Suzanne "Sue" Pluskoski Lowden (; born February 8, 1952) Payment required to read article. is the former Chairwoman of the

Nevada Republican Party The Nevada Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's governorship and lieutenant governorship, which are currently held by J ...

and a former Nevada state senator. Lowden is a former businesswoman, television news anchor and kindergarten teacher. Lowden was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination in the

2010 United States Senate election in Nevada The 2010 United States Senate election in Nevada took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator and Majority Leader Harry Reid won re-election to a fifth and final term. Democratic primary The Democratic primary took place ...

and the 2014 Nevada Lt. Governor election. A native of

National Park, New Jersey National Park is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 3,026, a decline of 10 (−0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,036,American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

and

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

. She served as a state senator for Nevada from 1993 to 1997. During her four years in the state legislature, she held the senior leadership position of

majority whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

Early life and career

Born Suzanne Parkinson Pluskoski, and raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Lowden graduated in 1970 from

Gloucester Catholic High School Gloucester Catholic High School is a co-educational six-year Roman Catholic high school located in Gloucester City, in Camden County, New Jersey. The school is managed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden. The school serves students in seve ...

. At age 16, she became Miss

Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...

, Miss New Jersey Apple Princess, and Miss Steel Pier in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

at age 19 in 1971. Lowden was

Miss District of Columbia USA The Miss District of Columbia USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the District of Columbia in the Miss USA pageant. Four District of Columbia representatives have won the Miss USA title. Of those two, Deshauna Bar ...

in 1971, and a semi-finalist at

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

. Changing her name to Suzanne Plummer, in 1973, she was

Miss New Jersey The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant. Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to hold the title of Miss America: Bette Cooper who won in ...

on her second try, and was 2nd runner-up for

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

having won the swimsuit portion. After a six-week

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

tour, she completed a BA in education from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, an MA in elementary education from

Rutherford, New Jersey Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, fr ...

, and was later granted an Honorary AA from then Community College of Southern Nevada. While finishing her degree, Lowden worked two years as a kindergarten teacher in

Edgewater, New Jersey Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a population of 11,513,/nowiki>''sic''/nowiki> Hill Road was an important route to the top ...

. Then, she moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Sending job applications to TV stations across the country, in 1978 she landed a job with

KLAS-TV KLAS-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Channel 8 Drive near the northern portion of the Las Vegas Strip in the u ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, the local CBS affiliate for southern Nevada. She earned numerous awards for her work as a reporter and anchorwoman, such as the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

Award for Best Newscast. She became a member of the KLAS Channel 8 Hall of Fame. She left KLAS in 1987. Lowden became an Executive Vice President of

Sahara Hotel and Casino Sahara Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Meruelo Group. The hotel has 1,616 rooms, and the casino contains . The Sahara anchors the northern end of the Las Vegas ...

, then President of

Santa Fe Station Santa Fe Station is a hotel and casino located on North Rancho Drive in Las Vegas, Nevada. The casino is owned by Station Casinos and is located on of land. The hotel-casino originally opened as the Santa Fe in 1991, and for several years inclu ...

. Having a Nevada gaming license, she currently serves as a Member of the Board of Directors and Secretary-Treasurer of

Archon Corporation Archon Corporation is an entertainment company based in Laughlin, Nevada. The company has owned casinos and water parks. Members of board of directors include State Senator Sue Lowden who was chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and State ...

, a gaming and investment company. For her work, Lowden received a Women of Achievement Award from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. According to statements filed with the Senate Office of Public Records, she and her husband have more than $50 million in stock holdings, much of it in Las Vegas gaming companies.

State Senate career

In 1992, Lowden ran for the

Nevada State Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the previ ...

in Clark County District 3
map
, that usually elects members of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. She defeated longtime incumbent

Jack Vergiels John M. "Jack" Vergiels (November 21, 1937 – December 16, 2009) was an American educator and politician. He was born in Erie, Michigan on November 21, 1937. His family moved to Ohio, where Vergiels was raised. He earned a bachelor's, master's, ...

, who was then serving as the Nevada Senate Majority Leader. In 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 ...

, Lowden served as the

Senate Majority Whip The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

and the Chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee. Her work in office earned her the Guardian of Small Business Award from the Nevada chapter of the

National Federation of Independent Business The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is an association of small businesses in the United States. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. The goal of NFIB is to ad ...

(NFIB), Senator of the Year Award from the Clark County Republican Party, the Woman of the Year Award from the Republican Women of Las Vegas, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 from the Republican Women of Henderson. The

Culinary Workers Union The Culinary Workers Union, UNITE HERE Local 226 is a local union affiliated with UNITE HERE which operates in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Nevada. Members include a variety of occupations organized along craft lines working in restaurants, ...

representing hotel workers, then the most powerful labor force in Las Vegas, has criticized her for her votes to reform the State Industrial Insurance System and because her casino fought efforts by workers to organize there. She said the union harassed her by picketing her home and threatened her to the point where she had to transfer her children to another school. In 1996, she lost a re-election bid to Democrat

Valerie Wiener Valerie Wiener (born October 30, 1948) was a Democratic member of the Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It cu ...

