Suzan DelBene facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Suzan DelBene
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Official portrait, 2017
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| Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 |
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| Leader | Hakeem Jeffries |
| Preceded by | Sean Patrick Maloney |
| Chair of the New Democrat Coalition | |
| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Derek Kilmer |
| Succeeded by | Annie Kuster |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 1st district |
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| Assumed office November 13, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Jay Inslee |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Suzan Kay Oliver
February 17, 1962 Selma, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Kurt DelBene
(m. 1997) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Reed College (BS) University of Washington (MBA) |
Suzan Kay DelBene (born February 17, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman. She has been a U.S. Representative for Washington's 1st congressional district since 2012.
Before becoming a representative, DelBene worked in business, including at Microsoft. She also served as the director for the Washington State Department of Revenue.
She is currently the leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). She also used to lead the New Democrat Coalition.
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Early Life and Education
Suzan DelBene was born in Selma, Alabama. She was the fifth child in her family. When she was young, her family moved to Bellevue, Washington, and later to Mercer Island.
Her family faced tough times when her father, an airline pilot, lost his job. They moved around the country looking for work.
DelBene went to The Choate School, a prep school. After that, she studied biology at Reed College. She then earned a master's degree in business from the University of Washington.
Business Career
Suzan DelBene had a long career in the business world before entering politics.
From 1989 to 1998, she worked at Microsoft. There, she helped with marketing and business development for different products, including Windows 95 and early versions of the Internet Explorer web browser.
In 1998, she helped start drugstore.com and became a vice president there. Later, in 2000, she became the CEO of Nimble Technology. She led this company until it was bought by another company in 2003.
She returned to Microsoft in 2004, working as a corporate vice president until 2007. From 2008 to 2009, she advised Global Partnerships, a group that helps people in Latin America with small loans and sustainable solutions. In 2010, she became the director for the Washington State Department of Revenue.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Becoming a Representative
Suzan DelBene first ran for the U.S. House in 2010. She ran as a Democrat for Washington's 8th congressional district. She lost that election to the Republican candidate, Dave Reichert.
In 2012, DelBene ran for Congress again. This time, she ran for the 1st district of Washington. This district had been redrawn, making the election more competitive. The previous representative, Jay Inslee, had left his seat to run for governor.
DelBene won two elections on the same day against Republican John Koster. She won a special election for the last two months of Inslee's term. She also won the regular election for a full two-year term. She started her work as a representative on November 13, 2012.
She won her re-election campaigns in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024.
What Committees Does She Serve On?
As a U.S. Representative, Suzan DelBene works on different committees and groups in Congress. These groups focus on specific topics.
She is the Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee handles important issues like taxes and trade.
She is also part of several other groups called caucuses. These include:
- New Democrat Coalition (she used to be the Chair)
- Caucus on Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Technologies (Co-Chair)
- Digital Trade Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Internet of Things (IoT) Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Congressional Kidney Caucus (Co-Chair)
- MedTech Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Reality Caucus (Co-Chair)
- Women's High Tech Coalition (Co-Chair)
- Congressional Arts Caucus
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- Veterinary Medicine Caucus
- LGBTQ Equality Caucus
- Diabetes Caucus
- Rare Disease Caucus
- U.S.-Japan Caucus
Her Ideas and Goals
Suzan DelBene works on many different issues in Congress. She often agrees with the President's ideas and goals.
Personal Life
Suzan DelBene is married to Kurt DelBene. He has also worked in government, serving as an Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology. He also helped fix the Healthcare.gov website when President Barack Obama asked him to.
Suzan and Kurt DelBene have two children. Suzan DelBene is a member of the Episcopal Church.
