When Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy, 1894-1952, of Hays, Kansas entered the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1932, she had three strikes against her: she was a single woman, a Catholic, and a New Deal Democrat in a primarily Republican district. She overcame these obstacles to become the first woman from Kansas to serve, 1932-1934, in the U.S. Congress but lost a very closely contested race to Republican Frank Carlson in the 1934 election.

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