Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former Kansas U.S. Senator, dies at 94

Nancy Kassebaum Baker, a former U.S. Senator from Kansas, has died at the age of 94 due to natural causes. She was the first woman elected to the Senate who did not follow a spouse into office.

Kassebaum Baker served three terms in the Senate after being elected in 1978. Known as a moderate and independent-minded Republican, she was noted for her ability to work across political lines. She chaired the Senate Labor and Human Resources panel and was a key figure in the passage of a 1996 health insurance law, which bore her name alongside Senator Ted Kennedy.

The daughter of former Governor Alf Landon, she maintained a centrist political stance, supporting measures such as an assault weapons ban. She retired from the Senate in 1997 and remained a prominent figure in public service. She was married to former Senator Howard Baker from 1996 until his death in 2014.