One of the 'lucky 13' Democrats who won in the 1994 GOP landslide that changed control of Congress in 1994, Karen McCarthy--a former Missouri lawmaker, NCSL president and U.S. congresswoman--died in October from Alzheimer's disease.

• Position: People & Politics

One of the "lucky 13" Democrats who won in the 1994 GOP landslide that changed control of Congress in 1994, Karen McCarthy--a former Missouri lawmaker, NCSL president and U.S. congresswoman--died in October from Alzheimer's disease. McCarthy began her political career in the Missouri House in 1977 after teaching high school. She was 29, and the youngest woman in the Legislature at the time. In 1994 she won her congressional seat identifying herself as a "New Democrat." She claimed President Harry Truman as a political role model and represented his hometown of Independence. Governor Jay Nixon served with McCarthy in the Legislature...