Cynthia Lummis: Wyoming's Congresswoman

Most people do not realize that the state of Wyoming has had only one Congressional District since Statehood. Wyoming's "at-large" district is the fourth largest in the country and is also the least populated. It has been held by notable people such as former Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator Craig L. Thomas and is currently the largest district in the country being represented by a female. That woman is Cynthia Lummis, who was elected to the seat in November 2008. Here is a look at Wyoming's only Congresswoman.

Cynthia Marie Lummis was born on September 10, 1954 and raised in Laramie County, Wyoming, on her family's ranch. She was active in 4-H as a child, raising Hereford calves for the annual county fair. In 1919, her great-grandfather started the Lummis Livestock company and Lummis still runs the ranch today, as well as ranches in Wheatland and Lincoln Counties.

After graduating from high school, Lumis attended the University of Wyoming, where she graduated with two bachelor of science degrees: one in animal science and one in biology. A year later, she entered politics at the age of 24, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the Wyoming Legislature. She eventually returned to the University of Wyoming, graduating with a law degree in 1985.

Lummis was a member of the Wyoming Senate for twelve years and the Wyoming House of Representatives for three. She was the first woman to serve on the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo Board and became "Miss Frontier" in 1976. While serving in the Legislature, her main focuses were taxes and natural resources. She was a driving force behind Governor Jim Geringer's Open Spaces Initiative and edited Wyoming's Open Lands Guidebook, and she has served on the Board of the Institute for Environmental and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming, as well as being the former interim director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.

Many people accredit Lummis with sharp increases in state revenue during her time in local office and in 1998, she was elected State Treasurer. She served two four-year terms. During that time, she, according to her website, "converted Wyoming’s primarily fixed income investment portfolio of $3.5 billion to a fully diversified portfolio of equities, real estate and fixed income investments, public and private, domestic and international, totaling $8.5 billion."

While serving as State Treasurer, she was named a "Women in Business Advocate of the Year 2005" by the Small Business Administration. She was also honored by the University of Wyoming (UW) College of Agriculture as an "Outstanding Alumni." Lummi was affiliated with the American Women's Financial Education Foundation, the Center for the Rocky Mountain West Advisory Board, Cheyenne's Vision 2020, the Wyoming Business Alliance, and the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust.

In 2007, upon the death of Senator Thomas, Lummis was just one of 31 Wyoming Republicans looking to replace him in the Senate. She was chosen as one of three finalists for the position but eventually lost to John Barrasso. Many believed she would challenge him in the 2008 special election but instead, she announced she'd be running for Congress. Despite not receiving report from the state's Governor and not having the same financial backing of her opponents, Lummis won the seat by 10%. She campaigned on a pro-life, fiscally conservative platform.

Though she's only been in Congress for a year, Lummis is already making her voice heard. She serves on the Committee on Agriculture, Committee on the Budget, and Committee on Natural Resources. She has been a critic of the current administration's excessive government spending and of health care reform. You can see more about what she has to say on health care and her constituents' concerns about their health care choices and lack of competition here:



Lummis is married to attorney and businessman Al Wiederspahn. Widerspahn, like his wife, is also a former member of the Wyoming legislature, but unlike his wife is a Democrat. The couple has one daughter, Annaliese. They are members of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Cheyenne.

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Peg Luksik Wants Arlen Specter's Senate Seat

Switching parties, being shouted down at Townhall meetings, and telling a favorite Conservative Congresswoman to "act like a lady" when she disagrees with him are just a few of the signs that lead many to think Arlen Specter won't won't be continuing his nearly 30 year-run in the Senate after this year. Several challengers have come forward, looking to turn Pennsylvania red again, and one of those people is Conservative Peg Luksik.

Luksik says her run is not about unseating Specter, but about giving families a voice in Washington D.C.. A Conservative and pro-life activist, Luksik isn't new to running for office in the Keystone State. In the 90's, she ran for Governor three times: once as the Republican nominee (she received 46% of the vote), and twice as a member of the Constitution party (receiving impressive amounts of the vote both times, as well as beating the Democratic nominee in several counties). Luksik has returned to the Republican party and said she's not afraid of the big names she'll face in the primary, such as former Congressman Pat Toomey, who is seen as the frontrunner in the race, even polling more favorable than Senator Specter.

