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Yes, Norma Paulus was a pioneer but she wasn't the first woman elected to statewide office

The first woman elected to statewide office in Oregon was actually Maurine Neuberger, who was elected a US Senator from Oregon in 1960.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Norma Paulus, a pioneering female politician from Oregon, passed away earlier this week at the age of 85.

Paulus, a Republican, was a member of the Legislature, Oregon's secretary of state from 1977 to 1985, her party's nominee for governor in 1986 and the state's elected superintendent of schools for two terms in the 1990s.

RELATED: Former Oregon secretary of state Norma Paulus dies at 85

Politicians across the aisle released statements about Paulus' death Thursday, most referring to her role as a trailblazer in politics for women. 

For example, Gov. Kate Brown said Paulus "was the first woman elected to statewide office in Oregon ... paving the way for so many of us to one day run for office." 

Even Wikipedia says Paulus was the "first woman elected to statewide public office in Oregon."

However, Professor Jim Moore from Pacific University says the first woman elected to statewide office in Oregon was actually Maurine Neuberger, who was elected a US Senator from Oregon in 1960. At that point, she was only the fourth woman to be elected to the US Senate, and she remains the only woman elected to the Senate from Oregon. 

Paulus in fact was the first woman to hold an Oregon constitutional statewide office -- not the first to hold any statewide office as a woman. 

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