Edward Joseph Pipkin Jr. (born November 1, 1956) is an American activist, politician, and Republican former member of the Maryland State Senate, had represented Maryland's 36th Senate district, and was first elected in 2002 and served until 2013. Prior to his election to the state senate, he worked in the field of business finance, trading bonds in New York City. He also founded an environmental group known as "Citizens Against Bay Dumping," during which he was successful in lobbying for legislation that banned irresponsible disposal of dredge spoils in the Chesapeake Bay. Pipkin currently lives in Dallas. In 2004, he unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate against Barbara Mikulski. Then, in 2008, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Maryland's 1st congressional district, against incumbent Wayne Gilchrest and State Senator Andy Harris, losing the primary to Andy Harris. On August 5, 2013, Pipkin announced he would retire from the State Senate to attend graduate school. Early life Pipkin grew up in Dundalk, Maryland, and went to Dundalk High School. He initially attended Salisbury University, but ultimately received his B.A. from Roanoke College. He received an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia. Personal life Pipkin has three children: Carter, Meredith and Tyler. State Senate Pipkin was elected to the State Senate in 2002 after defeating Democrat Walter M. Baker, who held that seat since 1979 and the chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Baker was the only state senator to vote against Pipkin's efforts to ban open bay dumping. Pipkin defeated Baker by 24 percentage points. Since his arrival to the Senate, Pipkin has authored legislation that include creating a task force to bring broadband internet to his eastern shore constituents; creating a committee that will ensure responsible handling of taxpayer dollars by the state government; and advocating for an elected school board in Cecil County to increase public involvement in public schools. Pipkin was re-elected in 2006 with 63.7% of the vote, and re-elected again in 2010. On August 5, 2013, Pipkin announced that he would retire from the State Senate, effective the following week, to pursue a graduate degree in sports management at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. U.S. Senate campaign In the 2004 U.S. Senate election, Pipkin ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Democratic senator Barbara Mikulski. He ran a series of ads during the campaign with his self-coined slogan "who knew" that attacked Mikulski's policies. This led Mikulski,