Lois Capps

Lois Capps
Born	Lois Ragnhild Grimsrud 1/10/1938
Birthplace	Ladysmith, Wisconsin, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, nurse, educator
Known for	U.S. Representative for California's 24th congressional district (1998–2017)
Education	University of California, Santa Barbara (MA)
Spouse(s)	Walter Capps (deceased)
Children	3

Lois Ragnhild Capps (née Grimsrud; born January 10, 1938) is an American politician and former registered nurse who served as the United States representative for California's Central Coast congressional district from 1998 to 2017, a tenure spanning nearly two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, Capps first entered Congress through a 1998 special election held following the sudden death of her husband, Walter Capps, who had represented the district for only a few months before suffering a fatal heart attack in October 1997. What began as an unexpected entry into electoral politics became one of the longer congressional careers among California representatives of her era. Capps served on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where she focused on health care policy, environmental protection, and energy issues. Her district, which was numbered as California's 22nd from 1998 to 2003, the 23rd from 2003 to 2013, and the 24th from 2013 to 2017, encompassed all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and a portion of Ventura County along the state's Central Coast. Described by colleagues and journalists as one of the most collegial members of Congress, Capps announced her retirement in April 2015 and was succeeded by Salud Carbajal in January 2017.

Early Life

Lois Ragnhild Grimsrud was born on January 10, 1938, in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, a small city in Rusk County in the northwestern part of the state. She was of Norwegian descent, as reflected in both her birth name, Grimsrud, and her middle name, Ragnhild, a traditional Scandinavian name. She grew up in the upper Midwest during the years surrounding World War II and the postwar era.

Details of her childhood and family background in Ladysmith remain limited in publicly available sources, though her later career path into nursing and public health education suggests formative experiences that oriented her toward service-oriented professions. Her upbringing in small-town Wisconsin would later inform her approach to constituent services and community-focused politics during her years in Congress.

Capps eventually relocated to the West Coast, where she would pursue her higher education and build her professional career in nursing and public health before entering politics later in life.

Education

Capps earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. She subsequently pursued graduate studies at Yale University, where she earned a Master of Arts degree from the Yale Divinity School in 1964. Her studies at Yale connected her with the academic and theological communities in New Haven, Connecticut, and it was during this period that she met Walter Capps, who was also pursuing graduate work.

Capps later earned a second Master of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where her husband would go on to serve as a professor of religious studies for many years. Her educational background in both nursing and the humanities provided an unusual combination of expertise that would shape her later policy work in Congress, particularly in the areas of public health and education.

Career

Nursing and Education

Before entering politics, Capps built a career as a nurse and health care educator in the Santa Barbara community. She worked as a nurse and instructor in the Santa Barbara school district, focusing on health education for young people. Her professional experience in nursing gave her direct familiarity with health care delivery, public health challenges, and the needs of families and children—subjects that would become central to her legislative agenda in Congress.

Capps also served as an instructor at Santa Barbara City College and was active in community organizations related to health and education in the Santa Barbara area. Her career in nursing and education spanned several decades before the events of 1997 thrust her into the political arena.

Entry into Politics

Capps's entry into electoral politics came under tragic and unexpected circumstances. Her husband, Walter Capps, a longtime professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, had won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1996, representing California's 22nd congressional district after a hard-fought campaign. He took office in January 1997 but served only a few months before dying of a heart attack on October 28, 1997.

Following Walter Capps's death, a special election was called to fill the vacant seat. Lois Capps decided to run for her late husband's seat, entering a competitive race for the Central Coast district. She won the special election on March 17, 1998, defeating Republican candidate Tom Bordonaro. Her victory was seen as both a tribute to her husband's legacy and a testament to her own standing in the Santa Barbara community, where she had been well known through her work in nursing and education.

The special election placed Capps in Congress midway through the 105th Congress, and she immediately faced the challenge of running again in the November 1998 general election to win a full term. She prevailed in that race as well, establishing herself as the district's representative and beginning what would become a long tenure in the House.

Congressional Career

Capps served in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly two decades, from March 17, 1998, to January 3, 2017, representing California's Central Coast through multiple redistricting cycles. The district was numbered as the 22nd from 1998 to 2003, the 23rd from 2003 to 2013, and the 24th from 2013 to 2017. Throughout these changes, the district consistently encompassed all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and portions of Ventura County.

Capps served on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, one of the most influential committees in the House. Within that committee, she was a member of the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Health. Her committee assignments reflected her primary legislative interests: health care policy, environmental protection, and energy issues affecting the Central Coast and the nation.

As a former nurse, Capps brought a practitioner's perspective to health care debates in Congress. She was involved in legislative efforts related to public health, access to health care, nursing workforce development, and school-based health programs. Her background distinguished her from many of her colleagues and gave her credibility on health-related issues within the Democratic caucus and across the aisle.

Capps was a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of moderate and pro-growth Democrats within the House. Her membership in this coalition reflected her pragmatic approach to legislation and her representation of a district that, while leaning Democratic, included a politically diverse electorate along the Central Coast.

Redistricting and Electoral Challenges

Over the course of her congressional career, Capps navigated multiple rounds of redistricting. After the 2000 census, her district was renumbered from the 22nd to the 23rd. Following the 2010 census, the district was renumbered again to the 24th, and its boundaries were redrawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which had been established by voter initiative to take redistricting out of the hands of the state legislature.

