KANSAS — Nancy Kassebaum Baker, the first woman independently elected to the U.S. Senate and a Kansas political trailblazer, died at age 94. She died on a Friday of natural causes.

Bill Kassebaum confirmed his mother's death and cause. Her passing marks the end of a historic career that began with her election to the U.S. Senate in 1978.

Kassebaum Baker was the daughter of Kansas Governor Alf Landon. Her father was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for president in 1936.

She was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate without having previously served as the spouse of a politician. During the 1978 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, she defeated a field of eight contenders, including state senator Jan Meyers.

Kassebaum Baker served three terms in the U.S. Senate. She represented Kansas in the chamber for 18 years.

She was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 with 76 percent of the vote. In 1990, she won re-election with 74 percent of the vote.

At the time of her retirement announcement, Kassebaum Baker was one of eight women serving in the Senate. She was the only female senator to chair a Senate committee at that time.

Ted Kennedy was a Democratic senator from Massachusetts. Kassebaum Baker supported a ban on assault weapons championed by President Bill Clinton.

Bill Clinton was a Democratic president. Kassebaum Baker left the Senate in early 1997.

Upon retiring, she acknowledged her preference for needlepoint. "I’d rather cuddle up and do needlepoint all day," Kassebaum Baker said.

In 1996, Kassebaum Baker married former U.S. Senator Howard Baker. Howard Baker was a Republican senator from Tennessee.

Howard Baker died in 2014. Later in her life, Kassebaum Baker endorsed Democratic candidates for Kansas governor and U.S. senator.

She endorsed Laura Kelly for Kansas governor. Kelly was elected governor of Kansas in 2018.

Kelly was re-elected governor of Kansas in 2022. Derek Schmidt was the Republican opponent of Kelly in the 2022 Kansas gubernatorial election.

Derek Schmidt was the Kansas state attorney general during the 2022 election. He also worked on Kassebaum Baker’s Senate staff.

In 2021, Kassebaum Baker stated that Donald Trump should be impeached. Supporters of Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol toward the end of his first presidency.

The attack on the U.S. Capitol aimed to stop congressional certification of Joe Biden's defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Kassebaum Baker made her statement regarding Donald Trump to KMBC news station in Kansas City. "This just has gone too far."

Why It Matters

Nancy Kassebaum Baker broke a barrier in American politics by becoming the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate without being the spouse of a previous officeholder. Her 18-year tenure in the Senate included leadership roles such as chairing the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, a position that made her the only female committee chair at the time of her retirement.

Her legislative legacy includes the 1996 health insurance law co-sponsored with Senator Ted Kennedy, which established protections for workers changing jobs. Her later political endorsements of Democratic candidates, including Governor Kelly, illustrated a shift in party alignment that contrasted with her Republican roots and her father's 1936 presidential nomination.

Timeline

Alf Landon was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for president in 1936. Nancy Kassebaum Baker was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978. Nancy Kassebaum Baker married former U.S. Senator Howard Baker in 1996. A 1996 health insurance law bears the names of Nancy Kassebaum Baker and Senator Ted Kennedy.

Nancy Kassebaum Baker left the Senate in early 1997. Howard Baker died in 2014.

What's New

Nancy Kassebaum Baker was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 with 76 percent of the vote and in 1990 with 74 percent of the vote. In her 1978 general election for the U.S. Senate, Nancy Kassebaum Baker defeated Bill Roy with 54 percent of the vote to his 42 percent, a margin of 86,000 votes out of about 749,000 cast.

How Sources Differ

Sources provide different details regarding Nancy Kassebaum Baker's Senate service. One account states she represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate for 18 years, while another notes she was re-elected in 1984 with 76 percent of the vote and in 1990 with 74 percent of the vote.

Reports vary on election specifics. One source shows her 18-year representation of Kansas, whereas another details her 1978 general election victory over Bill Roy by a margin of 86,000 votes out of about 749,000 cast.

Descriptions of her committee work differ from election data in some records. One source identifies her as the chair of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, while another focuses on her re-election percentages in 1984 and 1990.

Committee leadership is contrasted with initial election results in other accounts. One record notes her chairmanship of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, while another provides the 1978 general election margin of 86,000 votes against Bill Roy.

Election dates are presented alongside re-election statistics. One source confirms her election to the U.S. Senate in 1978, while another lists her re-election victories in 1984 and 1990 with their respective vote percentages.

Initial election facts are paired with detailed vote counts in other reports. One source states she was elected in 1978, while another specifies her 54 percent share of the vote against Bill Roy in that same year.

Her status as the first independently elected woman senator is reported alongside later electoral performance. One account emphasizes this historical first, while another details her 76 percent and 74 percent re-election margins in 1984 and 1990.