Jeanne Shaheen
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American politician and former educator serving since 2009 as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire. A member of the Democratic Party, she served from 1997 to 2003 as the 78th governor of New Hampshire. Shaheen is the first woman elected both governor and a U.S. senator, and was the first female governor of New Hampshire.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After serving two terms in the New Hampshire Senate, Shaheen was elected governor in 1996 and reelected in 1998 and 2000. In 2002, she unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate against Republican nominee John E. Sununu. She served as director of the Harvard Institute of Politics before resigning to run for the U.S. Senate again in the 2008 election, defeating Sununu in a rematch. She has been the dean of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation since 2011, when Senator Judd Gregg retired.
Shaheen became the first Democratic senator from New Hampshire since John A. Durkin. In 2014, she became the second Democrat from New Hampshire to be reelected to the Senate since Thomas J. McIntyre in 1972. She was reelected in 2020. On March 12, 2025, she announced that she would not seek reelection in 2026. Template:TOC limit
Early life and education
Jeanne Shaheen was born Cynthia Jeanne Bowers in St. Charles, Missouri, the daughter of Belle Ernestine (Stillings) and Ivan E. Bowers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Unreliable source?
Shaheen graduated from high school in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in political science from the University of Mississippi.<ref name="10things">Template:Cite magazine</ref> She taught high school in Mississippi<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and moved to New Hampshire in 1973, where she also taught school.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life
Shaheen is married to William Shaheen, an attorney and judge. They have three children together. Their daughter Stefany Shaheen is a candidate for New Hampshire's 1st congressional district in 2026.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She publicly opposed her mother's position on the 2025 federal government shutdown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Jeanne and William Shaheen formerly owned a store in New Hampshire that sold used jewelry.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a press release alleging that Senator Shaheen intervened to remove her husband from enhanced Transportation Security Administration (TSA) scrutiny. After she contacted TSA, he was reportedly removed from the list and exempted from enhanced screening. DHS characterized this as evidence of politicization in the Biden administration's watchlisting process and accused the program of being used to benefit political allies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Early political career
As a Democrat, she worked on several campaigns, including Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign, and as the New Hampshire campaign manager for Gary Hart in 1984,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> before running for office in 1990, when she was elected to the state Senate for the 21st district. She was elected governor of New Hampshire in 1996 and reelected in 1998 and 2000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In April 2005, Shaheen was named director of Harvard's Institute of Politics,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> succeeding former U.S. Representative and Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman.
Governor of New Hampshire
Shaheen's decision to run for New Hampshire governor followed the retirement of Republican Governor Steve Merrill. Her opponent in 1996 was Ovide M. Lamontagne, then chairman of the State Board of Education. Shaheen presented herself as a moderate. According to a PBS profile, she focused on education funding issues, and pledged to expand kindergarten. She defeated Lamontagne by 57 to 40 percent.<ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref>
Shaheen was the first woman to be elected governor of New Hampshire.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (She was not, however, the first woman to serve as New Hampshire's governor; Vesta M. Roy was acting governor from December 30, 1982, until January 6, 1983.)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1998, she was reelected by a margin of 66 to 31 percent.<ref>Shaheen survives heated Humphrey challenge. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In both 1996 and 1998, Shaheen took a no-new-taxes pledge. After a court decision preventing education from being largely supported by local taxes, "her administration devised a plan that would have increased education spending and set a statewide property tax."<ref>The 'Live Free or Die' State in a Tough Spot on Taxes Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref>
Running for a third term in 2000, Shaheen refused to renew her no-new-taxes pledge, becoming the first New Hampshire governor in 38 years to win an election without making that pledge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shaheen's preferred solution to the school-funding problem was not a broad-based tax but legalized video-gambling at state racetracks—a solution repeatedly rejected by the state legislature.<ref>Shaheen, N.H. lawmakers still face school issue. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2001, Shaheen tried to implement a 2.5% sales tax, the first broad-based tariff of its kind in New Hampshire, which has never had a sales tax. The state legislature rejected her proposal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also proposed an increase in the state's cigarette tax and a 4.5% capital gains tax.
