Biography:

Overcoming humble beginnings and personal tragedy with perseverance and pragmatism, Ruth Ann Minner became Delaware's first female governor in 2000, culminating a political career that began as a clerk and receptionist.

Once dubbed the "Aunt Bea" of Delaware politics by a newspaper columnist, Minner left high school at 16 to work on the family farm in Milford, Del. She married and started a family a year later.

At 32, she found herself a widow trying to raise three boys and manage a farm and asphalt-paving business.

Faced with being the sole breadwinner for her family, Minner returned to school, earning a general equivalency diploma from Milford High School and briefly studying elementary education at Delaware Technical and Community College.

In 1974, Minner made a successful bid for a state House seat, having tasted politics first as a bill clerk in the General Assembly, then as a receptionist for Gov. Sherman Tribbit. She served in the House until 1982, then was elected to the state Senate, where she served for 10 years.

Minner's signature achievement as a lawmaker was the Delaware Land and Water Conservation Act, which has resulted in the preservation of more than 30,000 acres of open space.

In 1991, Minner's second husband died of cancer, leaving her again widowed and in charge of a family business, a towing company that she still owns.

In 1992, Minner was tapped as the running mate of Democratic Gov. Tom Carper. She wound up serving two four-year terms as the state's first female lieutenant governor before succeeding Carper in 2000.

Past Campaigns:

Ruth Ann Minner was elected lieutenant governor of Delaware in 1992, defeating Republican Philip Cloutier with 61 percent of the vote. She was re-elected in 1996, taking 70 percent of the vote against Republican Sherman Miller.

Minner easily beat Republican John Burris in the 2000 governor's race, taking 59 percent of the vote.

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