Harriet Woods

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Personal

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Family

American politician and activist, a state senator and former Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, and two-time unsuccessful candidate for the US Senate. In 1982 she defeated 10 rivals to capture the Democratic Party nomination for the US Senate race in a Republican era. In challenging incumbent John C. Danforth, she supported women's rights to an abortion. She caught women's attention and she adopted the slogan "Give 'em hell, Harriett." Her campaign had only half the funds of Danforth's campaign. She lost but only by a tiny margin. She ran again for a Senate seat in 1986, this time against Republican Christopher S. Bond, a former governor. She lost again but continued following her passion for politics. She was president of the women's caucus, and as such helped many women succeed in gaining national office. She is credited with the establishment of Emily's List, a political action group that solicits funds to help women get elected to office. The name "Emily" is actually an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast.” The group was responsible for changing the dynamic of the primarily male US Congress in the1990s by helping many women, including Carol Mosely Braun, get elected. Wood started her career as a journalist. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in philosophy from the University of Michigan,she was the first woman to be the top editor of the student paper. After graduation, she worked as a journalist and married an editor at The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, James B. Woods. They had three sons and she became a stay-at-home mom. But her political passions were riled when a loose manhole cover was ignored by City Hall. Annoyed by the noise it made, she collected signatures and brought her petition to local government. She then served on the City Council for eight years, becoming the first woman appointed to the state highway commission. She was elected to the state senate in 1976. Her husband died in 2002. She died of leukemia on February 8, 2007 at her home in University City, MO, age 79. Link to Wikipedia biography