Presidential politics
2000
During the 2000 Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire, Shaheen supported Al Gore, and her husband served as Gore's New Hampshire campaign manager. According to the New York Observer, the Shaheens were critical in helping Gore win a narrow victory in the New Hampshire primary over Bill Bradley.<ref>Dem. & GOP Primaries: New Hampshire. Retrieved April 16, 2008. Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gore added Shaheen to his short list of potential vice presidential nominees, which also included Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.<ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref> Shaheen responded to speculation by stating she wasn't interested in the job.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There has since been discussion over whether Gore would have won the election had he picked Shaheen as his running mate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2004
After a short time teaching at Harvard University (and a fellowship in the Institute of Politics with former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift), Shaheen was named national chairperson of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign in September 2003.
U.S. Senate
Elections
2002
After three two-year terms as governor, Shaheen declined to run for a fourth, instead choosing to run for the U.S. Senate in 2002. Republican John E. Sununu defeated her by a 51 percent to 47 percent margin (19,751 votes). In an interview with the Concord Monitor, Shaheen attributed her loss in part to "discussion about the job that [she] did as governor." At that time, early Republican advertisements slammed her support for putting a sales tax on the ballot or faulted her for failing schools.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2004, former Republican consultant Allen Raymond pleaded guilty to jamming Democratic Party lines set up to get New Hampshire Democrats to the polls in 2002, which some (most notably former Senator Bob Smith, whom Sununu defeated in the Republican primary) believe contributed to Shaheen's loss.<ref>Template:Cite web. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref> A judge sentenced Raymond to five months in jail in February 2005. Charles McGee, the former state GOP executive director, was sentenced to seven months for his role.Template:Citation needed
Raymond alleged that James Tobin, Northeast field director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, masterminded the plot. In December 2005, Tobin was convicted of two federal felonies arising from the phone-jamming and sentenced to ten months in prison, but that conviction was reversed on appeal. In October 2008, prosecutors filed two new felony indictments charging that Tobin lied to an FBI agent when he was interviewed in 2003 about his role in the phone-jamming case.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These charges were summarily dismissed in 2009 after the federal judge in Maine's District Court found them motivated by "vindictive prosecution".<ref name="Harrison">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
2008
In early July 2007 through UNH, CNN and WMUR put out a poll<ref>Shaheen Beats Sununu In Latest Poll Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref> showing that Shaheen would beat Sununu in the 2008 Senate race (54–38). Other Democratic candidates did not have this type of lead, which led many to believe Shaheen would be the best choice to beat Sununu.
In April 2007, Shaheen met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer about a Senate run. Both said she would have strong support from the DSCC if she ran. On September 14, 2007, Shaheen announced her candidacy.<ref>Shaheen to run for Senate Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref> On September 15, she formally launched her campaign at her home in Madbury, New Hampshire. On September 21, EMILY's List endorsed her campaign.
Shaheen defeated Sununu 52% to 45% (44,535 votes).
2014
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Shaheen ran for reelection in 2014, facing former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 2014, Brown announced he was forming an exploratory committee to run against Shaheen. According to the Boston Herald, "Granite State Republicans are calling U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen a hypocrite for asking potential GOP challenger and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown to keep "outside" money out of the campaign while she fills the Democratic war chest on the West Coast".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2014, WMUR reported that Shaheen had never released her tax returns in her 18 years of public service in New Hampshire. Shaheen said she would not rule out releasing her returns, but would like to see her opponent do so first.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
She was endorsed again by Emily's List.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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On election night, even as her party lost control of the Senate, Shaheen won reelection with 51% of the vote to Brown's 48%. As a measure of how Republican New Hampshire once was, Shaheen is only the second Democrat in the state's history to win two terms in the Senate.
