[sammyg2]

quote "Sanchez was born in Lynwood, California and graduated from Katella High School in Anaheim in 1978. She received her undergraduate degree from Chapman University in Orange in 1982, obtained her MBA from American University in Washington, DC in 1984, and was a financial analyst until entering the House.


Entry into Politics
In 1994 she unsuccessfully ran for the Anaheim City Council under her then married name, Loretta Brixey. At the time, she was a registered Republican. After forays into politics as a Republican, she changed parties, recast herself as a moderate Democrat, and dropped her married name in favor of her maiden name Sanchez. Her first election to the House, in what was then the 46th District in 1996, was bitterly fought. The controversial longtime Republican incumbent, Bob Dornan, was targeted as out of touch with his constituency, especially after a distracting run for the 1996 Republican Presidential nomination. The 46th had always had a Democratic tilt, but became even more Democratic after the 1990 census when it received a considerably larger number of Hispanics than had previously been in the district. She won by only 984 votes on the strength of support from Hispanics and blue-collar workers. She became the first Latina to represent an Orange County-based district. Dornan contested the election, alleging that some voters who were registered were not U.S. citizens, but the results were upheld. Sanchez handily defeated Dornan in a 1998 rematch and has not faced truly serious opposition since. Her district was renumbered the 47th District after the 2000 census.

In November 2002, Loretta's younger sister, Linda, was elected for the new 39th District. They are the first pair of sisters to serve simultaneously in the United States Congress"