Marriage/Familial Connections of Women Representatives and Senators in Congress

Through the start of the 110th Congress in 2007, 46 women have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress (38 in the House and eight in the Senate). Seven widows have represented California—more than any other state—including the first two in the House, Mae Ella Nolan (1923–1925) and Florence Prag Kahn (1925–1937). In 1931, Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first widow to succeed her late husband in the Senate. Eight other women have come to Congress with marriage connections, including two who were appointed to the Senate by their husbands. Seven women married Members with whom they served in the same Congress (Ruth McCormick of Illinois, Martha Keys of Kansas, Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Susan Molinari of New York, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, and Mary Bono Mack of California). One woman (Emily Douglas of Illinois) preceded her husband in Congress. Another (Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky) was elected from Pennsylvania after having married an Iowa Representative two decades earlier. Representatives Loretta Sanchez and Linda Sánchez of California are the first sisters to serve in Congress. Other familial relationships include 12 women who followed their fathers into Congress, four of them directly succeeding their fathers. In addition, seven women have had sons who served in Congress; Francis Bolton was the only one to serve concurrently with her son, Oliver, and Maude Kee was the first to be succeeded directly by her son, John.

Widows Who Directly Succeeded Their Late Husbands

Congress to Which Widow Was First Elected (date) Name (Party, State, Full Term of Service) Chamber
67th (1921–1923) Mae Ella Nolan (R-CA, 1923–1925) House of Representatives
69th (1925–1927) Florence Prag Kahn (R-CA, 1925–1937) House of Representatives
69th (1925–1927) Edith Nourse Rogers (R-MA, 1925–1960) House of Representatives
70th (1927–1929) Pearl Oldfield (D-AR, 1929–1931) House of Representatives
71st (1929–1931) Effiegene Wingo (D-AR, 1930–1933) House of Representatives
72nd (1931–1933) Hattie Wyatt Caraway (D-AR, 1931–1945) Senate
72nd (1931–1933) Willa Eslick (D-TN, 1932–1933) House of Representatives
73rd (1933–1935) Marian Clarke (R-NY, 1933–1935) House of Representatives
74th (1935–1937) Rose McConnell Long (D-LA, 1936–1937) Senate
75th (1937–1939) Elizabeth Gasque (D-SC, 1938–1939) House of Representatives
76th (1939–1941) Frances Bolton (R-OH, 1940–1969) House of Representatives
76th (1939–1941) Florence Gibbs (D-GA, 1940–1941) House of Representatives
76th (1939–1941) Clara McMillan (D-SC, 1939–1941) House of Representatives
76th (1939–1941) Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME, 1940–1973) 1 House of Representatives
77th (1941–1943) Veronica Boland (D-PA, 1942–1943) House of Representatives
77th (1941–1943) Katharine Byron (D-MD, 1941–1943) House of Representatives
78th (1943–1945) Willa Fulmer (D-SC, 1944–1945) House of Representatives
80th (1947–1949) Vera Bushfield (R-SD, 1947–1948) Senate
82nd (1951–1953) Vera Buchanan (D-PA, 1951–1955) House of Representatives
82nd (1951–1953) Marguerite Church (R-IL, 1951–1963) House of Representatives
82nd (1951–1953) Maude Kee (D-WV, 1951–1965) House of Representatives
83rd (1953–1955) Mary Farrington (R-HI, 1954–1957)2 House of Representatives
84th (1955–1957) Kathryn Granahan (D-PA, 1956–1963) House of Representatives
86th (1959–1961) Maurine Neuberger (D-OR, 1960–1967)3 Senate
86th (1959–1961) Edna Simpson (R-IL, 1959–1961) House of Representatives
87th (1961–1963) Catherine Norrell (D-AR, 1961–1963) House of Representatives
87th (1961–1963) Louise Reece (R-TN, 1961–1963) House of Representatives
87th (1961–1963) Corinne Riley (D-SC, 1962–1963) House of Representatives
88th (1963–1965) Irene Baker (R-TN, 1964–1965) House of Representatives
89th (1965–1967) Lera Thomas (D-TX, 1966–1967) House of Representatives
92nd (1971–1973) Elizabeth Andrews (D-AL, 1972–1973) House of Representatives
93rd (1973–1975) Corrine “Lindy” Boggs (D-LA, 1973–1991) House of Representatives
93rd (1973–1975) Cardiss Collins (D-IL, 1973–1997) House of Representatives
94th (1975–1977) Shirley Pettis (R-CA, 1975–1979) House of Representatives
95th (1977–1979) Maryon Allen (D-AL, 1978) Senate
95th (1977–1979) Beverly Byron (D-MD, 1978–1993) House of Representatives
95th (1977–1979) Muriel Humphrey (D-MN, 1978) Senate
97th (1981–1983) Jean Ashbrook (R-OH, 1982–1983) House of Representatives
98th (1983–1985) Sala Burton (D-CA, 1983–1987) House of Representatives
99th (1985–1987) Catherine Long (D-LA, 1985–1987) House of Representatives
102nd (1991–1993) Jocelyn Burdick (D-ND, 1992) Senate
104th (1995–1997) Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO, 1996–present) House of Representatives
105th (1997–1999) Mary Bono (R-CA, 1998–present) House of Representatives
105th (1997–1999) Lois Capps (D-CA, 1998–present) House of Representatives
107th (2001–2003) Jean Carnahan (D-MO, 2001–2003)4 Senate
109th (2005–2007) Doris Matsui (D-CA, 2005–present) House of Representatives