So who is Peg Luksik? She was born in Alabama, but raised in the Philadelphia area. Her father was in the army and she was the oldest of four sisters. She went on to graduate from Clarion University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. In 1997, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree by Stonehill College in Massachusetts.

Luksik considers herself a very family-oriented candidate and has a strong pro-life background. As a matter of fact, she is the founder of Mom's House. Mom's House is an organization that provides single parents with an alternative to abortion. It helps parents escape the welfare cycle by providing them with support and child care so they can finish their education. According to Luksik, the reason she started the charity is,

"I never intended to start a charitable organization, but I had several miscarriages before my oldest was born and in my prayers for the blessing of a child, I promised that I would do something to help children. Mom’s House is one year younger than my first child."

She is also a founding member and Chairman of the National Parent's Commission. According to her website, the Commission grew out of Luksik's desire to "give parents a voice in education." What started as two people soon became a national, full-scale parents' rights movement that helped "protect families from intrusive activities, and experimental educational programs." Before she knew it, Luksick found herself reviewing grants for the United States Department of Education and was called on as an expert on many components of so-called education reform.

Last year, she managed a Congressional campaign for Iraqi war veteran William Russell who ran against John Murtha. This year, her decision to run for the Senate comes from a desire to restore what she calls "kitchen table" common sense to Washington.

Despite her experience in politics and education, Luksik says the most important thing in her life is her family. She and her husband, Jim, a high school teacher, have six children - five sons and one daughter.

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Sue Lowden Hopes to Unseat Harry Reid

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been making news lately and not in a good way. His popularity is waning, along with many Democrats in the Senate, and his recent comments about President Barack Obama not having a "negro dialect" have people on both sides of the aisle calling for him to step down from his Senate leadership position. With this in mind, Republicans are stepping up to the plate, looking to run against Reid and take his senate seat, something no one has been able to do in 23 years. A recent Rasmussen poll shows that all of the Republican candidates are polling more favorably than Reid and that includes the GOP's Sue Lowden.

So what makes Lowden qualified to take over the coveted senate seat? According to her website, she is a "longtime Nevada resident, philanthropist and an award-winning news reporter, anchorwoman and businesswoman. She has also served as a Nevada State Senator and Chairman of the Nevada Republican Party." During her stint in the Nevada State Legislature, Lowden served as the Senate Majority Whip and Chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee. Fiscally conservative, she was committed to lowering taxes and responsible government spending. This led her to win a number of awards including the Guardian of Small Business Award from the Nevada chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Senator of the Year Award from the Clark County Republican Party, the Woman of the Year Award by the Republican Women of Las Vegas, and the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Republican Women of Henderson.

Before getting into politics, Lowden had already built quite the list of accomplishments. She earned a Bachelors Degree from American University and a Masters Degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. The New Jersey native also represented her state in the 1973 Miss American pageant, where she was the second runner-up. She is still involved with the pageant and currently serves on the Board of Directors and as an advocate for the organization.

Professionally, Lowden began as an elementary school teacher in New Jersey. Eventually, she would move to Nevada, going to work as an award-winning reporter and anchorwoman for KLAS-TV, a CBS affiliate in Southern Nevada. Lowden has also worked in the business world. She currently serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and Secretary-Tresurer of Archon Corporation and is the former president of Santa Fe Hotel Casion. She is also the former executive vice president of Sahara Hotel and Casino. As a businesswoman, she has earned a Women of Achievement Award by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

Lowden has also served in a number of philanthropic capacities. She began working with the Muscular Dystrophy Association in 1978 when she hosted the local Las Vegas telethon and currently serves on the Board of Directors and as the National Treasurer. She is a founding member of Nevada Child Seekers and the former chief barker for Variety Club for Handicapped Children of Southern Nevada, as well as a founding member of the Southern Nevada Ice Hockey League. As a young woman, she traveled with the USO and the Bob Hope Christmas Troupe to entertain troops all over the world.

Sue Lowden is married to Nevada businessman Paul Lowden, and they currently live in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has four children, Christopher, Jennifer, Paul IV, and the late William, who passed away in 2004, as well as one granddaughter, Vanessa. You can read more about Lowden at her website, SueLowden.com, including her views on taxes (lower them), abortion (pro-life), the Second Amendment (uphold it), Israel (protect it), federal spending (stop it) and more.

