Barbara Ann Radnofsky
| Barbara Radnofsky | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 8, 1956 Broomall, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater |
University of Houston University of Texas, Austin |
Barbara Ann Radnofsky (born July 8, 1956) is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Texas. She is the first woman to have won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas.
Radnofsky was born in Broomall, Pennsylvania of Polish-Jewish origin. She grew up in Houston and entered the University of Houston at age 16 on a National Merit four-year academic scholarship. She received her B.A. in 1976, graduating magna cum laude. She then attended law school at the University of Texas School of Law, 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 program, working with students with neurological disorders.
Radnofsky announced her candidacy for the Senate on November 15, 2005, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, at an event hosted by the SMU chapter of the College Democrats.
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 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.
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