Ellen O. Tauscher (born November 15, 1951), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing the 10th District of California (map). The district includes several wealthy areas in the East Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. She was born in Newark, New Jersey, was educated at Seton Hall University and was an investment banker and member of the New York Stock Exchange. After moving to California in 1989, she founded the first national research service to help parents verify the background of childcare workers.
Tauscher was active in Democratic circles as a fundraiser before challenging 10th District Congressman Bill Baker in 1996. Tauscher was able to paint Baker as too conservative for the district and won a razor-thin victory. She managed to win solid victories in 1998 and 2000 against vigorous Republican opposition, even though the 10th was widely considered the most Republican of the Bay Area districts. In 2000, the two dominant parties in the state of California cooperatively redrew both state and federal legislative districts to preserve the status quo, ensuring the electoral safety of the politicians from possibly unpredictable voting by the electorate and so reducing people's ability to influence elections. Because of this some of the more Republican parts of the district were cut out, enabling Tauscher to win reelection in 2002 and 2004 without serious opposition.
Tauscher is a leading moderate Democrat. She is vice-chairwoman of the Democratic Leadership Council and is also a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.