Wives Who Directly Succeeded Husbands Who Were Members of or Nominees to Congress

Dates of Service Name Party/State
1927–1931 Rep. Katherine Langley5 Republican/Kentucky
1963–1971 Rep. Charlotte Reid6 Republican/Illinois
1975–1995 Rep. Marilyn Lloyd7 Democrat/Tennessee

Widows Who Followed Late Husbands into Congress Without Directly Succeeding Them

Dates of Service Name Party/State
1929–1931 Rep. Ruth Hanna McCormick8 Republican/Illinois
1953–1977 Rep. Leonor Sullivan9 Democrat/Missouri
2007–present Rep. Nicola Tsongas10 Democrat/Massachusetts

Wives Appointed to the Senate by Their Husband

Dates of Service Name Party/State
1937 Senator Dixie Bibb Graves Democrat/Alabama
1972 Senator Elaine S. Edwards Democrat/Louisiana

Women Members Married to Other Members of Congress

Dates of Service Name Party/State
1929–1931 Rep. Ruth Hanna McCormick11 Republican/Illinois
1945–1947 Rep. Emily Taft Douglas12 Democrat/Illinois
1975–1979 Rep. Martha Keys13 Democrat/Kansas
1978–1997 Sen. Nancy Kassebaum14 Republican/Kansas
1979–1995(House)
1995–present (Senate)		 Rep. Sen.Olympia Snowe15 Republican/Maine
1990–1997 Rep. Susan Molinari16 Republican/New York
1993–1995 Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky17 Democrat/Pennsylvania
2004–present Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin18 Democrat/South Dakota
1998–present Rep. Mary Bono Mack19 Republican/California

Daughters Who Directly Succeeded their Fathers in Congress

  • Rep. Winnifred Mason Huck (R-IL, 1922–1923) succeeded William E. Mason (R-IL, a Representative from 1887–1890; a Senator from 1897–1902; a Representative from 1917–1922).
  • Rep. Susan Molinari (R-NY, 1990–1998) succeeded Rep. Guy Molinari (R-NY, 1981–1990).
  • Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA, 1993–present) succeeded Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-CA, 1963–1993).
  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL, 2002–present) succeeded Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK, 1981–2002).

