12 times lawmakers were replaced by their relatives in Congress

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Monday, August 03, 2026

U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif. speaks at an event in September 2013 in this photograph taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. | Wikimedia Commons/Pacific Southwest Region USFWS https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congresswoman_Lois_Capps_congratulates_conservation_partners_(28637268270).jpg

2. Former Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif.

Rep. Walter Capps, D-Calif., died in 1997 at age 63 of an apparent heart attack at an airport near Washingon, less than a year after his election in a California disrict that had been held by Republicans since World War II.

His widow, Lois, won a special election in 1998 to replace him. Lois Capps won a full term that year and was reelected nine times after that.

Capps chose not to run for reelection in 2016. Her tenure ended when the 114th U.S. Congress concluded in early 2017.

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com

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