Born in Everett, Washington,[1] O'Connor moved to Kansas as a child and married her husband, Art, at 17.
After spending 4 terms there, she ran for higher office in 2000, winning election to the State Senate.
[2][3] Early in her state senate tenure, she drew national attention for views which opponents characterized as opposing women's suffrage.
At an event organized by the League of Women Voters, O'Connor said that: "We have a society that does tear families apart...I think the 19th Amendment, while it's not evil in and of itself, is a symptom of something I don't approve of.
[6] In 2005, she announced that she would run for Kansas Secretary of State, setting off another wave of national attention due to the controversy over her views on suffrage.