As the daughter of 1936 Presidential nominee and Kansas Governor, Alf Landon, Nancy Kassebaum Baker was introduced to politics at an early age. A Republican from Kansas, she served in the United States Senate for almost 20 years. Prior to her Senate career, Kassebaum Baker was involved with the local school board, and in 1975, she accepted a position in Washington, D.C., as an aide to Republican Sen. James Pearson of Kansas. When Pearson retired in 1978, Kassebaum Baker successfully vied against eight other candidates for his vacant Senate seat.

She served as the first woman to chair a major U.S. Senate committee – Labor and Human Resources – and was a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, where she focused on African issues. Kassebaum Baker is noted for her efforts to improve education, child care and health care; promote fiscal responsibility; and overhaul foreign aid programs.