Elizabeth Tori (born March 2, 1936) is an American politician from the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. Tori represented the 10th state Senate district of Kentucky from 1995 until 2011. Tori attended the University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University. Tori began her political activism with the creation of the North Hardin Republican Women's Club. Tori was also active in the congressional campaigns of her late husband, Martin, who ran for Kentucky's 2nd district U.S. House seat in 1988 and 1990. Tori made her first run for political office in 1992 with a failed bid for the Radcliff, Kentucky City Council. Two years later, Tori filed for the 10th district state Senate seat held by Democratic incumbent Tom Smith. Using the slogan "the man for the job is a woman", Tori ran a hard campaign that focused on veterans' issues, a highly appealing topic to the district that includes

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

. Tori defeated Smith on election night, becoming the first woman and first Republican to represent the district. Tori was elected Senate Minority

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

in 1997. Tori earned a second term when she defeated Hardin County, Kentucky Magistrate Charles E. Wise by a wide margin in 1998. When the Republican Party gained control of the Kentucky Senate in January 2000, Tori was elevated to Majority Whip, making her the highest ranking woman in the legislature. In 2002, Tori defeated activist Janey Fair in the general election to win a third term. Following the 2004 election, Tori stepped down from her party leadership position to take the chairmanship of the

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee The United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans problems and issues. Description The committee was created in 1970 to transfer responsibilities for veterans from the Finance and Labor commit ...

. On November 7, 2006, Tori won a fourth term in the Kentucky State Senate by defeating Hardin County Magistrate Doug Goodman by a wide margin. In 2010, Tori narrowly lost a bid for a fifth term to Dennis Parrett, who used a series of questionable attack ads that painted Tori negatively, including an ad that accused her of taking $505,000 from state government, though that was the total of her legislator salary for the previous 16 years.

Personal life

Tori is the mother of four and grandmother of eleven.

References

Kentucky Votes

External links

Statesurge: ''Elizabeth Tori - Kentucky''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tori, Elizabeth 1936 births People from Radcliff, Kentucky Women state legislators in Kentucky Living people Republican Party Kentucky state senators Western Kentucky University alumni University of Kentucky alumni 21st-century American women