation and gender identity conversion therapy.

Other positions

She along with 38 Senate Democrats, Voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 in May 2006. The bill includes provisions to improve border security, increase fines, and other punishments for employers of illegal immigrants. And creates a guest worker program that includes an almost doubling of the number of H-1B visas and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. The bill, with support from some in the GOP leadership, passed 62-36.

Murray repeatedly cosponsored legislation to create the Wild Sky Wilderness area in the Washington Cascade Range. She eventually succeeded, with the bill signed by President George W. Bush on May 8, 2008. Murray has also supported legislation to increase the size of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, also in the Washington Cascades.

2006

The New York Times wrote that “In 1994, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina was said to have engaged in excessive touching of his then-freshman colleague Patty Murray of Washington on August 2, 2006. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Murray asked for. And earns, an apology. Through a spokeswoman, Murray declined to comment.

2008

Murray endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. One month later, the Washington Democratic caucus awarded two-thirds of its delegates to Barack Obama and one-third to Clinton. After Clinton’s June 7 concession, Murray endorsed Obama.

2021

Murray abstained from voting on the creation of the January 6 commission on May 28, 2021. She cited a “personal family matter” for the abstention. Murray had expressed support for the commission and had talked about her experience on the day of the insurrection.

Veterans

Murray was one of 23 Democratic senators to sign a letter to the Defense Department in August 2013. Warning of some payday lenders “offering predatory loan products to service members at exorbitant triple-digit effective interest rates and loan products that do not include the additional protections envisioned by the law. And asserting that service members, along with their families, “deserve the strongest possible protections and swift action to ensure that all forms of credit offered to members of our armed forces are safe and sound.

Murray was one of 21 senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie in December 2018. Then calling it “appalling that the VA is not conducting oversight of its own outreach efforts. In spite of suicide prevention being the VA’s highest clinical priority. And requesting Wilkie “consult with experts with proven track records of successful public and mental health outreach campaigns. With a particular emphasis on how those individuals measure success.

Patty Murray’s Net Worth

An American politician who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. She has a net worth of $800, 000 as of 2022.