She was appointed to fill the unexpired term of fellow Republican Jane Dee Hull.
[2] She earned a bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies and Spanish from the University of Arizona, where, as a Phi Beta Kappa, she received the Freeman Medal as outstanding graduate in 1966.
She ran in 2002 for the Republican nomination for Governor, but came in a distant second to Matt Salmon,[3] who in turn narrowly lost to Janet Napolitano.
Bayless was succeeded in office by fellow Republican Jan Brewer In 2005, Bayless was hired as the chief executive officer for the Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS), the public hospital and health care system of Maricopa County.
[4] Bayless has been credited with restoring the MIHS to financial viability and expansion of hospital facilities.