Jennifer Blackburn Dunn (July 29, 1941 – September 5, 2007) was a prominent Republican member of the United States House of Representatives 1993–2005, representing .

Early life

Born in Seattle, Washington, Dunn grew up in the nearby city of Bellevue. She attended the University of Washington, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta, and Stanford University, earning business degrees. After graduation, she worked as a systems engineer.

Political 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 (1984 and 1990). 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.

Dunn announced in 2004 she would retire from Congress, choosing not to run for re-election.

Dunn 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.

Death

Dunn collapsed and died of a pulmonary embolism in 2007, in her Alexandria, Virginia apartment.

Electoral history

: Results 1992–2004

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1992			87,611	34%			155,874	60%		Bob Adams	Independent	14,686	6%
1994		Jim Wyrick	44,165	24%		Jennifer Dunn	140,409	76%
1996		Dave Little	90,340	35%		Jennifer Dunn	170,691	65%
1998			91,371	40%		Jennifer Dunn	135,539	60%
2000			104,944	36%		Jennifer Dunn	183,255	62%		Bernard McIlroy	Libertarian	6,269	2%
2002			75,931	37%		Jennifer Dunn	121,633	60%		Mark A. Taff	Libertarian	5,771	3%

References

External links