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WWE's Linda McMahon to Run for Senate

Following former Colorado Lt. Governor Jane Norton, Linda McMahon became the second Republican woman to announce that she would run for a United States Senate seat this week. The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO announced on Wednesday that she'd be entering the race to unseat current Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd. McMahon would run as a Republican in what's quickly becoming one of the biggest political races in the country.

In a statement, she said,

"Washington is out of control, and sadly, Senator Chris Dodd has lost his way and our trust. I can't sit by on the sidelines anymore knowing that I have both the experience and the strength to stand up to special interests and bring badly needed change to Washington."

McMahon's campaign financing will come mostly from the wealth she and her husband, Vince, have accumulated through their wrestling empire. Running as a fiscal conservative, she has pledged not to take cash from any political action committees or special interest groups and has put a $100 limit on any private donations made to her campaign. There are several other prominent people running for Dodd's seat including former Congressman Rob Simmons, former ambassador Tom Foley, state Senator Sam Caligiuri, and former Ron Paul advisor Peter Schiff.

McMahon has been involved with the Connecticut Republican Party for several years and appointed to Connecticut State Board of Education by Governor Jodi Rell earlier this year. She was nominated in the State Senate with an overwhelming 34-1 vote. She has given money to a number of political candidates - both Republicans and Democrats - including Joe Lieberman and Rahm Emanuel.

As for her duties as CEO of WWE, McMahon's husband will be taking over, effective immediately. The couple's two children, Shane and Stephanie McMahon are also involved in WWE operations and are expected to help with their mother's duties.

Linda Marie Edwards-McMahon was born October 4, 1948 in North Carolina. She graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in French. She is also a certified teacher. She and Vince McMahon met at church when they were just thirteen and sixteen and after dating throughout high school, they were married in 1966. The couple has resided in Connecticut for the last 30 years.

McMahon is committed to public service and supports a number of organizations including the USO, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the Starlight Foundation and Community Mayors. She also supports the Connecticut Grand Opera and its arts education program. She is also responsible for creating the Get R.E.A.L. initiative for education and literacy. She has served on the Governor's Council for the World Special Olympics and in 2004, she was elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart University.

Jane Norton to Run for Colorado Senate Seat

Add former Colorado Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton to the list of Republican women looking to run for office in 2010. On Tuesday, September 15, the native Coloradan traveled the state to announce that she would be entering the race to unseat Democrat and current United States Senator Michael Bennett. During her announcement speech, she was not hesitant to tackle Washington D.C.'s "giant hand,"

"Seizing control of our car companies, banks, insurance companies - exploding the national debt - and chipping away at individual liberty. And now, the federal government is attempting a take-over of 17% of our nation’s economy in the form of government-run health care. They have unleashed a tidal wave of spending unprecedented in American history... That is why I have decided that I cannot and will not sit by and do nothing."

Norton also addressed illegal immigration and a subject that has been a big part of her own life: health care. With a Bachelor's degree in health sciences, Norton has served in a number of prominent health care-related positions. Not only did she serve her home state as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, but she also served under President Reagan as the regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. On health care, she had this to say,

"We need to reduce the cost of health insurance by promoting choice and competition. We need to provide tax equity so that people who buy their own insurance receive the same tax benefits as those who get insurance through their employers. We need real tort reform that limits expensive and frivolous lawsuits that drive up costs. And we need to tell President Obama and Senate Democrats that cutting Medicare for seniors as a way to pay for health care reform is immoral and wrong. And as the daughter of two Medicare recipients, I will not allow this to happen."

So who exactly is Jane Norton?

She was born October 12, 1954 in Grand Junction, Colorado, to Walter "Bus" and Elinor Bergman. After graduating from Grand Junction High School and Colorado State University, she began teaching middle school and would eventually work for Medical Group Management Association, heading its Office of State Government Relations and Office of Strategic Relationships. She also holds a Master's degree from Regis University. Norton is married to Mike Norton, former United States Attorney of Colorado, is the mother of two children and two step-children, and grandmother to seven.

