seat in a 1994 special election. In 1997, she co-sponsored legislation to ban same-sex marriage in Washington State. In 2001, she blocked legislation "to replace all references to 'Oriental' in state documents with 'Asian'", explaining, "I'm very reluctant to continue to focus on setting up different definitions in statute related to the various minority groups. I'd really like to see us get beyond that." She voted against a 2004 bill to add sexual orientation to the state's anti-discrimination law, and was a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage. She is credited for sponsoring legislation to require the state reimburse rural hospitals for the cost of serving Medicaid patients, and for her work overcoming opposition in her own caucus to pass a controversial gas tax used to fund transportation improvements. From 2002 to 2003, she served as House Minority Leader, the top House Republican leadership post. She chaired the House Commerce and Labor Committee, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, and the State Government Committee. She stepped down as minority leader in 2003 after announcing her candidacy for Congress. During her tenure in the legislature, she lived in Colville; she has since moved to Spokane. U.S. House of Representatives Elections In 2004, McMorris ran for the United States House of Representatives in the 5th District; she already represented much of the district's northern portion. She received 59.7% of the vote for an open seat, defeating the Democratic nominee, hotel magnate Don Barbieri. The seat had become vacant when five-term incumbent George Nethercutt resigned to run for the U.S. Senate. Tenure McMorris Rodgers is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, the Congressional Constitution Caucus, and the Congressional Western Caucus. In November 2006, McMorris Rodgers was reelected with 56.4% of the vote, to Democratic nominee Peter J. Goldmark's 43.6%. In 2007, she became the Republican co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, which pushed for pay equity, tougher child support enforcement, women's health programs, and laws protecting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. In 2008, McMorris Rodgers received 211,305 votes (65.28%), to Democratic nominee Mark Mays's 112,382 votes (34.72%). On November 19, 2008, she was elected to serve as vice chair of the House Republican Conference for the 111th United States Congress, making her the fourth-highest-ranking Republican in her caucus leadership (after John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor, and Conference Chair Mike Pence) and the highest-ranking Republican woman. In