Claudia G. Kauffman (born July 15, 1959) is an American politician who is a member of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Washington State Capitol, Legis ...

representing the 47th district. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first Native American (

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

) woman elected to the upper chamber. She previously served the district for one term, from 2007 to 2011.DeJesus, Thad, billie rain and Basil Shadid (co-writers)
"Claudia Kauffman: Colors NW March Story" (video, 6:26 m.)
''Colors NW'' via YouTube via ''HistoryLink.org'', March 7, 2007. Note: ''colorsnw.com'' (cited in video) is not active;
www.colorsvamag.com
' gives history. Retrieved 2020-09-26. She lost her re-election in 2010 before making a successful return to the Senate in 2022.

Biography

Kauffman was born in Idaho in 1959 to John and Josephine Kauffman. She attended Cleveland High School and later studied at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

and the

Oglala Lakota College Oglala Lakota College (OLC) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Kyle, South Dakota. It enrolls 1,456 students enrolled part- and full-time. OLC serves the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which has a population of about 26,000 and ...

.Kershner, Kate
"Kauffman, Claudia (b. 1959)"
'' HistoryLink.org'', October 17, 2011. Retrieved 2020-09-26. In 2017, she lost a race for Seattle Port Commissioner Position 1. In 2022, she defeated Republican Bill Boyce to reclaim her old senate seat following the retirement of fellow Democratic senator Mona Das.

References

External links

Biography
at

HistoryLink HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of Washington (state), Washington state history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 23,000 weekly visitors. It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images. The non-profit historical organi ...

Project Vote Smart - Senator Claudia Kauffman (WA)
profile * ''Follow the Money'' - Claudia Kauffman *
2006
campaign contributions

profile 1959 births Living people Nez Perce Tribe people Native American state legislators in Washington (state) Native American women in politics People from Kent, Washington Washington (state) state senators Women state legislators in Washington (state) 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature {{Washington-WASenate-stub