Norton has been involved with Republican politics for most of her adult life and has served in countless leadership roles. She was a member of the Colorado General Assembly from 1986-1987. In 2003, she became the 46th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado where she achieved a number of accomplishments including appointing a state court judge, signing legislation into law, and hosting the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Jordanian Armed Forces. She also convened a Committee to Promote Adoption, was chair of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, co-chair of the Colorado Space Coalition, worked tirelessly to help small businesses to purchase lower health care plans, restored funding to the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program, oversaw the Governor’s Commission on Community Service, and was recognized for her countless other efforts in matters such as veterans affairs, education, community preparedness, strengthening families, and numerous other health care-related services. She also served as part of a Council of State Governments delegation to Mexico that worked to promote dialogue between American leaders and their Mexican counterparts on trade, cross border cooperation, and immigration policy.

Jane Norton currently works to support law enforcement as the executive director for the Denver Police Foundation, a group that reaches out to police officers and their families in times of crisis and also, provides equipment, training and technology. She also serves as as President of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Emergency Preparedness Partnership. Norton has participated in a tour of the nation's missile defense operations, the West Point Combating Terrorism Center and National Homeland Defense Foundation Symposium training sessions. She is also a graduate of the FBI's Citizen's Academy.

Kelly Ayotte to Run for Senate?

Just two weeks ago, New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte announced she was leaving office to explore running for a seat in the United States Senate, replacing Republican Senator Judd Gregg who is not planning to seek re-election. Upon announcing her resignation, she said, "Recently, many New Hampshire citizens have urged me to run for United States Senate. I appreciate their confidence in me." Ayotte, the state's first female Attorney General, has served and been supported by both Republican and Democratic governors.

As of today, just three days after leaving the Attorney General's office, it looks as though Ayotte is taking her desire to run a step further. In a press release, she announced that she has filed a United States Senate campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission, which will allow her to begin raising money to explore and pursue running for office, "Today I filed the necessary paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) in order to form a candidate committee for the United States Senate. This is the next step in the legal process as I explore my potential candidacy for the race in 2010."

While a number of prominent citizens of New Hampshire have expressed their interested in running for Senator Gregg's seat, Ayotte is thought to be a front-runner in the race, which could be why the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has already released an ad attempting to compare Ayotte to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The ad insists both women are simply abandoning their constituents for their own personal gain. New Hampshire State Democratic Chairman Ray Buckley told the Associated Press, "We now know that she is deserting the people of New Hampshire in favor of personal ambition. Not unlike Sarah Palin, Kelly Ayotte has broken her promise to the people she represents and put politics before public service."

"I would let my record of public service speak for itself," Ayotte responded to the criticism. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has also responded, reminding Democrats that President Obama once promised serve a full six-year term in the Senate.

Kelly Ayotte graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1990 with a B.A. in Political Science and from Villanova Law School in 1993. A member of both the New Hampshire and Maine state bars, Ayotte spent a year as a law clerk for the New Hampshire Supreme Court followed by four years working as a litigation associate with the firm of McLane, Graf, Raulerson, and Middleton. She joined the Office of the Attorney General in 1998 as a prosecutor, handling white collar, public integrity, and homicide cases. In 2003, she was appointed Deputy Attorney General and in 2004, Attorney General. Throughout her legal career, she has been the recipient of many rewards and honors. Kelly Ayotte currently lives in Nashua, New Hampshire with her husband, Joseph Daley, and daughter, Katherine.

Senator Elizabeth Dole: A Life of Public Service

Mary Elizabeth Hanford Dole was born in Salisbury, North Carolina on July 29, 1936. She went on to attend Duke University, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta. She did her post-graduate work at Oxford and upon leaving Oxford, took a job as a high school teacher in Massachusetts while pursuing her Master's Degree in education at Harvard. While there, she also graduated from Harvard Law School. In 1972, she was introduced to Senator Bob Dole, who would become her husband three and a half years later.

Dole began working in Washington DC during the last years of the Lyndon Johnson administration and stayed on to work for President Richard Nixon. Under Nixon, she served as Deputy Assistant for Consumer Affairs and was later appointed to the Federal Trade Commission. In 1975, Dole made the decision to become a Republican and campaigned for her husband who ran as Vice President with Gerald Ford on the Republican ticket in 1976. In 1980, she left the White House to support her husband's run for President.

