Jeanne Shaheen
Jeanne Shaheen (born January 28, 1947) was the first woman to be elected governor of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Born in Missouri, Shaheen received a bachelor's degree in English from Shippensburg University and a master's degree from the University of Mississippi. She taught high school in Mississippi and moved to New Hampshire in 1973, where she taught school and owned a small business. A Democrat, she worked on several campaigns before running for office in 1990, when she was elected to the state Senate. In 1996 she became governor. She served three two-year terms before stepping down to run for the U.S. Senate in 2002 when she was defeated by Republican John E. Sununu. She served as the national chairperson of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. In June 2004 former Republican consultant Allen Raymond pleaded guilty to jamming Democratic Party lines set up to get New Hampshire Democrats to the polls. A judge sentenced him to five months in jail in February 2005. Raymond alleged that James Tobin, director of the Republican Party's effort to elect Republican senators in the Northeast, had masterminded the plot. Tobin is scheduled to go to trial later this year. It was widely thought this move may have cost Shaheen a Senate seat. She and her husband, Bill, have three children.
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