Smith, Linda, 1950 July 16-

<p>Casting herself as a populist, Linda Smith won election to two terms in Congress where she voted conservatively on social issues and repeatedly clashed with Republican leaders in her attempt to pass gift bans, lobbying restrictions, and an overhaul of the campaign finance system. In 1998 Representative Smith chose to leave her House seat to challenge Senator Patty Murray for a seat in the U.S. Senate. “You can’t pull them along,” Smith observed when recalling her approach to leadership. “But you can stand and do the right thing and stand with your head up no matter what and people will follow that.”</p>

<p>Linda Ann Simpson was born in LaJunta, Colorado, on July 16, 1950. Growing up in modest circumstances, her biological father abandoned her mother, Delma Simpson, and their family. Her mother and stepfather eventually moved to Clark County in Washington state, where Linda was raised with five siblings. Her stepfather worked as a mechanic to support the family. After her mother died, Linda worked part-time in an orchard and retirement home to make ends meet. “I felt like by 17, I had had more lives than most people,” she recalled. She graduated from Fort Vancouver High School in 1968 and married Vern Smith, a locomotive engineer, a few weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday. The couple raised two children: Sherri and Robert. Linda Smith worked as a district manager for seven tax preparation offices.</p>

<p>Smith considered herself a liberal Democrat until a large business tax hurt her enterprise. She then converted to conservative Republicanism, but initially had no interest in running for office. “I thought politics were dirty . . . and I didn’t want to be in something dirty,” Smith explained. “And I remember thinking that I want something noble, I want to reach up and reach higher.” Smith recalled that her husband’s activism in the anti-abortion movement and his belief in her potential as a strong candidate paved the way for her future career in politics. In 1983 she entered elective politics by defeating an appointed Democratic incumbent in a special election for a seat in the Washington state house of representatives. “I didn’t have a clue what it would be like,” Smith said. “All I knew was I wanted change. I didn’t like what was happening. I certainly didn’t understand the political system.” In 1986 Smith beat another appointed Democrat to win election to the state senate—and swing it to GOP control. In the upper chamber, she successfully opposed the Children’s Initiative, a tax hike earmarked for welfare programs and schools. She also carved out a reputation as a religious conservative who opposed gay rights and gay adoption laws. Unable to move campaign finance reform and tax relief through legislation, Smith sponsored two major ballot measures. In 1992 Initiative 134, which slashed campaign spending and donation amounts from big contributors, passed the Washington legislature. A year later, Initiative 601 passed, requiring voter approval for all tax increases. Smith considered the latter her greatest triumph.</p>

<p>Linda Smith (born July 16, 1950 in La Junta, Colorado) is a member of the Republican Party who represented Washington's 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 1999 and was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1998, losing to incumbent Democrat Patty Murray. After leaving politics, she founded Shared Hope International, a nonprofit organization focused on ending minor sex trafficking. Since its creation, Smith has worked around the world and within the United States on behalf of those who have been victimized through sex trafficking.</p>

<p>Smith grew up in a working class home. Her father abandoned the family and her mother remarried a mechanic, and in 1966 the family moved to Vancouver, Washington. Smith has an older sister, two younger sisters, and two younger brothers. In high school she had part-time jobs as a fruit picker and a day-care aide. She later recalled, "I felt like by 17, I had had more lives than most people." She was 24 years old when her mother died of cancer, leaving her two younger brothers at home.</p>

<p>In 1968, she married Vern Smith, a young locomotive engineer, and they raised two children. She became the manager of a number of independent tax offices in Southern Washington. She currently lives in Vancouver and has two children and six grandchildren.</p>