( CNN ) -- Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones , the first black woman to represent Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives , died Wednesday after suffering brain hemorrhaging caused by an aneurysm , medical officials said . Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones , D-Ohio , suffered an aneurysm Tuesday evening . Tubbs Jones , a 58-year-old Democrat in her fifth term representing parts of Cleveland and its suburbs , suffered the aneurysm Tuesday evening while driving in Cleveland Heights , Ohio , her staff said . She was rushed to East Cleveland 's Huron Hospital , where a team of doctors determined Wednesday morning that she had `` very limited brain function , '' said Dr. Gus Kious , the hospital 's chief of staff . Wednesday afternoon , before Tubbs Jones died , Kious said that the aneurysm was in `` an inaccessible part of her brain '' and that she was in critical condition . She died at 6:12 p.m . ET Wednesday after her condition declined `` throughout the course of the day and into this evening , '' according to a joint statement from her family , Huron Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic . The congresswoman had a full day of activity Tuesday , according to a statement from her office , including planning for a September 4 forum on electoral reform at Cleveland State University . President Bush said Tubbs Jones `` was an effective legislator who was dedicated to helping small businesses , improving local schools , expanding job opportunities for Ohioans and ensuring that more of them have access to health care . See a biography of Tubbs Jones » . `` After making history as the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Ohio , the congresswoman worked to expand the rights of all Americans , '' Bush said . Tubbs Jones built a reputation in Congress for speaking out . In 2003 , she was the only Ohioan in Congress to vote against a resolution supporting U.S. troops in Iraq . Read reaction from the political community » . She said she voted `` no '' because the resolution connected Iraq to the September 11 terrorist attacks and declared that Iraq poses a continued threat to the United States . She said that neither of those claims had been proved . `` Our veterans deserve better than lip service , '' she said . She stepped up her national political role in 2004 , assisting the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry , especially in battleground states . She also helped shape her party 's platform , traveling the country as a co-chair of the Democratic National Committee . In early January 2005 , Tubbs Jones led an unsuccessful fight against certifying Ohio 's tally in the 2004 presidential election , citing voting irregularities . Lawmakers voted down the challenge , allowing President Bush to carry the state by about 70,000 votes and sealing his 286-251 victory in the Electoral College . Tubbs Jones was one of the most ardent supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton 's 2008 run for the White House . After Clinton bowed out of the race in June , she endorsed Sen. Barack Obama , now the presumptive Democratic nominee . Tubbs Jones , a superdelegate , had been scheduled to attend the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver , Colorado . `` She was not only a professional , but she could reach into your soul and shake it , '' said Rep. Joe Sestak , D-Pennsylvania , who said he met Tubbs Jones at a Clinton rally . `` Hillary Clinton was lucky to have a supporter like her . '' Clinton , in a statement with her husband , former President Clinton , and their daughter , Chelsea , said Tubbs Jones ' friendship `` meant the world to us . '' iReport.com : Share your memories of Tubbs Jones . `` We could always count on her to be a shoulder on which to lean , an ear to bend , a voice to reassure , '' the Clintons said . `` Over the course of many years , with many ups and many downs , Stephanie was right by our side -- unwavering , indefatigable . `` It was that fighting spirit -- safely stowed behind her disarming smile , backed by so much integrity and fiery intelligence -- that allowed Stephanie to rise from modest beginnings , to succeed in public service , to become a one-woman force for progress in our country . '' Born in Cleveland , Tubbs Jones started public life as a municipal judge in 1981 . She also had been a trial court judge and , for the seven years before her election to Congress , a county prosecutor . Her husband , Mervyn , died in October 2003 of a heart attack . The couple had one son . Tubbs Jones would have turned 59 on September 10 . CNN 's Alexander Mooney contributed to this report .
NEW : Stephanie Tubbs Jones , Clintons issue statements lauding Tubbs Jones . Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones died a day after falling ill , officials say . She was the first female black Ohio representative from U.S. . Bush was to have been Democrat superdelegate in Denver .