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Official portrait of Maria Cantwell

Maria Cantwell

D Democrat · Senator, Washington
21
Low self-dealing
3/6 components have data
#97 of 193 scored

Cantwell chairs the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and her largest donor industries (telecom, airlines, tech) fall under that committee's jurisdiction — a correlation, not proof of any quid pro quo. Her individual-stock exposure is minimal and dominated by a legacy RealNetworks holding tied to her pre-Senate executive career; the one notable 'trade' was a forced 2022 sale when the company was taken private. Most disclosed assets are mutual funds, and her net worth has not grown anomalously (estimates have declined since 2018). Overall the public record shows little evidence of active self-dealing through markets.

Public record

In Congress since
1993
Committees
Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Ranking Member)
Energy and Natural Resources
Finance
Indian Affairs
Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Joint Committee on Taxation
Missed votes, 119th Congress
0.2% (2 of 915; median member 1.9%)
Campaign money, 2025–26 cycle
$790K raised · 0% from PACs & committees · $137K cash on hand FEC ↗

The stock-trading ban

Senate cloture on H.R. 7008, Sep 30, 2026
No
Cosponsored a ban bill
None

H.R. 7008 bans new stock purchases by members, spouses and dependents; it doesn't force sales of existing holdings. The Senate vote was on the version paired with the SAVE Act, which is why no Democrat voted yes. Full breakdown →

Disclosed stock trades

No periodic transaction reports on file since 2024. That's the norm: most members don't trade individual stocks, or hold them in blind trusts and diversified funds.

Amounts are the ranges members must report, not exact values. The STOCK Act requires a report within 45 days of a trade; "late" counts days past that deadline, measured to the filing date.

How the score breaks down

Stock self-trading
25% weight
12
Minimal individual-stock activity; primary single-name exposure was a legacy RealNetworks (RNWK) stake from her pre-Senate VP role. The notable Dec 2022 sale (up to $50K) coincided with RNWK's go-private merger at $0.73/share, i.e. a forced/passive disposition rather than discretionary trading. Most holdings are mutual funds.
Cantwell sold up to $50K of RealNetworks (RNWK) on Dec 28, 2022, around the company's go-private merger; her tracked trade volume is small.Data aggregatorcapitoltrades.com ↗Quiver parses up to ~$125K of STOCK Act trade data; holdings are largely mutual funds (e.g., Harbor Capital, HACAX).Data aggregatorquiverquant.com ↗
Net-worth enrichment in office
15% weight
5
No evidence of anomalous net-worth growth beyond salary/market. Estimates indicate her wealth has declined since 2018 (from ~$5.7M in 2018 to a $0.88M–$4.9M range in 2023 disclosures), inconsistent with self-enrichment in office.
OpenSecrets estimated ~$5.76M net worth in 2018; her 2023 disclosure shows a $884,007–$4,910,000 range, a decrease.Reference databaseopensecrets.org ↗Her wealth largely traces to pre-Senate RealNetworks compensation, not in-office gains.News reportingseattletimes.com ↗
Money → action alignmentcorrelation, not proof of any quid-pro-quo
20% weight
45
Correlation, not proof. Cantwell chairs Senate Commerce and, per OpenSecrets, has received more from the airline and telecom industries than any other senator — sectors her committee oversees. Tech firms (Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile) are among top donors. No evidence of quid pro quo.
Cantwell received more campaign donations than any other senator from the airline and telecom industries, both under her Commerce Committee jurisdiction.Reference databaseopensecrets.org ↗Top donors include employees of T-Mobile, Microsoft, Amazon, and major airlines (United, Delta).Reference databaseen.wikipedia.org ↗
Campaign-fund personal useno data
15% weight
—
No public reporting found alleging personal use of campaign or leadership-PAC funds. Absence of data is not penalized.
Revolving door & familyno data
15% weight
—
No specific public reporting found tying family lobbying or a notable staff-to-lobbyist pipeline to her office. (A pre-Senate personal loan to a lobbyist ex-associate is unrelated to revolving-door enrichment.) Absence not penalized.
Reporting on Cantwell references a pre-Senate personal loan to lobbyist Ron Dotzauer, not a revolving-door arrangement tied to her office.Reference databaseen.wikipedia.org ↗
Skips the job to fundraiseno data
10% weight
—
No public data found indicating notably high missed-vote rates paired with heavy paid speeches/fundraising. Absence not penalized.

Sources behind this score: 2 data aggregator · 4 reference database · 1 news reporting. Score = weighted average of the components that have data; the 3 without sourced evidence are excluded, never counted against the member. Methodology →

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