Chris Van Hollen

Chris Van Hollen
Official portrait, 2017
United States Senator
from Maryland
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Serving with Ben Cardin
Preceded byBarbara Mikulski
Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
In office
January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019
LeaderChuck Schumer
Preceded byJon Tester
Succeeded byCatherine Cortez Masto
House Democratic Assistant to the Leader
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
LeaderNancy Pelosi
Preceded byXavier Becerra
Succeeded byJim Clyburn (Assistant Democratic Leader)
Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
LeaderNancy Pelosi
Preceded byRahm Emanuel
Succeeded bySteve Israel
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 8th district
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byConnie Morella
Succeeded byJamie Raskin
Member of the Maryland Senate
from the 18th district
In office
January 11, 1995 – January 8, 2003
Preceded byPatricia Sher
Succeeded bySharon M. Grosfeld
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 18th district
In office
January 9, 1991 – January 11, 1995
Preceded byPatricia Sher
Lawrence Wiser
Succeeded bySharon Grosfeld
Personal details
BornChristopher Van Hollen Jr.
(1959-01-10) January 10, 1959 (age 65)
Karachi, Pakistan
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Katherine Wilkens
(m. 1987)
Children3
Parent
EducationSwarthmore College (BA)
Harvard University (MPP)
Georgetown University (JD)
Signature
WebsiteSenate website

Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (/væn ˈhɒlən/ van HOL-ən; born January 10, 1959) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Maryland since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Van Hollen served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district from 2003 to 2017.[1][2]

In 2007, Van Hollen became the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). In this post, he was responsible for leading efforts to defend vulnerable Democrats and get more Democrats elected to Congress in 2008, which he did. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi created a new leadership post, Assistant to the Speaker, in 2006 so that Van Hollen could be present at all leadership meetings. He was elected ranking member on the Budget Committee on November 17, 2010. Pelosi appointed Van Hollen to the 12-member bipartisan Committee on Deficit Reduction with a mandate for finding major budget reductions by late 2011. On October 17, 2013, Pelosi appointed Van Hollen to serve on the bicameral conference committee.[3]

Van Hollen ran for the United States Senate in 2016 to replace retiring Senator Barbara Mikulski. He defeated U.S. Representative Donna Edwards in the Democratic primary and won the general election with 61% of the vote to Republican nominee Kathy Szeliga's 36%. He was reelected in 2022 with nearly 66% of the vote to Republican nominee Chris Chaffee's 34%. Van Hollen chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) from 2017 to 2019.[4] Van Hollen will become Maryland's senior senator when Ben Cardin retires from the Senate in 2025.[5]

  1. ^ "Christopher Van Hollen, Jr., U.S. Senator, Maryland". msa.maryland.gov. maryland.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  2. ^ "Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments 2011 COG Annual Report" (PDF). mwcog.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "Pelosi Names Conferees to FY 2014 Budget Conference". www.democraticleader.gov (Press release). Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  4. ^ Robillard, Kevin; Schor, Elena. "Van Hollen to serve as DSCC chair". Politico. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  5. ^ Barker, Jeff (May 1, 2023). "Longtime Maryland U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin won't seek re-election, creating rare Senate vacancy". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 1, 2023.