Jeannette C. Hayner (née Hafner; January 22, 1919 – November 26, 2010) was an American politician, the first woman to hold the position of Majority Leader in the Washington State Senate.
[2] Senator Hayner met her husband, Herman "Dutch" Hahner (the original spelling of the family name), at the law school and they were married in October 1942.
In 1972, at age 53, Jeannette Hahner ran for the open Sixteenth District seat in the State House of Representatives.
In 1976 party leaders convinced Hayner to run for the state senate seat being vacated by Dan Jolly, a Democrat.
Hayner was reportedly a compromise candidate and narrowly edged Matson in a surprise vote about a week before the end of the session.
"[5] Then-Senator Lois North later recalled, "There was a stunned silence on the floor of the Senate when it became apparent a woman was about to become the leader of her caucus.