Jan Backus (born July 30, 1947) is a retired American politician who served as a Vermont state

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

representing Windham County from 1989 to 1994 and Chittenden County from 1997 to 2000. A

community activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, Backus served as a member of the Vermont Southeast Supervisory Union board for many years before making a run for the

Vermont state Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. ...

and winning a seat. She served as chairwoman of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. A

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. Political position Canad ...

-to- liberal

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Backus ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

in 1994 and beat Douglas M. Costle,

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administrator under President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, for her

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and came within 9 points of ousting

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

U.S. Senator

Jim Jeffords James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords (May 11, 1934 – August 18, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician from Vermont who served as a member of the Vermont Senate from 1967 to 1969, Attorney General of Vermont from 1969 to 1973, and later serve ...

( R- VT). In 2000, she ran again and lost the Democratic U.S. Senate

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to Ed Flanagan, then Vermont's Auditor of Accounts. In 2004 Backus ran for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.interview with Backus during run for Lieutenant Governor
Backus lives in

Winooski, Vermont Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located on the Winooski River, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census the municipal population was 7,997. The city is the most densely populated municipality in nort ...

, with her husband

Steve Blodgett Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation), sev ...

(a former state senator). She currently serves as a member of Winooski's Downtown Revitalization Project to eliminate sprawl and attract jobs. She has three daughters, one of whom served as a high-ranking member of John Kerry's

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

in 2004. Backus competes annually in the National Crossword Championship. Her highest finish was 46th.

References

1947 births Living people Vermont state senators Women state legislators in Vermont People from Norristown, Pennsylvania 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly 20th-century American women politicians {{Vermont-politician-stub