Elizabeth Dole has spent most of her life serving the public. She held U.S. Cabinet positions as secretary of transportation and secretary of labor, and served as president of the American Red Cross. Her husband, Bob Dole, was a U.S. senator and was the Republican Party nominee for the presidency in 1996. While her husband lost his race, Elizabeth Dole won many admirers traveling the United States on the campaign trail. In 2002, she was elected U.S. senator, representing her home state of North Carolina.