, while most other incumbents held their seats. In 2007 she became Chairwoman of the

and held that position until 2009.

2010 U.S. Senate run

On October 1, 2009, Lowden announced her bid for the Republican nomination for US Senate. Her main opponents in the Republican primary were businessman

Danny Tarkanian Daniel George John Tarkanian (born December 18, 1961) is an American attorney, businessman and perennial candidate for elective office. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he has mounted unsuccessful campaigns for the Nevada Senate (2 ...

and former 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 ...

. Had Lowden won the Republican primary, she would have run against U.S. Senator

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 ...

, the

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

. She earned endorsements from

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...

Jeri Thompson Jeri Kehn Thompson (born September 30, 1966) is an American radio talk show host, columnist for ''The American Spectator'', political commentator, and former political consultant for the Washington, D.C. law firm of Verner Liipfert. She has als ...

, the

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

, and former Nevada Governor

Robert List Robert Frank "Bob" List (born September 1, 1936) is an American attorney and politician. He served as the 24th Governor of Nevada from 1979 to 1983. He was raised in Exeter, California. He served as Carson City District Attorney from 1967 to 19 ...

. ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' named Lowden's campaign one of "the worst" of 2010 stating "if

wins re-election in Nevada, it will likely be thanks to those 14 words spoken by Republican challenger Sue Lowden", referring to Lowden's statement regarding "bringing a chicken to a doctor." ''Politico'' also cited controversy over Lowden's use of a campaign supporter's RV, and "an inept response to a question about the

Civil Rights Act Civil Rights Act may refer to several acts of the United States Congress, including: * Civil Rights Act of 1866, extending the rights of emancipated slaves by stating that any person born in the United States regardless of race is an American ci ...

" as reasons. Tarkanian was her closest primary opponent in two surveys conducted as of April 2010, but polling after Lowden's infamous suggestion that people use the barter system to lower their health care costs showed Angle moving to first place. In general election polling, she once held the largest lead against Reid in aggregate polling conducted as of April 2010. But later May polls showed Lowden losing to Harry Reid by 5 percentage points (42-37). In primary election polling, Lowden held an even greater lead of 18 points over her closest primary opponent in two independent surveys conducted April 2010. Her numbers then declined by more than 20 points. Using data from a poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. the ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' on May 28, 2010 stated that "Republican Sue Lowden has the best chance of defeating U.S. Sen. Harry Reid". The poll predicted that Lowden would win 42 percent of the vote over Reid's 39 percent with a margin of error "plus or minus 4 percentage points."

went on to defeat Lowden by a margin of 13.98%.

2014 election

Lowden confirmed with Nevada political pundit Jon Ralston that she was mulling a run for Nevada Lieutenant Governor in 2014. Ultimately, she lost the primary election to State Senator

Mark Hutchison Mark Alan Hutchison (born May 5, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 2015 to 2019. He was elected to the Nevada State Senate on November 6, 2012, to represent Nevada Senate, Dist ...

by nearly 18% of the vote.

Personal life

In 1983, she married Paul Lowden, a Nevada businessman. At the time, he owned the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

and

Hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

casinos. They later built the

casino and remain majority owners of the

Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall (formerly Colorado Club) is a hotel and casino located on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is known for its neon cigarette-puffing "River Rick" marque. It was a sister property of the Pioneer ...

. He had a boy and girl, and together they had two sons (her youngest died at 17), and have one granddaughter. She and her husband reside in Las Vegas. In 2016, Chris Lowden, son of Sue Lowden was sued by investors of Stoney's Rockin Country for fraud and racketeering. The Stoney' Rockin Country trademark is currently owned by Archon Corporation, which Sue Lowden sits on the board, owns majority of the company stock, and serves an executive position.

Appearance in media

Lowden had an impromptu appearance on ''The Tonight Show'' in 1978 where she was picked out of the audience by guest host

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter La ...

who fawned on her as a result of her physical beauty. Rickles was struck by her beauty and joked towards the end of their discussion, "you've got a great a body, I'm not saying that in any kind of sexy way...I want to be with you so bad Sue!" Sue was accompanied by two acquaintances one of which was former professional NFL football player

Edgar Chandler Edgar Thomas Chandler, Jr. (August 31, 1946 – October 17, 1992) was an American football player who played linebacker professionally for six seasons for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (N ...

References

External links

Sue Lowden for Senate
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowden, Sue 1952 births Living people American University alumni Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni Gloucester Catholic High School alumni Miss America 1974 delegates Republican Party Nevada state senators People from the Las Vegas Valley People from National Park, New Jersey People from Wildwood, New Jersey State political party chairs of Nevada Washington, D.C., Republicans Women state legislators in Nevada 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Beauty queen-politicians