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Summit Chair
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)

In 1993, Kay Bailey Hutchison was elected as the first woman to represent Texas in the
U.S. Senate. Seven years later, more than four million Texans re-elected her to a second full term - at the time the largest number of votes ever garnered in the state. In 2004, she won a third term as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, remaining one of the top five elected leaders of Senate Republicans. Her accomplishments include creating innovative education policies, shaping foreign policy, and overseeing and guiding America’s space program.

Summit Co-Chair
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK)

Lisa Murkowski is the first Alaskan-born Senator to serve the state and only the sixth U.S. Senator from Alaska. She has assumed leadership roles quickly, having been selected to serve as a Deputy Whip to assist the Senate Majority Whip on voting strategy and other leadership functions, and as Chairman of the class of new Senators elected in 2002. She previously was elected to three terms in the Alaska State House of Representatives and was named House Majority Leader during the 2003-2004 term.

Summit Co-Chair
U.S. Senator John Sununu (NH)

John Sununu first ran for public office in 1996, winning election in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District and serving three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2002, he defeated both an incumbent Senator and an incumbent Governor to become the youngest member of the U.S. Senate. At the age of 41, he has already distinguished himself as an innovative legislator, bringing an extensive background in science, engineering, and small business to his work in Washington.

Summit Co-Chair
U.S. Senator John Thune (SD)

In 1996, South Dakotans elected John Thune as their lone member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1998, he was re-elected to a second term by the largest margin in South Dakota history. Thune honored his 1996 campaign pledge and served only three terms in the House. After a narrow loss in a Senate race in 2002, he won his Senate seat in 2004 when he made history by defeating a sitting Senate party leader for the first time in 52 years. Among other assignments, he serves on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.