The shape of Capps's district, particularly after the 2011 redistricting, attracted commentary and criticism. The new 24th district stretched along the coastline in a narrow configuration that some observers described as gerrymandered. The California Globe later referred to the district's shape as a "Ribbon of Shame," arguing that its elongated coastal boundaries were designed to favor Democratic candidates by connecting liberal-leaning coastal communities while excluding more conservative inland areas. Capps announced in 2012 that she would run for reelection in the newly drawn 24th district.

Despite the controversies surrounding redistricting, Capps won reelection in the 24th district in both 2012 and 2014, continuing her representation of the Central Coast communities she had served since 1998.

Legislative Priorities

Throughout her time in Congress, Capps focused on several core policy areas. Health care was her signature issue, stemming from her career as a nurse and health educator. She advocated for expanded access to health care, support for the nursing profession, and school-based health services. Her work on the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee placed her at the center of major health policy debates, including discussions surrounding the Affordable Care Act and other health care reform efforts.

Environmental protection was another major focus, particularly issues affecting the California coastline. The Central Coast's economy and quality of life depend heavily on the health of its marine and coastal environments, and Capps worked on legislation related to offshore drilling, ocean conservation, and air quality. Her position on the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee gave her a platform to address these concerns.

Capps also engaged with foreign policy matters during her tenure. In 2012, she joined a bipartisan House effort to condemn Iran for the imprisonment of an American pastor, a resolution that received broad support across party lines.

Retirement

On April 8, 2015, Capps announced that she would not seek reelection in 2016, opening up the Democratic-leaning Central Coast seat after nearly two decades of her representation. At the time of her announcement, she was 77 years old and had served nine full terms in Congress in addition to the partial term she won in the 1998 special election.

Her retirement set off a competitive race for the 24th district seat. Salud Carbajal, a Santa Barbara County supervisor, ultimately won the 2016 election to succeed Capps. Capps's final day in office was January 3, 2017, marking the end of a congressional career that had begun with the special election nearly nineteen years earlier.

Personal Life

Lois Grimsrud married Walter Capps, a scholar of religious studies, during their years in academic life. Walter Capps became a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he taught for many years and became a prominent figure in the Santa Barbara community. The couple had three children together.

Walter Capps was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1996 after a previous unsuccessful campaign in 1994. He took office in January 1997 but died of a heart attack on October 28, 1997, having served less than a year. His sudden death was a significant event in the political life of California's Central Coast and led directly to Lois Capps's entry into electoral politics.

The Capps family has maintained a presence in Central Coast politics. Their daughter, Laura Capps, entered public service as a Santa Barbara County supervisor. In December 2025, Laura Capps launched a reelection campaign for her seat representing the 2nd District of Santa Barbara County, where she served as board chair. The San Luis Obispo Tribune noted in 2019 that Laura Capps was "the daughter of two former members of Congress," underscoring the family's unusual distinction of having both parents serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since retiring from Congress, Lois Capps has resided in the Santa Barbara area, the community she represented for nearly two decades.

Recognition

During her nearly two decades in Congress, Capps earned a reputation among colleagues and political observers for her collegial and effective approach to legislating. The Ventura County Star, in a profile marking her retirement in December 2016, described her as having "proved you can be nice and effective in Congress" and characterized her as "one of the best prepared" members of the House.

The Santa Barbara Independent, in a 2011 feature titled "The Power of Nice," traced Capps's evolution "from accidental representative to 800-pound political gorilla," noting that she had transformed from a reluctant candidate in the 1998 special election into one of the most influential members of the California congressional delegation on issues of health and the environment.

Capps's background as a nurse set her apart in Congress, where she was one of relatively few members with direct experience in health care delivery. This professional distinction gave her standing on health policy issues and contributed to her recognition within the Democratic caucus and among health care advocacy organizations.

Her tenure in the House from 1998 to 2017 made her one of the longer-serving members of Congress from California's Central Coast, and her service bridged the period from the late Clinton administration through the Obama presidency.

Legacy

Capps's legacy in Central Coast politics is multifaceted. She demonstrated that a career in public service could follow an unexpected path, having entered politics as a nurse and educator in her late fifties following the death of her husband. Her nearly nineteen years in Congress established her as a durable political figure in a district that experienced significant demographic and political changes during her tenure.

Her focus on health care policy during her congressional career reflected her professional background and contributed to legislative discussions on nursing workforce issues, school-based health programs, and access to care. As one of the few nurses to serve in Congress during her era, she brought a practitioner's perspective to policy debates that were often dominated by lawyers and business professionals.

The Capps family's political legacy on the Central Coast is notable. Both Walter and Lois Capps represented the same congressional district, and their daughter Laura Capps has continued the family's involvement in public service as an elected official in Santa Barbara County. The family's connection to the region spans decades of academic, civic, and political engagement.

Capps's district, particularly in its post-2011 configuration, remained a subject of political discussion even after her retirement. The district's coastal configuration and its implications for partisan representation continued to be cited in debates over redistricting reform in California, with commentators referencing the district's shape as an example of the complexities and controversies inherent in the redistricting process.

Her successor, Salud Carbajal, continued to represent the Central Coast district after winning the 2016 election, maintaining the Democratic representation that Capps had sustained since 1998.