Women Members of Congress Whose Fathers Preceded Them as Representatives or Senators

Women Members Whose Children Have Served in Congress

  • Senator Rose McConnell Long (D-LA, 1936–1937), mother of Senator Russell Long (D-LA, 1948–1987).
  • Rep. Frances Bolton (R-OH, 1940–1969), mother of Rep. Oliver Bolton (R-OH, 1953–1957; 1963–1965). They were the only mother–son pair to serve simultaneously.
  • Rep. Katharine Byron (D-MD, 1941–1943), mother of Rep. Goodloe Byron (D-MD, 1971–1978).
  • Rep. Maude Kee (D-WV, 1951–1965), mother of Rep. James Kee (D-WV, 1965–1973). James Kee was the first son to directly succeed his mother in Congress.
  • Rep. Irene Baker (R-TN, 1964–1965), stepmother of Senator Howard Baker (R-TN, 1967–1985).
  • Rep. Carrie Meek (D-FL, 1993–2003), mother of Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL, 2003–present).
  • Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-MO, 2001–2002), mother of Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO, 2005–present).

Women Members Whose Siblings Have Served in Congress

Notes

  1. Smith served in the House from 1940 to 1949 and then won election to the Senate, where she served from 1949 to 1973.
  2. Territorial delegate.
  3. Neuberger was not immediately appointed to succeed her husband Richard Neuberger after he died in early 1960. However, she won the general election in November 1960 to serve the remainder of her husband's unexpired term in the 86th Congress and a full six-year term commencing on January 3, 1961.
  4. Mel Carnahan was killed in a plane crash less than two weeks before the election for the Missouri Senate seat he was running for. His name remained on the ticket, and he posthumously defeated incumbent John Ashcroft by a narrow margin. Governor Roger Wilson appointed Jean Carnahan to her husband's vacant seat. Carnahan's re-election bid in a special election held in 2002 was unsuccessful.
  5. Her husband, John Wesley Langley, had won re-election to the House in 1924 for Kentucky's 10th District but was convicted of conspiring to transport and sell liquor in violation of the Volstead Act. He was placed in a federal penitentiary in Atlanta before his term expired. Katherine Langley ran successfully for his seat in 1926 and was re-elected in the 71st Congress in 1928.
  6. The GOP nominee for Illinois' 15th District, Frank R. Reid, Jr., died in August 1962 while campaigning for the open seat. Republican officials convinced his widow, Charlotte Reid, to replace him on the ticket.
  7. Just weeks after securing the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Lamar Baker in Tennessee's 3rd District, Mort Lloyd was killed in a plane crash. Democratic leaders convinced his widow, Marilyn Lloyd, to replace him on the ticket.
  8. Ruth Hanna McCormick won election in 1928 to one of Illinois' two At-Large House seats. Her husband, Joseph Medill McCormick, had served one term each in the House (1917–1919) and the Senate (1919–1925). He died days before his Senate term expired in February 1925.
  9. John B. Sullivan died in January 1951, but Leonor Sullivan could not convince Missouri 3rd District Democrat leaders to give her the nomination for the special election. In November 1952, after redistricting merged her husband's old district with another, she defeated GOP incumbent Claude I. Bakewell, who had succeeded John Sullivan in the 82nd Congress.
  10. Nicola Tsongas was elected to a House seat covering a Massachusetts congressional district once represented by her late husband, Paul Tsongas. Paul Tsongas served in the House from 1975 to 1979 and, later, in the Senate from 1979 to 1985. He died in 1997.
  11. (See note 8 above.) Ruth Hanna McCormick married Rep. Albert Simms, who had served one term in the House with her in the 71st Congress (1929–1931), in March 1932.
  12. Married to Sen. Paul Douglas (D-IL, 1949–1967).
  13. Married Rep. Andrew Jacobs (D-IN, 1965–1973, 1975–1997) in 1975 while both were serving in the House.
  14. Married Sen. Howard Baker (R-TN, 1967–1985) in 1996 after he left office but while she still was in the Senate. They had served together six years.
  15. Married Rep. John McKernan, Jr. (R-ME, 1983–1987) in 1989, after he had left the House and was serving as governor of Maine, but while Snowe was still in the House. They had served together four years.
  16. Married Rep. Bill Paxon (R-NY, 1989–1999) in 1994 while both were serving in the House.
  17. Preceded in the House by her husband, Rep. Ed Mezvinsky (D-IA, 1973–1977).
  18. Stephanie Herseth married Rep. Max Sandlin (D-TX, 1997–2005) in 2007. They served together for one year in the House.
  19. Mary Bono married Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-FL, 2005–present) in 2007. They are currently serving together in the House.