During the Reagan years, Dole served as director of the White House Office of Public Liaison before becoming the first woman to be appointed as Secretary of Transportation. During her time as Secretary center high-mounted stop lamps became mandatory on all new cars She worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to withhold federal highway funds from any state with a drink age below 21 and privatized the national freight railroad.

When President George Bush was elected to office in 1989, Dole served as the Secretary of Labor. Two years later, she became president of the American Red Cross where she served for eight years. During that time, she once again campaigned for her husband's bid for the presidency in 1996. In 2000, Dole, herself, ran for President but dropped out of the race before the primaries began. She was later believed to be among the choices of potential Vice Presidential candidates before President George W. Bush finally chose Dick Cheney.

This led Dole to set her sights on her home state of North Carolina. Even though she had not actually lived in the state in over 40 years, Dole won the Senate race by a large margin. In 2004 she became the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. During her time in the Senate, she served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services where she was able to prevent any North Carolina military bases from being closed. She also served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Aging, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Dole ran for Senator again in 2008, but lost to Democrat Kay Hagan.

Elizabeth Dole has written two books: Hearts Touched by Fire: My 500 Most Inspirational Quotations in 2004 and along with her husband, Unlimited Partners: Our American Story in 1988 (though it was re-released in 1996). Recently, the Dole's spoke at the University of Kansas. Elizabeth Dole told the crowd she began getting involved in politics when she was in high school and served the student government. She went on to become the class president during her senior year at Duke. "The whole world of public policy and politics was like a magnet to me," she said as she reflected on her many years of public service.

Sharron Angle to take on Harry Reid?

It looks like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may have some competition in 2010. Former Nevada state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle is contemplating running against the Senator. Angle is reaching out to former supporters, hoping to raise $100,000 by May. In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Angle said,

"I need to know what kind of support I have for a run like this. That's what the exploration is all about."

The Nevada Appeal has called her "one of Nevada’s most conservative voices." The Mineral County Independent has called her "A known proven fighter for taxpayers..." And the Las Vegas Sun claims she, "…has been a consistent ‘no’ vote on spending increases in the Legislature.”

According to her website, Angle is focused on several key issues such as limited taxation, developing domestic oil sources, supporting a military force of superior strength, securing the border, a business-friendly and free market environment, reforming Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security, defending the property owner rights, self-defense, family values, protecting life, and education. She says her overall political philosophy is,

"... that government properly exists only by the consent of the governed and must be restrained from intruding into the freedoms of its citizens. In the Nevada State Legislature, I have consistently fought for smaller and more efficient government, traditional values, lower taxes and the right of the people to vote and petition."

Angle served four terms as a Republican Assemblywoman in Nevada's 26th district, serving from 1999 - 2005. During her time in the Nevada Assembly, Angle served on the Committee on High-Level Radioactive Waste, the Legislative Commission, the Information Technology Subcommittee, the Commission on Substance Abuse Education, Prevention, Enforcement, and Treatment, the Committee on Education, the Committee on Elections, Procedures, and Ethics, the Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Nevada Commission of Aging among others. She was the author of the Property Tax Reform Initiative (Prop 13) and has tried to get a property tax limit placed in the Nevada State Constitution.

Angle has a number of other achievements under her belt. She's published a novel, Prairie Fire, and has long been very involved in education. She served a term on the Nye County School Board of Trustees, spent five years as an instructor at Norther Nevada Community College, spent 25 years as a substitute teacher, worked as a lead teacher at World of Light Christian Academy, and served as a tutor and service supervisor for Nye County Juvenile Probation. Her other accomplishments include helping to establish the Ely Hot Line Crisis Call line for troubled teens, Winnemucca Fine Art Gallery, and the Tonopah Life Center for Family Fitness. She has been a small business manager for 22 years and has served as a sexual harassment investigator for 13 years. She is a member of the Republican Women of Reno and the Sonrise Church.

Sharron Angle was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon in 1949 and has lived in Nevada for over 50 years. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. She has been married to Ted Angle for 35 years and they have two children and ten grandchildren. In her spare time, she paints, writes, swims, skis, and lifts weights.

You can learn more about Angle at her website: Sharron Angle.com