Kay A. Orr | |
|---|---|
 Orr in 2017 | |
| 36thGovernor of Nebraska | |
| In office January 9, 1987 – January 9, 1991 | |
| Lieutenant | William E. Nichol |
| Preceded by | Bob Kerrey |
| Succeeded by | Ben Nelson |
| 36thTreasurer of Nebraska | |
| In office June 15, 1981 – January 9, 1987 | |
| Governor | Charles Thone Bob Kerrey |
| Preceded by | Frank Marsh |
| Succeeded by | Frank Marsh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kay Avonne Stark (1939-01-02)January 2, 1939 (age 86) Burlington, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Kay Avonne Orr (néeStark; January 2, 1939) is an American politician who served as the36th governor of Nebraska from 1987 to 1991. A member of theRepublican Party, she was the state's first and to date only female governor.
Orr was born Kay Avonne Stark inBurlington, Iowa. Her mother, Sadie, was active in local politics, while her father, Ralph, was a Burlington city council member and farm implements dealer.[1] She attended theUniversity of Iowa from 1956 to 1957.
In 1963, after moving toLincoln, Nebraska, Orr began volunteering for the Republican Party. She supported such politicians as PresidentRichard Nixon and SenatorsCarl Curtis andRoman Hruska, and was named Nebraska's Outstanding Young Republican Woman in 1969.[2]
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Orr was appointed asNebraska State Treasurer following the midterm resignation ofFrank Marsh in 1981. She was subsequently elected to that post in 1982, becoming the first woman ever to be elected to a statewide constitutional office in Nebraska. She held that office until 1987.[3]
In the1986 election, Orr secured the Republican nomination for Nebraska governor after winning an eight-way primary, carrying 81 of Nebraska's 93 counties includingDouglas andLancaster,Kermit Brashear carried 9 counties, and Nancy Hoch carried 2 counties.[4][5]
In the 1986 general election, she defeated former Lincoln MayorHelen Boosalis in the first U.S. gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates were women, winning by a 53% to 47% margin. Orr was the first Republican woman elected governor in the United States, and the second Republican woman governor afterVesta M. Roy, who served as the unelected acting governor ofNew Hampshire from December 1982 to January 1983.[6]
In the1990 gubernatorial election, Orr was narrowly defeated by DemocratBen Nelson. Nelson's two main attacks on her gubernatorial record were her support of a proposed low-level nuclear waste dump, and a tax increase which was passed over her veto.
As governor, Orr was against tax increases, against theEqual Rights Amendment, and opposes abortions in all cases.[7]
Orr co-chaired a coalition seeking to prohibit gay marriage in thestate constitution viaInitiative 416.[8] Her effort was successful, and gay marriage was banned in 2000. In 2015, theObergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling rendered the ban unenforceable.
Orr served twice as a presidential elector for the state of Nebraska, casting one of the state's five electoral votes. In the2004 presidential election, she voted forGeorge W. Bush, and in the2012 election, forMitt Romney.
She marriedBill Orr on September 26, 1957, and they had two children, John William and Suzanne.[3] Bill died from complications ofCOPD on May 5, 2013.[9]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Treasurer of Nebraska 1981–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Nebraska 1987–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forNebraska State Treasurer 1982 | Succeeded by Frank Marsh |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Nebraska 1986,1990 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Senator | Order of precedence of the United States Within Nebraska | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Nebraska | |
| Territorial(1854–1867) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| State(since 1867) | ||
Italics indicate acting governors | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
