Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Encyclopedia
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. She is the first woman to have won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas.
Early life and career
Radnofsky was born in Broomall, PennsylvaniaBroomall, Pennsylvania
Broomall is a census-designated place in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 11,046 at the 2000 census. The community was named after John Martin Broomall, a 19th century U.S...
of Polish-Jewish origin. She grew up in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and entered the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
at age 16 on a National Merit four-year academic scholarship. She received her B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1976, graduating magna cum laude. She then attended law school at the University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...
, graduating with honors in 1979. Radnofsky has three children with her husband, Ed Supkis, a medical doctor.
Prior to entering politics, Radnofsky practiced law at the firm of Vinson & Elkins in Houston for 27 years as a defense and trial lawyer. She retired as a partner and as head of the firm's section on alternative dispute resolution in April 2006 to pursue her Senate campaign full time.
Radnofsky has also worked as a mediator and volunteer teacher, primarily through her involvement with the Upward Bound
Upward Bound
Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs referred to as TRIO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Higher Education Act of 1965. Upward Bound programs are implemented and monitored by the United States...
program, working with students with neurological disorders.
2006 Senate campaign
Radnofsky announced her candidacy for the Senate on November 15, 2005, at Southern Methodist UniversitySouthern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, at an event hosted by the SMU
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
chapter of the College Democrats
College Democrats
The College Democrats of America is the official youth outreach arm of the Democratic Party. It consists of over 100,000 college and university students from across the United States. The organization has served as a way for college students to connect with the Democratic Party and Democratic...
.
On March 7, 2006, Radnofsky faced Gene Kelly and Darrel Reece Hunter in the Democratic primary. Kelly is a perennial candidate and was the Democratic nominee in 2000 after beating out Charles Gandy
Charles Gandy
Charles Gandy was a French physician remembered for Gandy-Gamna nodules.- External links :...
in a runoff. Radnofsky received 44% of the vote in the primary, while Kelly received 37.5%. Kelly and Radnofsky were forced into a runoff election, held April 11, 2006, which Radnofsky won with 60% of the vote.
Radnofsky faced Republican incumbent Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
in the 2006 General Election. The Zogby poll reported by The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
in September 2006 showed that Radnofsky closed the gap against Hutchison to less than nine points, revealing the race to be close and competitive. Hutchison sank to 45/47.8 percent, with Radnofsky rising to 39 percent. According to Zogby
Zogby International
IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries...
, Radnofsky had closed an 18-point gap from mid-August.
A Zogby poll released Oct. 16 showed Hutchison recovering back to 60% and Radnofsky dropping to 28%.
On Oct. 19, Radnofsky sparred with Hutchison in a taped debate co-sponsored by the Texas League of Women Voters and PBS station KLRN
KLRN
KLRN is a public television station in San Antonio, Texas, broadcasting locally on VHF channel 9 as a Public Broadcasting Service member station...
. In the debate Radnofsky criticized Hutchison's position on the Iraq war and for not keeping her promise to serve only two terms.
A poll released by Zogby on Oct. 31 showed Radnofsky gaining 7.9% up to 35.9% and Hutchison losing 5.2% down to 54.8%. Margin of error is 2.9% points.
On November 7, Radnofsky was defeated soundly by Hutchison, her campaign organization was plagued by substantial underfunding and considerable inexperience.
Radnofsky's campaign staff refused to run professional ads. They instead relied on a sock puppet, which was intended to show that Hutchison was a 'puppet' of special interests. The candidate and her campaign manager were unable to raise adequate amounts of money despite Radnofsky's personal wealth.
They also lacked other infrastructure essential to running a successful statewide campaign. Campaign office internal operations were slowed by the running of two separate and incompatible computer systems, unable to share critical voter preference and outreach research data with each other.
2010 Texas Attorney General campaign
In 2009 Radnofsky filed papers to run for Texas Attorney General. In contrast to her previous race, Radnofsky chose to hire national consultants to work on her campaign. Her media consultant (Murphy Putnam) and her pollster (Pineda Consulting) were part of the Obama consulting team in 2008. She lost the election to incumbent Greg Abbot by a margin of 3,151,064 (64.05%) to 1,655,859 (33.66%).Honors and awards
She was named as the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas (1988–1989) and has delivered more than 140 publications and speeches, both nationally and internationally. She is listed in the Best Lawyers in America.She earned the AABB Award for Contributions to Medicine Law and
Government Affairs