Diana DeGette Bio
Diana Louise DeGette (born July 29, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Colorado’s 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, she is the dean of Colorado’s congressional delegation and has built a national profile on issues including women’s reproductive rights, stem cell research, health care, and environmental protection. Her Denver-based district has reelected her repeatedly, reflecting her durable support among Colorado voters.
Before her tenure in Congress, DeGette served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1993 to 1997, and she later held the position of Chief Deputy Whip in the U.S. House from 2005 to 2019. She co-chairs the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus and the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, and she serves as Vice Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus. DeGette holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College and a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law.
Early Life and Background
Diana Louise DeGette was born on July 29, 1957, in Tachikawa, Japan, where her father, Richard Louis DeGette, was stationed while serving in the United States armed forces. Her mother, Patricia Anne, née Rose, was also American. Although born overseas, DeGette is considered a fourth-generation Coloradan, with deep family roots in the state that would later become her political home.
DeGette grew up in Colorado and pursued her higher education in the state before continuing on the East Coast. She graduated from Colorado College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1979 and was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu international honor society during her time there. She then went on to earn her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 1982, completing a strong academic foundation that would later support her legal and political career.
Path to US Politics
After completing her law degree, DeGette returned to Denver and built a career as a practicing attorney. Her legal work focused on civil rights and employment litigation, fields that gave her firsthand experience with the kinds of constitutional and policy questions that would later shape her legislative priorities. Through her involvement in Denver civic life, she became an active voice in local Democratic politics during the 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1992, DeGette successfully ran for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 6th district. She was reelected in 1994 and chosen as assistant minority leader, quickly establishing herself as a rising figure in state-level politics. During her time in the state legislature, she authored the so-called Bubble Bill, a law guaranteeing Colorado women unobstructed access to abortion clinics and other medical care facilities. The United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of that law in Hill v. Colorado, 530 U.S. 703 (2000). She also authored the state’s Voluntary Cleanup and Redevelopment Act, a model for similar programs elsewhere.
Diana DeGette Career
Early Career (1993–1996)
DeGette’s elected political career began in the Colorado House of Representatives, where she served from 1993 to 1997 representing the 6th district. As assistant minority leader, she helped shape the Democratic caucus’s legislative agenda and developed relationships that would prove useful when she set her sights on federal office. Her work in state government also sharpened her command of health care, environmental, and civil rights issues.
When longtime 1st district Representative Pat Schroeder announced she would not seek reelection in 1996, DeGette launched a campaign for the seat. She won the Democratic primary with 55 percent of the vote over former Denver City Council member Tim Sandos, despite an endorsement of Sandos by Denver Mayor Wellington Webb. With the 1st district considered safely Democratic, her primary victory all but assured her of election in the general election.
Congressional Elections and Early House Tenure (1997–2006)
Diana DeGette won her first general election for the U.S. House in 1996 with 57 percent of the vote and has been returned to Congress by her district repeatedly since then. Within her first several terms, she built a reputation as a serious legislator on bioethics and public health, particularly through her work on embryonic stem cell research. In 2001, she began championing legislation to lift the federal funding limits imposed by President George W. Bush on such research.
By 2005, DeGette’s persistence paid off when the House passed legislation she had cosponsored to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. She enlisted Representative Michael N. Castle, a Republican from Delaware, as her principal Republican cosponsor, and the DeGette-Castle bill passed the Senate on July 18, 2006, only to be vetoed by President Bush the next day in the first veto of his presidency. During the same period, DeGette rose within the House Democratic leadership, serving as Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 to 2019, and she was appointed to the House Page Board by Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2007.
Major Legislative Achievements (2007–2019)
Following the Democratic victory in the 2006 midterm elections, DeGette briefly considered running for House Majority Whip before stepping aside in favor of Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. She instead continued to focus on legislation, serving as the House Democrats’ designated whip on the bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which passed the House in August 2007 despite President Bush’s opposition. That same year, she also introduced the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2007, which she later reintroduced in 2009, and served as a cosponsor of the Udall Amendment to the House Energy Bill, establishing a national Renewable Energy Standard.
DeGette took on a national role in the 2008 presidential race, endorsing Senator Hillary Clinton and serving as national co-chair of Clinton’s Health Care Policy Task Force and adviser on stem cell research. She was a superdelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. In 2009, she emerged as a leading opponent of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which would have restricted federal abortion funding under the Affordable Health Care for America Act. In December 2019, she sat as speaker pro tempore and presided over the debate on the first impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Continued Service and Gun Control Advocacy (2011–Present)
DeGette has continued to champion reproductive rights, environmental protection, and gun safety throughout her career. Along with Representative Carolyn McCarthy, she introduced the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2012, and she has consistently advocated for bans on certain semi-automatic firearms. In June 2016, she joined Representative John Lewis and other Democratic lawmakers in a sit-in on the House floor to demand votes on gun control legislation following the Orlando nightclub shooting.
On January 12, 2021, DeGette was named an impeachment manager for the second impeachment trial of President Trump. She has maintained a 100 percent rating from both NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood, while earning a 0 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee because of her strong pro-choice stance. According to a FiveThirtyEight analysis, she voted with President Joe Biden’s stated position 100 percent of the time during the 117th Congress.
Notable Events and Milestones
DeGette has presided over significant moments in modern House history, including the December 2019 debate on the first impeachment of President Trump and service as an impeachment manager during the second impeachment trial in 2021. Her sustained leadership on stem cell research, the successful defense of Colorado’s Bubble Bill before the U.S. Supreme Court, and her role in the 2016 House sit-in on gun control have each marked her as one of the more active legislators of her generation. She also became the dean of Colorado’s congressional delegation in 2007 after the retirement of Representative Joel Hefley.
Diana DeGette Career Wins
DeGette has been reelected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado’s 1st congressional district 15 times since her initial victory in 1996, a record that reflects both the district’s Democratic lean and her consistent constituent service. Her win totals and high approval ratings from advocacy organizations have cemented her position as one of the longest-serving and most electorally secure members of the Colorado delegation.
Congressional Election Highlights
DeGette’s first congressional victory came in 1996, when she captured 57 percent of the general election vote after winning the Democratic primary with 55 percent. She has since gone on to win reelection in every cycle, drawing strong support from a Denver-based district that has been in Democratic hands for all but four years since 1933. Endorsements from groups such as the Brady Campaign and the Planned Parenthood PAC have accompanied many of her subsequent campaigns.
Other Wins and Achievements
Beyond her House races, DeGette has built a record of legislative accomplishments at both the state and federal levels. She authored Colorado’s Bubble Bill, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld as constitutional, and the state’s Voluntary Cleanup and Redevelopment Act. In Congress, she has secured passage of stem cell research legislation in the House and played a key role in reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Diana DeGette Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Diana Louise DeGette was born to Richard Louis DeGette and Patricia Anne, née Rose, while her father was serving in the United States armed forces stationed in Tachikawa, Japan. She is considered a fourth-generation Coloradan, and the family settled in Colorado following her father’s military service. Her upbringing in a family with strong civic and patriotic ties helped shape her later commitment to public service and the law.
Personal Life
DeGette is married to Lino Lipinsky, a judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals. The couple lives in Denver and has two daughters. DeGette is also active in her community outside of politics, including singing in her church choir. Her family life has remained centered in Denver, the same city she has represented in Congress for nearly three decades.