Lynn Morley Martin

Lynn Morley Martin (b. December 26, 1939) is a businesswoman and former United States politician. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she served as a member of the Winnebago County Board before she served in the Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives, where she was vice chair of the House Republican Conference. She served as U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1991 to 1993. She is a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority.

Lynn Martin taught in the Rockford School District prior to and including her time as a local representative.

A loyalist to the Reagan Administration, she assisted then-Vice President George H.W. Bush with his debate preparation for the 1984 Vice Presidential Candidate Debate against Geraldine Ferraro. Bush rewarded Martin by touting her as a possible running mate in his 1988 presidential campaign, though he eventually selected Indiana Senator Dan Quayle.

In 1990 Martin ran for U.S. Senate in Illinois against Democratic incumbent Paul Simon. She was initially considered a formidable challenger, but her campaign floundered — in her ads, Martin poked fun at Simon's trademark bow-tie, which was perceived as petty and mean-spirited — and Simon won with 65 percent of the vote, carrying all but two counties in the state; Edwards County in the southeast and McHenry County outside Chicago in the heart of the district Martin represented for most of the 1980s.

George H.W. Bush tapped Martin to be U.S. Secretary of Labor in his Cabinet when Elizabeth Dole resigned to become president of the American Red Cross.

In 1995, she briefly considered running for the 1996 Republican nomination for President but decided against it after concluding there was not broad support for her candidacy. Arguably she would have been the most viable woman to run for the Republican Presidential nomination in history to that date. [http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/03/09/president.2000/dole/index.html]