Nancy Pelosi, a California Native, Was an Organizer Behind the Scenes

In 1987, Nancy Pelosi was hand selected and endorsed to take the congressional seat of a longtime friend who was dying. She stayed involved in local politics and did a lot of the behind-the-scenes work that it takes to get people elected. At 47, she was elected to Congress for the first time. After her swearing in, she asked to make a speech on the floor of the house but was told no.