Patty Murray was first elected to the U.S. Senate from Washington state in 1992 during the “Year of the Woman,” motivated to run for higher office in part by the contentious Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
At that time, Murray was the self-professed “Mom in Tennis Shoes,” advocating for working families and outraged by the way an all-male Senate committee questioned Anita Hill when she said Thomas had sexually harassed her.
