Abigail Dodds

Abigail Josephine Dodds (born May 11, 1942) is an American politician, who served as a United States Representative from California's 9th District from January of 1989 to January of 1993, and currently serving as a United States Senator from California since 1993.

Dodds was born in raised in Stockton, California. Dodds attended the University of California, Berkley where she obtained a degree in marketing, and she worked at several marketing firms from her graduation, until 1989. During the United States 1988 Elections, Dodds decided to run for Congress in her district of California as a strong liberal, with strong positions on health care, infrastructure, higher taxes on the wealthy, social welfare, antitrust laws and corporate monopolies, and public education.

After serving in the House of Representatives for four years, she ran for the United States Senate in the 1993 California special election, running on a platform similar to her platform for the House of Representatives, leading many pundits to refer to her as a "New Deal Liberal" and a "European-style social democrat."

Early life and education
Dodds was born on January 11, 1942 in Stockton, California to a Jewish working class family, she graduated Lincoln High School, where she met Noah Dodds, who she dated and later married. She graduated with a degree in marketing in 1964, and later began working for several marketing firms.

Early adulthood before running for Congress
After graduating university, she worked at several marketing firms, including local firms such as Irvine Advertising, and Burson-Marsteller.Later in her life, she began to use her whim for marketing on several political campaigns, such as local state legislature campaigns and Governor Jerry Brown's re-election campaign.

United States Representative
In the House of Representatives, Dodds advocated for consistently liberal positions, eventually joining the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 1991. Dodds voted against the Clinton Administration on several occasions, including the though, she has mainly supported Clinton Administration initiatives, and praised the Administration as a Representative, as a result, Dodds was consistently logged as one of the more liberal representatives by independent reports.

United States Senator
After being elected to the United States Senate in 1993, Dodds maintained membership in the Congressional Progressive Caucus and advocacy for liberal positions, including introducing a bill to give teachers a $10,000 tax credit, and as a Senator, has made several statements in favor of gay rights, raising taxes on high earners, and more. In her Senate re-election campaign, she pledged to introduce legislation to invest in infrastructure.