Sheila Kuehl
When Kuehl was elected as a Democrat to the California Assembly in 1994 a Republican majority was seated for the first time in 20 years. This was due largely as an out-flowing of the enthusiasm stoked up by Newt Gingrich's strategy supporting Republicans for the Federal Legislature. Kuehl recalled "The Republican majority was quite a different kind of Republican, not a moderate, not a Rockefeller Republican. They were primarily Bible-thumpers and very right-wing. So it was not the most welcoming Republican group, though they loved Zelda Gilroy, and it was very difficult for them because they already liked me so much…. And to their surprise, we all got along very well. ...The Republicans were pretty horrible about LGBT stuff. They all virtually said stuff like, 'Well, they're all spawn of the devil, oh, but not you, Sheila….'"
Sheila Frahm
She was appointed by Governor Bill Graves to the Senate on June 11, 1996 to replace Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who resigned from the Senate to devote all of his time to his Presidential campaign. During her time in the Senate, Frahm voted with the Republican party 92.9% of the time. The Senate average was 87.5%. Frahm ran in the special election to succeed him, but she was defeated for the Republican nomination by Sam Brownback. Brownback went on to win the November 1996 election, and immediately took office.