Louise Slaughter, longtime congresswoman and fierce liberal fighter, dies at 88
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Rep. Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat who represented the Rochester area in Congress for over 30 years, died on Friday, following a fall last week in which she sustained a concussion. Eighty-eight at the time of her death, Slaughter had been the oldestLouise Slaughter, longtime congresswoman and fierce liberal fighter, dies at 88
Rep. Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat who represented the Rochester area in Congress for over 30 years, died on Friday, following a fall last week in which she sustained a concussion. Eighty-eight at the time of her death, Slaughter had been the oldest member of the House, a distinction that now falls to Texas Rep. Sam Johnson, who is retiring this year. Slaughter, who was a distant relative of Daniel Boone, came to western New York from Kentucky in the 1950s, and won seats in the Monroe County Legislature and New York Assembly in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1986, then-Assemblywoman Slaughter challenged conservative one-term GOP Rep. Fred Eckert, a vocal supporter of Ronald Reagan, in what was then New York's 30th Congressional District. Slaughter assembled a huge volunteer army and ousted Eckert by a tight 51-49 margin, running ads that labeled him «Congressman No» for his votes against school lunches and sanctions on South Africa's apartheid regime. Slaughter had little trouble winning re-election afterward for decades. However, the 2012 round of redistricting changed her district quite a bit: Slaughter lost territory around Buffalo and was left in a seat based entirely in Rochester’s Monroe County. Not only was the new 25th District considerably less Democratic than its predecessor (the 28th), Slaughter also only represented about 40 percent of of its constituents. While the congresswoman was still very well known in the Rochester area, Republicans smelled an opportunity and recruited Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, who had just decisively won re-election. Slaughter was taken off the campaign trail for a time after she broke her leg in a fall, but she continued to boast that she’s always “had the stamina of three people” and joked that her slogan could be “Vote Louise. She has a leg up.” Polls showed a close race for a time and Republican outside groups spent heavily, but Slaughter won 57-43 as Obama was carrying the seat 59-39. Read more