Sen. Blanche Lincoln
Sen. Lincoln and Dr. Charles Dunn
By Susan Margrave
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) told an audience of about 50 at Henderson State University on March 29 that women should embrace all roles they can fulfill, citing her own experience as a single woman who challenged a man for office.
She won a seat in Congress in 1992 as Blanche Lambert and was reelected in 1994. She did not seek reelection after her twin sons were born, but she waged a successful campaign for the senate in 1998.
"You have to make the choices one at a time," Lincoln said in addressing the Women's History Month event. "You can make those choices if you go to the root of what you believe."
Lincoln was first elected to Congress as Blanche Lambert, a single woman. The Helena native stepped down after she married a doctor and became pregnant with twin boys. She returned to the political arena and won a Senate seat.
"I developed a sense that government could do better," she told the audience on March 29. "I was the first 'Blue Dog' Democrat to deliver a litter," she said to laughter. "And you have to make those choices one at a time."
Lincoln is the youngest woman to serve in the U.S. Senate and follows Hattie Caraway, who was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.