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Former member of Congress · last served 114th Congress

Official portrait of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski

Barbara A. Mikulski

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · MarylandSenate 1987–2017 · House 1977–1987 (MD-3)

Barbara Mikulski was a Democratic U.S. senator from Maryland, first elected to Congress in 1977, who voted with most Democrats on 94% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 1 bill that became law (113th–114th Congress).

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40Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–114th Congress (excludes amendments)
1Passed a chamberof 25 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)
1Became law1 substantive + 0 ceremonial · 113th–114th Congress
16Broke with partyof 247 yes/no votes, 112th (6.5%)
4Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (1.6%)
—Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: not in office

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

5 most recent votes

5 most recent bills

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Mikulski has won

Sen. Mikulski has won 5 U.S. House elections (1976–1984) and 5 U.S. Senate elections (1986, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 21.4 to 52.3 points.

010204060Margin of victory, points (axis starts at 0)1976, MD-3: won by 49.2 points1976MD-31978: unopposed19781980, MD-3: won by 52.3 points19801982, MD-3: won by 48.4 points19821984, MD-3: won by 37.7 points19841986, MD Senate: won by 21.4 points1986MD Senate1992, MD Senate: won by 42.0 points19921998, MD Senate: won by 41.0 points19982004, MD Senate: won by 31.1 points20042010, MD Senate: won by 26.4 points2010
Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed
Elections won10 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed
Closest win: 21.4 points1986, MD Senate
Won an open seat or took one from the other party2 of 10 elections (open seat or changed party)
Seat history, Maryland’s 3rd districtWinners, most recent three: Benjamin L. Cardin (D) 1986–2004 → John P. Sarbanes (D) 2006–2022 → Sarah Elfreth (D) 2024. Elections shown, not terms; special elections not included.
Seat history, Maryland Senate (class 3)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Charles Mathias (R) 1980 → Barbara A. Mikulski (D) 1986–2010 → Chris Van Hollen (D) 2016–2022. The seat is next on the ballot in 2028.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has Maryland done while Sen. Mikulski served?

2005 to 2016 in Maryland: typical household income was up 4% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 1.4 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was about the same.

Typical household income · after inflationMaryland $103.5KU.S. $75.5K
Maryland: $99.5K in 2005 → $103.5K in 2016
Maryland up 4%U.S. up 1%
Share of people below the poverty lineU.S. 14.0%Maryland 9.7%
Maryland: 8.2% in 2005 → 9.7% in 2016
Maryland up 1.4 pointsU.S. up 0.7 points
Share of workers looking for a jobU.S. 5.8%Maryland 5.4%
Maryland: 5.7% in 2005 → 5.4% in 2016
Maryland about the sameU.S. down 1.2 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Maryland during Mikulski’s time representing it (1987 to 2017). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Survey years start at 2005. The yearly estimates for Maryland begin in 2005, so 1987 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

114th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 19 bills sponsored.

RecordBillsSource
Bills sponsored19Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed1See the 1 →
With a committee report listed1See the 1 →
Evidence
How counted
Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 114th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields
cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed
October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.