Senate 2001-2002 (District 56); Senate 2003-2006 (District 52)
Party when first elected: Republican
Counties Served: Anoka, Washington
Anoka High School; Secondary; Graduate, 1974Winona State College; B.A.; English and Political Science, 1978College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law; LL.M.; 1988Oral Roberts University, Coburn Law School; J.D.; 1986
Spouse: Marcus (married around 1978) Children: Five children: Lucas, and Harrison (sons); Elisa, Caroline, and Sophia (daughters); and 23 foster children (licensed from 1992-2000) Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
Special Legislative Concerns: jobs, commerce, energy, education, taxes, capital investment.She was the first Republican woman US Representative from Minnesota. (CNN, February 1, 2013)She ran unsuccessfully for the Republican party endorsement for President of the United States in the 2012 election. She won the Iowa GOP straw poll in August 2011. She stepped down after coming in sixth in the January 2012 Iowa GOP caucuses.She came to Minnesota around 1968.She was a member of Salem Lutheran Church in Stillwater, Minnesota.Religion provided by newspaper accounts.