Betty Sue Hearnes (née Cooper; born July 24, 1927) is a Democratic

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. She married

Warren E. Hearnes Warren Eastman Hearnes (July 24, 1923 – August 16, 2009) was an American politician who served as the 46th governor of Missouri from 1965 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first officeholder eligible to serve two consecuti ...

, a recent

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

graduate, on July 2, 1948, while he was on leave from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and was his partner throughout his career, including his two terms as

Governor of Missouri A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

and the federal investigations of his conduct by the

Nixon White House Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment because of the Watergate Scanda ...

, until his death in August 2009. She was elected to the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

in 1979, in a special election. She was re-elected in 1980, 1982, 1984, and 1986. In 1988 she was the Democratic nominee for governor and lost to

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...

. Ashcroft received 64 percent of the vote in the general election—the largest landslide for Missouri governor since the Civil War. She lost bids to return to the state house in 1990, the

Missouri State Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

in 1992 and the state house in 1998. In 2005, both Warren and Betty Hearnes were awarded the Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative during the Charleston Dogwood-Azalea Festival. The medal was presented by a delegation of citizens from

Marshfield, Missouri Marshfield is a city in Missouri and the county seat of Webster County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,633. As of the 2020 census, Marshfield had a population of 7,458. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri, Metro ...

. The medal is the city of Marshfield's highest honor and is named for a native son.Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative
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References

, - 1927 births Baylor University alumni First ladies and gentlemen of Missouri Living people Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives People from Brinkley, Arkansas People from Charleston, Missouri Southeast Missouri State University alumni University of Missouri alumni Women state legislators in Missouri 21st-century American women {{Missouri-politician-stub