The congresswoman from the 12th District is Kay Granger, first elected in 1996 and the only Republican woman to represent the Lone Star State in the House. Granger grew up in Fort Worth, graduated from Texas Wesleyan College, and worked as a teacher in North Richland Hills. She raised three children and started her own insurance agency. In 1989, she was elected to the Fort Worth Council, and two years later, was elected as mayor. In 1995, when Rep. Pete Geren, a conservative Democrat who succeeded Wright, announced he would not seek re-election, both Republican and Democratic leaders tried to recruit Granger. She decided to run in the Republican primary. In a three-candidate race, she was attacked as a liberal, partly for her support of abortion rights. But she won with 69% of the vote. Her Democratic opponent was Hugh Parmer, a former Fort Worth mayor and the Democratic nominee against Republican Sen. Phil Gramm in 1990. Parmer attacked Republican cuts in Medicare and the stewardship of Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Granger called for a balanced budget and tax cuts for business, and ran on her record as mayor. She won 58%-41%, a stunning victory for a Republican in Wright’s old district. Read More

The congresswoman from the 12th District is Kay Granger, first elected in 1996 and the only Republican woman to represent the Lone Star State in the House. Granger grew up in Fort Worth, graduated from Texas Wesleyan College, and worked as a teacher in North Richland Hills. She raised three children and started her own insurance agency. In 1989, she was elected to the Fort Worth Council, and two years later, was elected as mayor. In 1995, when Rep. Pete Geren, a conservative Democrat who succeeded Wright, announced he would not seek re-election, both Republican and Democratic leaders tried to recruit Granger. She decided to run in the Republican primary. In a three-candidate race, she was attacked as a liberal, partly for her support of abortion rights. But she won with 69% of the vote. Her Democratic opponent was Hugh Parmer, a former Fort Worth mayor and the Democratic nominee against Republican Sen. Phil Gramm in 1990. Parmer attacked Republican cuts in Medicare and the stewardship of Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Granger called for a balanced budget and tax cuts for business, and ran on her record as mayor. She won 58%-41%, a stunning victory for a Republican in Wright’s old district.

In the House, Granger’s voting record has tended to be moderate on cultural issues and more conservative on economic issues. In 2010, however, she was the least conservative Republican in Texas’ House delegation on fiscal matters. In 2007 and 2008, she was vice-chair of the Republican Conference, where she worked on issues such as retirement planning and reducing the influence of gangs. One of Granger’s legislative achievements was enactment of tax-free savings accounts for higher education expenses.

With a seat on the Appropriations Committee, Granger keeps a close eye on local Pentagon spending. She has worked to maintain production of Lockheed Martin planes that are produced in her district. In 2011, she became chairman of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, where her experience with military spending and her interest in human rights are useful. She was among the members of her party warning freshman Republicans against cutting foreign aid too deeply. “I think that there is more pressure (to cut foreign aid) because there’s this misunderstanding of how much that part of the budget is,” she said on the PBS show NewsHour. However, she also opposes major increases in foreign aid spending. Despite personal lobbying from U2 singer and human rights activist Bono and former Bush White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, she said that the U.S. Agency for International Development’s request for a 22% increase for fiscal 2012 was “unrealistic in today’s budget environment.” She also rebuked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the violent state of the U.S-Mexico border, telling Fox News in April 2011, “It is a delusion she thinks the border is safe.”

In January 2005, Granger traveled to Iraq, where she and then-Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., conducted a training session for women candidates in their election. Granger continues to co-chair the Iraqi Women’s Caucus. In late 2009, Granger visited U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and was among the Republicans who urged the Obama administration to step up pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to establish a “functional, transparent government that does not condone corruption.” She also has served on the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Commission on Smart Global Health Policy.

Granger has been re-elected by wide margins. Her moderate tendencies inspired challenges from her right in the 2010 Republican primary, from tea party activist and energy executive Mike Brasovan, and from wholesale grocery distributor Matthew Kelly. Both were underfunded, and she won with 70% of the vote. She went on to defeat Democratic opponent Tracey Smith, 72% to 25%. Granger is the author of a book, What’s Right About America: Celebrating Our Nation’s Values, published in 2006.