Nancy Kassebaum Baker, a former U.S. senator from Kansas and the first woman elected to the Senate without succeeding a husband or father, died Friday of natural causes. She was 94.
Her son, Bill Kassebaum, told The Associated Press that his mother “loved Kansas. She loved people from Kansas and representing Kansas for 18 years in the U.S. Senate.” He described her as “an independent-minded Republican who was willing to stand up for what she thought was right, even if that meant going against the party.”
Kassebaum Baker was elected to the Senate in 1978 and served three terms, concluding her tenure in early 1997. Her moderate, progressive Republicanism, influenced by her father, Gov. Alf Landon, allowed her to connect with a broad range of voters.
She became a national figure upon her election and was the only woman to chair a Senate committee at the time of her retirement, leading the Labor and Human Resources panel. Kassebaum Baker was part of a diminishing bloc of moderate-to-liberal Republicans and supported legislation such as a ban on assault weapons championed by President Bill Clinton.
Despite her popularity, her voting record sometimes frustrated conservative activists. She recounted that her vote in favor of the assault weapons ban generated the angriest mail of her career. She won re-election campaigns with significant margins, securing 76 percent of the vote in 1984 and 74 percent in 1990.
Born July 29, 1932, Kassebaum Baker earned a political science degree from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in diplomatic history from the University of Michigan. Before entering politics, she worked as a radio-station executive and served on a local school board.
She ran for the Senate as Nancy Landon Kassebaum, positioning herself as a candidate with a different background from typical politicians. Facing a crowded primary field, she won the GOP nomination with less than 31 percent of the vote. In the general election, she defeated former Democratic congressman Bill Roy with nearly 54 percent of the vote.
Early in her Senate career, she expressed caution about simplistic solutions, notably refusing to endorse a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution for a balanced budget.
In 1996, Kassebaum Baker married former Tennessee Republican Sen. Howard Baker, who died in 2014. They were the first man and woman who had both served in the Senate to marry. He had previously served as President Ronald Reagan's chief of staff.
After leaving the Senate, Kassebaum Baker continued to engage in public service. She served on bipartisan commissions focusing on campaign finance reform and participated in a British commission in Africa. Her husband was appointed ambassador to Japan in 2001, and she accompanied him for the four-year posting, describing herself as becoming an important figure in that nation.
Later in life, Kassebaum Baker became more critical of the Republican Party's conservative shift. She endorsed Democratic candidates, including Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, and publicly stated in 2021 that President Donald Trump should be impeached following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.