Jennifer Dunn (politician)


Jennifer Jill Dunn was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, representing.

Early life and education

Born in Seattle, Washington, Dunn grew up in the nearby city of Bellevue, and graduated from Bellevue High School in 1959. She attended the University of Washington, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority, before earning a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University. After graduation, she worked as a systems engineer. She is a distant cousin of congressman Slade Gorton.

Career

Dunn was chair of the Washington State Republican Party from 1981 to 1992 and twice a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Elected to the House in 1992, she was Washington's only Republican representative until the Republican Revolution of 1994 when Republicans swept all but two of Washington's nine House seats. In 1998, she became the first woman ever to run for the position of House Majority Leader.
In 2000, she served on the presidential election exploratory committee for then-Texas Governor George W. Bush. Dunn served as Vice-Chairwoman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security and served on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Joint Economic Committee. On October 10, 2002, Dunn voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.
Dunn announced in 2004 she would retire from Congress, choosing not to run for re-election. Her seat was eventually filled by King County Sheriff Dave Reichert. She co-chaired the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation with former Representative Calvin Dooley. She also served as co-chair of the campaign organization "Women for Mitt" for presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the time of her death. She was succeeded in the Romney organization by U.S. Representative Kay Granger of Fort Worth, Texas.

Personal life

Dunn has two children, including Reagan Dunn, an attorney and politician who has served as a member of the King County Council since 2005.
Dunn collapsed and died of a pulmonary embolism in 2007, in her Alexandria, Virginia, apartment. Her memorial service was held at St. James Cathedral, Seattle.

Electoral history