Northup was educated at Sacred Heart Academy and Saint Mary's College, earning a bachelor's degree in economics and business.

She was one of the wealthiest members of the House of Representatives, ranking 34th out of the 435—with assets of $4.4 million to $15.9 million—based on financial disclosure statements made for the 2006 campaign.

[4] She was elected to the United States House in 1996, narrowly defeating one-term Democratic incumbent Mike Ward with a vote count of 126,625 to 125,326.

[6] The competitive race—the candidates were in a dead heat in early polls—was of national interest in a year when Democrats were trying to regain control of the house.

It attracted a visit from then-President Clinton in support of Jordan, and became at the time the second most expensive House race in Kentucky history.

A memorable Northup ad featured a clip of Jordan speaking in the Kentucky House's floor, urging colleagues to hurry up and vote a bill, saying "I have a fund-raiser at 6 o'clock and I want to get out of here."

She ran on her past performance, as well as the promise of securing funding for two new Ohio River bridges and a new Veteran's Administration hospital.

However, she was defeated for re-election to a sixth term in the 2006 congressional election by John Yarmuth, former publisher and editorialist of the Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO), an alternative newsweekly.

Major themes of Northup's campaign was that she was independent of the then-unpopular President Bush, and that she was uniquely able to secure federal funds for Louisville projects.

[11][12][13] After a lengthy scandal and investigation during his first term involving alleged abuses of the state's merit-based hiring system, many believed incumbent governor Ernie Fletcher, who sought re-election, no longer had sufficient support from either the Republican Party leadership or voters.

It was released from The Courier-Journal newspaper that Anne Northup was praised as a "formidable" candidate by the state's top Republican leader, long-time U.S.

[15] At a press conference held in front of a gas station on June 17, 2008, Northup said that the 2008 elections were about the rising price of energy.

[1] On July 30, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Northup to a seat on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 7.