--- title: Mikulski Plans to Retire But Won't End Fight for Women in Politics description: “I’m not ready to write my last chapter" canonical: https://time.com/3731059/mikulski-senate-women-clinton/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-04T01:57:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:15.472Z article:section: Politics og:title: Mikulski Plans to Retire But Won't End Fight for Women in Politics og:description: “I want to give it all I’ve got to elect more women to the United States Senate" og:url: https://time.com/3731059/mikulski-senate-women-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae0d6caada26b82d/698781fc06f2c14105334439/barbara-mikulski1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress, speaks during a news conference announcing her retirement after her current term, in the Fells Point section of Baltimore on March 2, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mikulski Plans to Retire But Won't End Fight for Women in Politics twitter:description: “I want to give it all I’ve got to elect more women to the United States Senate" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae0d6caada26b82d/698781fc06f2c14105334439/barbara-mikulski1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mikulski Will 'Give It All I've Got' to Elect More Women to the Senate by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 4, 2015 1:57 AM UTC  Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress, speaks during a news conference announcing her retirement after her current term, in the Fells Point section of Baltimore on March 2, 2015. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress, speaks during a news conference announcing her retirement after her current term, in the Fells Point section of Baltimore on March 2, 2015.Steve Ruark—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Mar 4, 2015 1:57 AM UTC Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski took the stage at the EMILY’s List 30th anniversary gala to a raucous applause on Tuesday, one day after announcing she would not seek re-election after her current term ends in two years. The firebrand Democrat, the longest-serving woman in Senate history, said while she’s ready to “turn the page,” she’s not quite throwing in the towel: “I’m not ready to write my last chapter.” “I want to give it all I’ve got to elect more women to the United States Senate… and a woman to the White House,” she said, before a not-so-veiled nod to presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “In 2016, we will elect that Democratic woman president and you know who I’m talking about.” Mikulski was the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in 1986, after about a decade in the House, with the support of EMILY’s List. The organization, which was in its early stages at the time, has helped elect pro-choice Democratic women to public office. Calls for paycheck fairness, raising the minimum wage and tax breaks for the middle class were intertwined with others for electing and supporting women in politics. When they say, “she doesn’t look the part,” Mikulski said, “Tell them, this is what the part looks like.” ### Photos: Meet America's 10 Newest Senators  Joni Ernst A Lieutenant Colonel of the Iowa Army National Guard, Ernst has served on the Iowa State Senate since 2004. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  David Perdue A businessman from Macon, Ga., Perdue makes his political debut in the seat of retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss. David Goldman—AP  Tom CottonA U.S. Army Veteran and lawyer, Cotton has served as Representative for Arkansas's 4th district since 2012 and now moves on to the Senate. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  Cory Gardner Gardner formerly served in the Colorado House of Representatives and U.S. House of Representatives. He beat incumbent Sen. Mark Udall. David Zalubowski—AP  Thom Tillis Tillis is the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and has served there 2006. Davis Turner—Getty Images  Mike Rounds From Huron, S.D., Rounds served as South Dakota governor from 2003 to 2011. Michael Conroy—AP  Shelley Moore Capito The daughter of former West Virginia Gov. Arch Alfred Moore, Jr., Capito has served as a U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 2nd District since 2001. Tyler Evert—AP  Steve DainesA businessman with Procter & Gamble for 13 years, Daines became a member of the House of Representatives in 2013. Michael Albans—AP  James LankfordLankford has served as Representative for Oklahoma's 5th District since 2011. Sue Ogrocki—AP  Ben Sasse The President of Midland University in Fremont, Neb., since 2010, Sasse won the Senate seat vacated by Sen. Mike Johanns. Nati Harnik—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3731059/mikulski-senate-women-clinton/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3731059/mikulski-senate-women-clinton/"},"headline":"Mikulski Will 'Give It All I've Got' to Elect More Women to the Senate","datePublished":"2015-03-04T01:57:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:15.472Z","description":"“I’m not ready to write my last chapter\"","url":"https://time.com/3731059/mikulski-senate-women-clinton/","keywords":["Senate","Congress"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae0d6caada26b82d/698781fc06f2c14105334439/barbara-mikulski1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae0d6caada26b82d/698781fc06f2c14105334439/barbara-mikulski1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sen. 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