Famous Mormon Women in Politics
The recent inquiries into whether or not Sarah Palin is Mormon (no, she’s not) got me thinking: how many famous Mormon women in politics are there? I suspected it would be a rather short list, and I was right. How am I defining “famous”? I suppose what I mean is Mormon women who might be known for their politics on the national level. Specifically I’m looking for Mormon women who have served as governors, lieutenant governors, representatives and senators, with some other well-known exceptions. Local politics are nice, but I’m looking for bigger names.
Of course, one of the best places to start looking was Utah. How many governors, lieutenant governors, representatives and senators from Utah have been women? There’s a good chance any women in the government in Utah are going to be Mormon.
U.S. Representatives – Utah has had three women serve as U.S. Representatives. Its first,Reva Zilpha Beck Bosone, served the 2nd district from 1949-1953 and was not Mormon. Its second, Karen Shepherd, served the 2nd district from 1993-1995. She got her MA from BYU, so she was probably Mormon, but I don’t know the degree of her belief and practice if she was. The third was Enid Greene, who served the 2nd district from 1995-1997.
U.S. Senators – Utah has never had a female U.S. Senator. Paula Hawkins, who served as a senator from Florida from 1981-1987, is Mormon.
Lieutenant Governors & Governors – Olene S. Walker served as lieutenant governor of Utah from 1993-2003, then went on to serve as governor of Utah from 2003-2005. She is LDS. It’s probably worth noting that she was not elected governor, but was appointed by former governor Mike Leavitt when he left to serve as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Bush administration. Utah has yet to elect a female governor.
Another Mormon woman who was well-known in politics was Angela “Bay” Buchanan, the sister of Pat Buchanan. She joined the Mormon church in 1976 and served as Treasurer of the United States under Ronald Reagan from 1981-1983.
An interesting note about Mormons in politics:
“Ronald Reagan truly admired the Latter-day Saints. His administration included more members of the Church than any other American president, ever. Three of us, David Fischer, Gregory Newell and I, served on his personal White House staff. Richard Wirthlin was his chief strategist. Ted Bellserved as Secretary of Education, Angela Buchanan was Treasurer, Rex Leewas Solicitor General. His White House included Roger Porter, Brent Scowcroft, Richard Beal, Blake Parish, Jon Huntsman Jr., Dodie Borup and Rocky Kuonen, and there were many other Latter-day Saints throughout his Administration. President Thomas S. Monson served on a Presidential Commission on Volunteerism. Others were ambassadors. LDS senators and representatives were held in special regard, and the Tabernacle Choir was his special inaugural guest.” -Stephen M. Studdert, Special Assistant to President Reagan (Source)
So the most popular presidential administration in the history of the nation was staffed by a high number of Latter-day Saints. I wonder what evangelicals who gnash against Mitt Romney because he’s Mormon would say to that?
I did not exhaustively go through the lists of all of the female governors, lieutenant governors, U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators in the nation in my search for famous Mormon women in politics, so if you know of any that I missed or if any of my information is inaccurate, please let me know and I will add to the list.
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