Jacqueline Carver

**Jacqueline Susanna Carver** (née **Levi**; born March 23, 1953) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior U.S. Senator from Nevada since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a member of the Nevada Senate, representing the 5th district, from 2008 to 2011, and a member of the Nevada Assembly, representing the 2nd district, from 2004 to 2008. Carver has been Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2019.

Born in Dearborn, Michigan, Carver graduated from University Liggett School in 1971, later moving to Malibu, California to attend Pepperdine University. She graduated from Pepperdine in 1975, with a degree in English. Afterwards, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend William S. Boyd School of Law, from which she gradated with her law degree in 1978. After graduating, Carver remained in Las Vegas and began working as an attorney. She founded her own law firm in 1988, and later left her law career in 2004, in order to enter politics.

Carver began her political career in 2004, launching her campaign for the 2nd district of the Nevada Assembly. She went on to win the Democratic nomination, and later won the general election. Carver was reelected in 2006, before announcing her campaign for Nevada Senate in 2008. She went on to win the State Senate race as well, and served for half of her term. In 2009, Carver announced that she would be running for United States Senate, and easily won the Democratic nomination. She won the general election in a close race, and was sworn in on January 3, 2011; Carver was reelected to a second term in 2016. In 2019, she was sworn in as Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

## Early life and family

Carver was born on March 23, 1953 in Dearborn, Michigan to parents Mordechai (1913–1989) and Elise Levi (née *Gluzman*; 1924–2014). Her father immigrated to the United States from Haifa, Israel in the 1930s, and is of Mizrahi Jewish ancestry; his ancestors came to Israel from Morocco and Lebanon. Her mother was born in the United States to an Ashkenazi Jewish family from Hungary. Mordechai worked as a philosophy professor at the University of Michigan–Dearborn, while Elise was a high school home economics teacher. Carver is the youngest of four children; her elder siblings include Lena, born  (1945-09-15) September 15, 1945 (age 78), Lionel, born  (1948-07-03) July 3, 1948 (age 75), and George, born  (1951-12-22) December 22, 1951 (age 72).

## Education and law career

Growing up, Carver attended private schooling. She began her education in 1959, attending Grosse Pointe University School, an independent coeducational PK–12 school in nearby Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She began high school at Grosse Pointe University School in 1967. After a school merger in 1969, Carver continued high school at University Liggett School. While in high school, Carver was an honors student and played varsity tennis. She graduated from high school in 1971, and afterwards moved to Malibu, California to attend Pepperdine University. While at Pepperdine, Carver joined the Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ) sorority, and majored in political science. She graduated from Pepperdine in 1975.

After graduating from college, Carver moved from California to Las Vegas, Nevada in order to attend William S. Boyd School of Law. While a law student, Carver was crowned Miss Nevada USA 1976, and competed in Miss USA 1976; she placed in the top five. Carver graduated with her law degree in 1978, and subsequently began working as an attorney in Las Vegas. She founded her own law firm in 1988, and later left her law career in 2004, in order to enter politics.

## Political positions

*Main article: Political positions of Jacqueline Carver.*

## Personal life

Carver is Jewish; she has held dual citizenship to the United States and Israel since birth and speaks fluent Hebrew. She began a relationship with American real estate developer Benjamin Carver in 1977. They became engaged in 1980, and married the following year in a traditional Jewish ceremony. They have two sons together: Adrian, born  (1984-05-16) May 16, 1984 (age 39), and Samuel, born  (1986-07-07) July 7, 1986 (age 37).

In 1997, the family moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to the affluent community of Summerlin, Nevada. While active in Nevada state politics, Carver rented a small apartment in Carson City, Nevada. After her election to United States Senate in 2011, the family purchased a five-bedroom home in Alexandria, Virginia.