[caption id="attachment_78036" align="aligncenter" width="607"] Wisconsin senatorial candidate Tammy Baldwin, via her official website[/caption]

The Wisconsin Senate race is heating up, and polls show the Democratic nominee, Tammy Baldwin, leading the Republican nominee, Tommy Thompson, by about four points. If Baldwin wins next week, that will make her the first-ever openly gay U.S. Senator in history. But hey, no pressure.

Baldwin is considered a champion of progressive causes. She tried to push a marriage-equality vote in Wisconsin in the '90s. As a member of the House of Representatives, she voted against the invasion of Iraq and for the impeachment of both Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales, neither of which came to fruition. She also voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act. As for her personal life? She had a partner for fifteen years, but they split up recently. Somebody put her on a Most Eligible Bachelorettes list already!