Sanchez, Loretta, 1960-

<p>Loretta Lorna Sanchez (born January 7, 1960) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2017. A Democrat, she was first elected in 1996, when she defeated long-serving Republican congressman Bob Dornan by fewer than 1,000 votes. Sanchez represented the 46th district from 1997 to 2003, then California's 47th congressional district from 2003 to 2013, and again in the 46th district from 2013 to 2017. The district lies in central Orange County. During her time in the House of Representatives, Sanchez was a member of the Democratic Party's moderate/conservative Blue Dog Coalition.</p>

<p>Sanchez chose not to run for re-election to the House in 2016, instead opting to run for the U.S. Senate race in California. She was defeated by California Attorney General, fellow Democrat, and future Vice President Kamala Harris, 61.6% to 38.4%.</p>

<p>Sanchez was born in Lynwood, California, and graduated from Katella High School in Anaheim in 1978. Her father was a unionized machinist, and her mother worked as a secretary. Her Mexican-immigrant parents had seven children, one of whom—Linda Sánchez—also served in Congress, making them the first (and, as of 2019, the only) sisters to serve simultaneously in Congress.</p>

<p>In 1996 Loretta Sanchez won election to the United States House of Representatives—her first political office—by toppling a polarizing, longtime incumbent. During her 20-year tenure in the House, Sanchez was an advocate for women in the military and specialized in national security policy, rising to become one of the most senior Democrats on two influential committees—Armed Services and Homeland Security. In 2003, after her sister Linda won election to the House, the two became the first sisters to serve in Congress.</p>

<p>Loretta Sanchez was born in Lynwood, California, on January 7, 1960, the oldest daughter of Ignacio Sandoval Sanchez and Maria Socorro Macias Sanchez. Her father worked as a machinist at a plastics and rubber factory; her mother worked as a secretary and elementary school teacher. Loretta, the second oldest of seven children, grew up in the family’s modest house in Anaheim. Her brother, Frank, recalled that his sister “was a role model for all the girls; she was an overachiever. In a way, she was always a politician. She taught [her sisters] Linda and Martha that you have to grease the wheel before you get it to move.” Loretta graduated from Katella High School in Anaheim and went to college at Chapman University in Orange, California, where she earned a BS in economics in 1982. Two years later, Sanchez earned an MBA from American University in Washington, DC. From 1984 to 1987, she worked as a special projects manager at the Orange County transportation authority. Sanchez then entered the private sector in the investment banking industry and, later, worked as a strategist at a leading consulting company. She married Stephen Brixey III, a securities trader, and the couple settled in Orange County, California. They divorced in 2004. Sanchez married Jack Einwechter, a retired U.S. Army colonel, in 2011.</p>

<p>Sanchez had started out as a registered Republican and fiscal conservative, but she broke with the GOP in 1992, believing the party had marginalized immigrants and women. Her first attempt at political office was a 1994 campaign as a Democrat for a seat on the Anaheim city council; Sanchez finished eighth out of 16 contenders.</p>