Sue Myrick (née Wilkins; born August 1, 1941) is an American businesswoman and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party. She was the first Republican woman to represent North Carolina in Congress. On February 7, 2012, she announced that she was retiring. She left Congress in January 2013 and was succeeded by Robert Pittenger. Myrick's son Dan Forest was the 34th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. Early life, education, and business career Myrick was born in 1941 in Tiffin, Ohio. She graduated from Port Clinton High School in Port Clinton, Ottawa County, Ohio. She attended Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio between 1959 and 1960. Prior to going into public relations and advertising, she was a Sunday School Teacher. She is the former President and CEO of Myrick Advertising and Public Relations and Myrick Enterprises. Charlotte city politics Myrick ran for a seat on the Charlotte City Council unsuccessfully in 1981. In 1983, she was elected to an At-Large District of the City Council and served until 1985. In 1987, she was elected as the first female Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1989, when Sue Myrick was running for re-election as mayor of Charlotte, NC, she confessed to having had a relationship with her husband in 1973 while he was still married to his former wife. (She went on to win the election.) 1992 U.S. Senate election In 1992, she ran for the nomination for a U.S. Senate seat, held by incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Terry Sanford. The Republican primary was won by Lauch Faircloth, who defeated Myrick and former U.S. Representative Walter Johnston 48%–30%–17%. U.S. House of Representatives Elections In 1994, Myrick was elected to the House, succeeding five-term incumbent Alex McMillan. Myrick was overwhelmingly elected to her sixth consecutive term in the 2004 Congressional elections, earning 70% of the popular vote and defeating Democrat Jack Flynn. Similarly, she defeated Democrat William Glass in 2006 with almost 67% of the vote. Two Charlotte-area Democrats announced challenges to Myrick in 2008 – Harry Taylor and Ross Overby. Myrick defeated Taylor with almost 63% of the vote. On February 7, 2012, she announced that she was retiring from Congress. Tenure Ideology Myrick was one of the most conservative members of the House. She chaired the Republican Study Committee, a group of House conservatives, in the 108th Congress.