Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Virginia, a seat he was first elected to in 2008. He is a member of the Democratic Party and currently a Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Prior to his congressional career, Warner was the 69th Governor of Virginia holding the office from 2002 to 2006, and is the honorary chairman of the Forward Together PAC. Warner delivered the keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Apart from politics, Warner is also known for his involvement in telecommunications-related venture capital during the 1980s; he founded the firm Columbia Capital. In 2006, he was widely expected to pursue the Democratic nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election; however, he announced in October 2006 that he would not run, citing a desire not to disrupt his family life. Warner was considered to be a potential vice presidential candidate, until he took himself out of consideration after winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.Running against his gubernatorial predecessor, Jim Gilmore, Warner won his first election to the Senate in 2008 with 65% of the vote. Warner won reelection in 2014, narrowly defeating Ed Gillespie.