Former Republican Kansas Sen Nancy Kassebaum Dies At 94

Nancy Kassebaum Baker, the first woman to represent Kansas in the U.S. Senate, has died at 94.

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Her granddaughter Nellie confirmed to KCTV5 that Kassebaum died Friday, Aug. 21. She was born July 29, 1932, in Topeka, according to the station.

Her son, Bill Kassebaum, told The Associated Press that she died of natural causes and served the state for nearly two decades. “She was an independent-minded Republican who was willing to stand up for what she thought was right, even if that meant going against the party,” he said, according to the AP. Speaking to CBS News, he described his mother as “an independent voice that was willing to do what was right for Kansas and the country.” (RELATED: Lindsey Graham Dead At 71)

Voters sent Kassebaum to Washington in 1978, and she became the first woman elected to a full Senate term without a husband who had previously served in Congress, the AP reported. She was the only woman in the chamber when she arrived and returned for three terms, according to the AP.

The U.S. Senate Historical Office reported that she led the Committee on Labor and Human Resources during her final term, becoming the second woman to chair a Senate standing committee. In 1996 she attached her name to a health insurance law alongside liberal Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, CBS News reported.

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Kassebaum built a moderate record that drew support across party lines, according to the AP. Months into her first term, she declined to back a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. “We should be wary of the seemingly simple solution,” she said, according to the AP.

She descended from Kansas political royalty as the daughter of Gov. Alf Landon, the 1936 Republican presidential nominee, the AP reported. She married former Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker in 1996, and he died in 2014, according to CBS News.

Kansas Republicans praised her after her death. “Kansas is grateful for her service,” Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson said, according to KCTV5. Sen. Roger Marshall called her “a true Kansan,” the station reported.

The family plans a private memorial and asked for donations to the Kansas 4-H Foundation or the Capper Foundation, according to KCTV5.

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