2020
Shaheen was reelected in 2020 with 57% of the vote to Republican nominee Bryant “Corky” Messner's 41%. She is the first New Hampshire Democrat elected to three full terms in the Senate. The only other Democrat to be popularly elected more than once from New Hampshire, Thomas J. McIntyre (who held the seat Shaheen currently holds), served the remainder of Styles Bridges's last term before being elected to two terms in his own right.
Tenure
On January 3, 2009, Shaheen was sworn in to the United States Senate. As a senator, she has sponsored 288 bills, five of which have become law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On January 6, 2021, Shaheen was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count when protesters attacked the U.S. Capitol. She tweeted during the attack that she and her staff were safe and that "We will not be stopped from doing our Constitutional duty".<ref name="West">Template:Cite news</ref> The day after the attack, Shaheen called Trump "unfit for office" and said that she supported impeaching him and removing him from office.<ref name="Brewer">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2024, Shaheen was ranked among the top 10 most bipartisan senators.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Chair)
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Committee on Armed Services
- Committee on Foreign Relations
- Committee on Small Business (chair)
- Select Committee on Ethics
- Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Caucus memberships
- Afterschool Caucuses<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Senate Taiwan Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Senate National Guard Caucus (co-chair)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Rare Disease Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Political positions
Healthcare
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In 2009, Shaheen partnered with U.S. Senator Susan Collins to introduce the Medicare Transitional Care Act, which provides follow-up care for discharged hospital patients to reduce re-hospitalizations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bill passed in 2010,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and research at the University of Pennsylvania predicted the measure would lower the cost of healthcare by as much as $5,000 per Medicare beneficiary while also improving healthcare quality and reducing re-hospitalizations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In December 2009, Shaheen voted for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Before the rollout of the ACA, Shaheen said that people who liked their current healthcare plans could keep them.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When asked about people who were losing their healthcare plans due to the ACA, Shaheen said they could keep their plans if they were "willing to pay more".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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In August 2019, Shaheen was one of 19 senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration to help states and Congress understand the potential consequences of the Texas v. United States Affordable Care Act lawsuit, writing that an overhaul of the present health care system would form "an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In October 2019, Shaheen was one of 27 senators to sign a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer advocating the passage of the Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence (CHIME) Act, which was set to expire the following month. The senators warned that if the funding for the Community Health Center Fund (CHCF) was allowed to expire, it "would cause an estimated 2,400 site closures, 47,000 lost jobs, and threaten the health care of approximately 9 million Americans."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Fiscal
On October 11, 2011, Shaheen voted to proceed with a proposed bill that included $446 billion in spending on infrastructure and schools and provided funding for state and local governments, as well as an extension of the payroll tax deduction. The spending would have been paid for by a 5.6% surtax on incomes above $1 million. The bill failed to obtain cloture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Shaheen used an earmark in a large appropriations bill to restore funding for a federal prison in Berlin, NH, despite a $276 million recommended cut.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gun policy
Shaheen supports making it illegal for individuals on the terrorist watchlist to buy guns<ref name="Brindley1005g">Template:Cite web</ref> and voted in favor of a bill proposing to expand background checks for gun purchases.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She also voted to ban magazines of over 10 bullets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, she participated in the Chris Murphy gun control filibuster in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting. Shaheen said that "moments of sympathy are not enough" and that common-sense gun laws must be enacted.<ref name="Mallon1005g">Template:Cite web</ref>
Energy
Following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Shaheen proposed abolishing the Minerals Management Service, the U.S. government agency tasked with regulating offshore drilling, arguing that reform had been insufficient and that a new agency was needed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shaheen also proposed legislation giving the president's bipartisan BP Oil Spill Commission subpoena power in its investigation.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> She argued that subpoena power was necessary to avoid another such disaster, emphasizing the spill's economic costs to the Gulf Coast region and the economy as a whole.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
On April 28, 2014, Shaheen introduced the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2014 (S. 2262; 113th Congress), a bill intended to improve efficient energy use.<ref name=NYTdavenport>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 2019 Shaheen was an original cosponsor of a bipartisan bill intended to mandate that the Environmental Protection Agency declare per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as hazardous substances that can be addressed with cleanup funds via the EPA Superfund law and require that polluters undertake or pay for remediation within a year of the bill's enaction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Shaheen opposed the Nord Stream 2, a pipeline for delivering natural gas from Russia to Germany.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Iraq War
In 2002, when Shaheen narrowly lost to Sununu, she supported both the 2003 invasion of Iraq and "regime change" for Iraq.<ref name="supported war">Shaheen supported war, too Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 16, 2008.</ref> Shaheen said that she came to supporting the policy of removing Saddam Hussein from power after meeting with former Clinton-administration National Security Advisor Sandy Berger. According to the Concord Monitor and Associated Press, the issue was a minor one in the race.
