Jane Harman
The Democratic Opponent: California's 36th
Congressional District

Democrat Jane Harman is trying to reclaim her old congressional seat representing California's 36th district. She is challenging incumbent Republican Steve Kuykendall for the seat that she held for three terms before leaving to run unsuccessfully for governor in 1998. Harman herself said running again was a "difficult decision." She announced her candidacy in December, 1999, just days before California's filing deadline and after persuasion from House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri.

Harman represented the South Bay area from 1992 to 1998. Her moderate Democratic positions played well in a district that tends to be fiscally conservative, but socially liberal. Still, her elections have been close in the swing district: after a narrow 1992 victory, Harman initially appeared to have been unseated in 1994 until the absentee ballots put her on top. She won by over eight points in 1996.

In office, Harman supported abortion rights and some gun control measures, and worked on education and health care. As cuts in defense spending threatened the area's once-booming aerospace industry, Harman, a former defense industry lobbyist, focused attention on diversifying companies and workers into high-tech, non-defense areas. She also helped keep the Los Angeles Air Force Base open when it was threatened in a round of military base closings. During her three terms in Congress, Harman served on the National Security, Science and Intelligence Committees.

After her failed 1998 gubernatorial bid -- she trailed Republican Dan Lungren and eventual winner Gray Davis by over 20 points in the open primary -- Harman was appointed Regents' Professor at UCLA, where she taught public policy and international relations. Before joining the House of Representatives, Harman served as deputy secretary to the cabinet for President Jimmy Carter. She had further Washington experience from her work as a Senate subcommittee staff director, counsel to the Department of Defense and as a lawyer at a major Washington law firm.

Harman, 55, attended Los Angeles public schools before graduating from Smith College in Massachusetts. In 1969 she earned a law degree from Harvard University. She currently resides in Rolling Hills, Calif., and Washington, D.C., with her husband, Sidney, who is the founder of audio manufacturer Harman International and whose wealth has helped finance her campaigns. They have two children, and candidate Harman has two others from a previous marriage.