Walters, Mimi, 1962-

Marian Elaine "Mimi" Walters (née Krogius; born May 14, 1962) is an American investment banker, businesswoman, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the U.S. Representative for California's 45th congressional district from 2015 to 2019.

Born in Pasadena, California, Walters graduated from St. Catherine of Siena Parish School in Laguna Beach, California, then earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1984. After college Walters worked as a stockbroker, sales representative, and business executive. While working in finance, she met and married David Walters. In the early 1990s, Walters left the finance world to start a family. She became active in community affairs, and in 1994 cofounded the California Women’s Leadership Association, a support group for Republican women for southern Orange County. Her work at the grassroots led to a position with the town of Laguna Niguel’s finance committee, and eventually an appointment to fill a vacancy on Laguna Niguel’s city council. In 1996 Walters won a seat on the council in her own right, where she served for eight years. She was appointed mayor in 2000. Five years later, Walters served in the California state assembly for a single term. She won election to the California senate in 2008 and served for seven years. Walters ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2010. When Southern California Representative John Campbell announced his retirement from Congress in 2013, Walters decided to run for the seat. After defeating three other candidates in the Republican primary, Walters won convincingly with 65 percent of the vote in the 2014 midterm elections.

On Capitol Hill, Walters worked to stop sex trafficking and submitted legislation that established statutory rights for survivors of sexual assault. An opponent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a major health care overhaul which passed in 2010, Walters sought to repeal the law and reform the health care system in America. Walters supported the GOP’s major tax overhaul—the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017—which reduced rates for individuals and businesses, and eliminated the individual mandate penalty of the Affordable Care Act which taxed people without health care.

In 2018, Walters faced a difficult re-election. She campaigned on a tax reform package that included a repeal of state gas taxes and her work against sex trafficking. Following California’s open primary where every candidate regardless of party appears on the same ballot, Walters faced Democrat Katie Porter, a law professor, in the general election. On Election Day, in a wave election that resulted in Democrats capturing the House majority, Walters lost to Porter who took 52 percent of the vote. After leaving the House, Walters returned to the private sector.