Maggie Simmons

**Margaret Mae** "**Maggie**" **Simmons** (née **O'Malley**; born September 24, 1955) is an American politician serving as the senior U.S. Senator from Maine since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the Governor of Maine from 2007 to 2015, and as a member of the Maine Senate, representing the 25th district, from 2002 to 2007.

Born in the Manhattan borough of New York City to a working-class Irish-American family, Simmons graduated from Hunter College High School in 1972. After graduating, Simmons enrolled in Baruch College to study real estate, and graduated with her degree a year early in 1975. After finishing her degree, Simmons worked as a luxury realtor in Manhattan, selling many expensive homes. In 1989, Simmons left her real estate career and moved to Falmouth, Maine with her husband, real estate developer and venture capitalist Robert Simmons. After moving to Maine, Simmons stopped working in order to prioritize beginning a family. Following her husband's death in 1993, Simmons began selling real estate again, before leaving her career to enter politics in 2002.

Simmons began her political career in 2002, launching her campaign for the Maine Senate, representing the 25th district. She went on to win the election, later being reelected in 2004. In 2006, Simmons launched her campaign for Governor of Maine. Following a contentious Democratic primary, Simmons was able to secure the nomination and later defeated incumbent Hans Booker in the general election. As Governor, Simmons amassed wide approval ratings and easily won a second term in 2010, with over 65% of the vote. During the conclusion of her final term in 2014, Simmons launched her campaign for United States Senate. With pundits seeing her as the clear favorite to win, she easily won the Democratic primary and was elected to the Senate with 62% of the vote.

A widely popular figure in her home state of Maine, the rest of New England, and even nationwide, Simmons has established herself as an influential endorsement for politicians in contentious elections. Pundits have theorized Simmons as a potential future President or Vice President of the United States. She had denied any interest in running for President, but has not ruled out a Vice Presidential candidacy if given the right running mate.

## Early life and family

Simmons was born on September 24, 1955 in New York City to parents Kevin (1925–2007) and Mae O'Malley (née *McGuiness*; born 1928). She was raised in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in a working-class Irish-Catholic family; her great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from County Galway, Ireland in the 19th-century. Her father worked as a manual laborer for the city government, while her mother was a seamstress. Simmons is one of seven children; her siblings include Paul, born  (1952-06-03) June 3, 1952 (age 71), Robert, born  (1954-08-28) August 28, 1954 (age 69), Edward "Ed", born  (1956-08-23) August 23, 1956 (age 67), Darlene, born  (1960-02-18) February 18, 1960 (age 63), Dolores, born  (1961-05-12) May 12, 1961 (age 62), and Philip "Phil", born  (1962-10-17) October 17, 1962 (age 61). Simmons grew up in a three-bedroom apartment, where she shared a bedroom with both of her sisters.

## Education and real estate career

Simmons attended public schooling in New York City. She began her education in 1961, attending a local public elementary school around her neighborhood. She went on to begin junior high school in 1966, skipping the sixth grade due to her academic achievements. She began high school at Hunter College High School, a public high school for gifted students, in 1968. While at Hunter College High School, Simmons was an honors student and played girls varsity volleyball. She graduated from high school in 1972, and enrolled in the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. Despite being accepted to schools such as Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania, Simmons's family could only afford public school tuition and did not want her to move out-of-state. Simmons graduated from Baruch *cum laude* in 1975, a year early.

While at Baruch, Simmons became real estate certified and began working part-time selling small apartments. By the time of her graduation, Simmons had a full-time job lined up for her and afterwards began selling homes worth up to $5 million. While initially only certified to sell in the state of New York, Simmons later received licenses for Connecticut and New Jersey; by 1980, she was selling homes in New York City, Westchester County, New York, Northern New Jersey, Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Long Island, New York. In 1989, Simmons left real estate and moved to Falmouth, Maine with her husband. After moving to Maine, Simmons became a housewife and homemaker. Following her husband's death in 1993, Simmons returned to real estate to support her family, selling homes in the Portland metropolitan area. She left real estate once again in 2002, in order to enter politics.

## Political positions

*Main article: Political positions of Maggie Simmons.*

## Personal life

Simmons began a relationship with real estate developer and venture capitalist Robert Simmons in 1978, after she had shown him a townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. They later eloped while on a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979, and had a proper wedding ceremony the year afterwards in Montauk, New York. While married, Maggie continued her real estate career and resided with her husband on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. After Maggie was the victim of a mugging, the family sold their Manhattan townhouse and moved into Robert's country house in Falmouth, Maine permanently for safety concerns. In Maine, Maggie left her real estate career in order to begin a family. They had two children together: Darcy, born  (1991-02-01) February 1, 1991 (age 32), and Robert "Robbie", born  (1993-07-23) July 23, 1993 (age 30). Robert died after suffering a brain aneurysm in 1993, shortly before the birth of their son.

In 1997, Simmons began a relationship with lawyer George Simard. They became engaged in 1999, and married the following year in two wedding ceremonies: one in Portland, Maine and one in New York City. With their marriage, Simmons became a stepmother to Simard's daughter from a previous marriage, while Simard became a stepfather to Simmons's two children. The family owns a seven-bedroom home in Falmouth, while they also have owned an eight-bedroom home in Chevy Chase Village, Maryland since Simmons's election to the United States Senate in 2015. While Governor of Maine from 2007 to 2015, the family resided in The Blaine House in Augusta, Maine. Simmons has identified herself as a Roman Catholic, although she is non-practicing.