Shaheen later questioned George W. Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq. In a September 2004 televised interview as Kerry presidential campaign chair she said:<ref>Wallace, Kelly, CNN Anchor. (September 7, 2004). "Television broadcast:American Morning" Transcript. CNN website Retrieved 30 November 2018.</ref>
George [W.] Bush has taken us in the wrong direction. He misled us into war in Iraq. That war has not made us safer and more secure at home ... You know, we have not stabilized Afghanistan. We have not stabilized Iraq. There is no plan to win the peace.
On July 28, 2004, while serving as Chair of the Kerry-Edwards Campaign, Shaheen answered questions about her prior support of the Iraq war during an interview on C-SPAN.<ref>Jeanne Shaheen, National Chair, Kerry-Edwards Campaign Template:Webarchive</ref>
War in Afghanistan
Shaheen opposed the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
LGBT rights
Shaheen initially opposed same-sex marriage as Governor of New Hampshire, but in 2009 she came out in favor of marriage for same-sex couples and sponsored the Respect for Marriage Act.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also voted in favor of the repeal of Don't ask, don't tell, and supports government recognition of same-sex spouses of military and other government personnel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
Minimum wage
On March 5, 2021, Shaheen voted against Bernie Sanders's amendment to include a $15/hour minimum wage in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Immigration
In 2025, Shaheen was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Sudanese civil war
In October 2025, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured al-Fashir in Sudan, Shaheen denounced the RSF massacre of local civilians, urged that the RSF be designated a terrorist organization, and harshly criticized the United Arab Emirates for its support of the RSF.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Electoral history
Governor elections in New Hampshire: Results 1996–2000
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Jeanne Shaheen | 284,175 | 57% | Ovide Lamontagne | 196,321 | 40% | Fred Bramante | Independent Reform | 10,316 | 2% | Robert Kingsbury | Libertarian | 5,974 | 1% | |||||
| 1998 | Jeanne Shaheen (inc.) | 210,769 | 66% | Jay Lucas | 98,473 | 31% | Ken Blevens | Libertarian | 8,655 | 3% | Write-ins | Write-ins | 503 | <1% | |||||
| 2000 | Jeanne Shaheen (inc.) | 275,038 | 49% | Gordon Humphrey | 246,952 | 44% | Mary Brown | Independent | 35,904 | 6% | John Babiarz | Libertarian | 6,446 | 1% |
Template:Refbegin *Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, write-ins received 197 votes. Template:RefendPrimaries
| New Hampshire Governor Democratic primary election, 1996 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Jeanne Shaheen | 52,238 | 88% |
| Democratic | Lovett | 4,286 | 7% |
| Democratic | Woodworth | 2,609 | 4% |
| New Hampshire Governor Democratic primary election, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Jeanne Shaheen (inc.) | 45,249 | 60% |
| Democratic | Mark Fernald | 28,488 | 38% |
| U.S. Senate Democratic primary election in New Hampshire, 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Jeanne Shaheen | 43,968 | 89% |
| Democratic | Raymond Stebbins | 5,281 | 11% |
See also
Notes
References
External links
Template:Wikiquote Template:Commons category Template:Wikisource
- Senator Jeanne Shaheen official U.S. Senate website
- Jeanne Shaheen for Senate Template:Webarchive
- Template:C-SPAN
- Profile at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
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