Dawn Gibbons (born March 9, 1954) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She was a member of the Nevada Assembly, as well as the First Lady of Nevada from 2007 to 2010, until her divorce from Governor Jim Gibbons on July 21, 2010.

Early and personal life

Dawn Gibbons was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and moved to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

at the age of 20. She graduated from the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in geological studies. Following graduation, she owned and operated two

wedding chapel A wedding chapel is a building or room, other than a legal court, where marriages are regularly performed. Usually wedding chapels are for-profit venues to host weddings in resort areas to encourage hotel room stays, catering and gambling by the ...

s in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. During this period, she met her future husband, Jim Gibbons, then a

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

pilot. They married in 1986. Together they have one child, Jimmy, who had served in the United States Navy.

Political career

In 1991, Dawn Gibbons was appointed to represent part of Washoe County in the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...

, filling a vacancy created when her husband resigned his seat in order to serve in the

Persian Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. She resigned from the state legislature in April 1991, allowing her husband to reclaim his seat. Following her husband's reappointment to the seat, she resumed her career in business. In 1998, Gibbons was elected to the Nevada Assembly in her own right, serving until 2004. During the 2006 election season, she ran in the Republican Party

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

to succeed her husband as

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

from

Nevada's 2nd congressional district Nevada's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district that includes the northern third of the state. It includes most of Lyon County, all of Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Pershing, Storey, and Washoe counties ...

. However, Gibbons finished in third place behind

Nevada Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the State of Nevada. The secretary of state post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is mandated by the Constitution of Nevada). The ...

Dean Heller Dean Arthur Heller (born May 10, 1960) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator for Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 15th secretary of state of Nevada from 1995 ...

(the eventual winner of both the primary and the general elections) and State Assemblywoman

Sharron Angle Sharron Elaine Angle (née Ott; born July 26, 1949) is an American far-right politician who served as a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007. She ran unsuccessfully as the 2010 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in ...

. In that same election cycle, her husband won both the Republican primary and the general election to become Governor of Nevada, making her First Lady.

Divorce

On May 2, 2008, Jim Gibbons filed for divorce on grounds of incompatibility, citing an undisclosed incident in Reno and asked the court to determine whether he or his wife would live at the Nevada Governor's Mansion in

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

. In court filings, Dawn Gibbons alleged that her husband had been having affairs with two women. She also cited the attempted sexual assault that Jim Gibbons was alleged to have committed against a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas. On July 21, 2010, the divorce became final.

Subsequent career

Gibbons' subsequent career has focused on media and public relations work. Gibbons debuted her talk radio show, ''The Dawn Gibbons Show'' on Fox News on March 30, 2010, with

Republican Minority Leader

Heidi Gansert Heidi Seevers Gansert (born 1963) is an American politician, businessperson, and engineer from the state of Nevada serving in the Nevada Senate, representing the 15th district since 2016. She served in the Nevada Assembly from 2004 through 201 ...

and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

as her first guests. Gibbons endorsed Reid in his

re-election bid The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

, saying he "was the only one to call to see how I was fter filing for divorce The only elected official to do that. He's a gift from God." Gibbons was the Senior Vice President of the now defunct

Intermountain West Communications Company Intermountain West Communications Company was an American telecommunications company, formerly owned by James E. Rogers (1938–2014), that remains as the licensee company for a number of local television stations in the United States, operated ...

and was a radio talk show host for

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

and co-hosted the Dawn & Jim Show (with

Jim Rogers James Beeland Rogers Jr. (born October 19, 1942) is an American investor and financial commentator based in Singapore. Rogers is the chairman of Beeland Interests, Inc. He was the co-founder of the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management. He was ...

and the Dawn & Rory Show (with Rory Reid). In 2017, Gibbons was appointed by Governor

Brian Sandoval Brian Edward Sandoval (; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...

to the Nevada Transportation Authority, the state agency responsible forregulation of taxicabs, rideshare vehicles, limousines, tow trucks, and other similar vehicles. Gibbons currently serves as Chair of the Authority.

Elections

*2006 Incumbent Congressman (NV-2) Jim Gibbons ran for Governor of Nevada instead of running for re-election. Dawn Gibbons placed third in the primary to succeed him with 17,317 votes (25.1%). *2002 Gibbons was unopposed in the primary and won the general election with 17,426 votes (84.40%) against Independent American nominee Doug Brozyna. *2000 Gibbons was unopposed in the primary and won the general election with 12,366 votes (82.32%) against Independent American nominee Doug Brozyna. *1998 the 25th Assembly District was vacant due to the appointment of incumbent

to the

Nevada Gaming Commission The Nevada Gaming Commission is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of casinos throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. In 1959, the Nevada Gaming Commission ("Commission") was created by the pass ...

. Gibbons won the Republican primary with 2,977 votes (50.17%) against former

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

Patricia Dillon Cafferata Patricia Anne "Patty" Dillon Cafferata (born November 24, 1940) is an American politician and lawyer. Born in Albany, New York, Cafferata graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a degree in elementary education and received her J.D. degree f ...

. She was then unopposed in the general election due to the district's strong Republican lean.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislature in ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Dawn 1954 births Living people American talk radio hosts First Ladies and Gentlemen of Nevada Republican Party members of the Nevada Assembly Politicians from Atlanta Radio personalities from Nevada University of Nevada, Reno alumni Women state legislators in Nevada 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians