Ellen Tauscher

Ellen O'Kane Tauscher (November 15, 1951 – April 29, 2019) was an American businesswoman, diplomat, and Democratic Party politician who was the U.S. representative for California's 10th congressional district from 1997 to 2009. From 2009 to 2012, she served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs. She then served as Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense at the U.S. State Department.

While in Congress, Tauscher was a leading centrist Democrat, and the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives. She also served as vice-chairwoman of the Democratic Leadership Council from 2001 to 2005.

Ellen Tauscher was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of John E. O'Kane, a shop steward for the United Food and Commercial Workers union at a ShopRite store in Union City, and his wife Sally, a secretary for Marsh & McLennan in New York City. She graduated in 1974 from Seton Hall University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education.

She then worked as an investment banker with Bache & Co. and, at age 25, was the youngest and one of the first women to become a member of the New York Stock Exchange. She also served as an officer of the American Stock Exchange from 1979 to 1983, after which she worked for Bear Stearns and a subsidiary of Drexel Burnham Lambert.

In 1989, Tauscher moved to California and later founded the ChildCare Registry, the first national research service to help parents verify the background of childcare workers. She also published The ChildCare Sourcebook and headed the Tauscher Foundation, which provided funds for elementary schools to buy computers and Internet access.

Before running for the United States House of Representatives, Tauscher was active in Democratic circles as a fundraiser and also chaired Dianne Feinstein's successful 1992 and 1994 Senate campaigns.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, Tauscher was recruited to run against two-term Republican incumbent Bill Baker in California's 10th congressional district, which included several wealthy suburbs in the East Bay. During the campaign, Tauscher emphasized balancing the federal budget, her support for business, the environment, and the military. She also charged that Baker was too conservative for the district, particularly given his opposition to abortion and gun control. She narrowly defeated Baker, claiming victory by a margin of 1.45% of the vote. The race was ranked as the fourth most expensive of that year's 435 House races.

Tauscher was re-elected in 1998 and 2000 against vigorous Republican opposition. While the 10th district was once considered "solid Republican territory," most Bay Area Republicans tend to be more moderate than their counterparts in the rest of California and since the 1990s have been increasingly willing to support Democrats at the national level.^{[citation needed]}