Lynn Hardy Yeakel (born May 9, 1941 in Portsmouth, Virginia) is a former Democratic Party politician from Pennsylvania. Yeakel ran for Senate in 1992 against powerful but vulnerable incumbent Arlen Specter; despite leading in the polls early in the campaign, she ultimately lost due to political inexperience.
Yeakel is the daughter of Porter Hardy, Jr., who represented Virginia in Congress from 1947-69. She attended Randolph College, an exclusive all-female liberal arts school, before pursuing a career in advertising. In 1965, she married wealthy Kidder, Peabody & Co. executive Paul Yeakel. Prior to entering politics, she was involved with philanthropy in the exclusive Philadelphia Main Line; in 1977, she co-founded Women's Way, an organization designed to raise awareness on for issues related to women's rights. In 1991, after experiencing outrage over Specter's patronizing tone toward Anita Hill in the Clarence Thomas proceedings, she jumped into politics; by continuously making Specter's perceived sexism an issue, she jumped out to an early lead, but the political savvy of the incumbent lead to her ultimate loss.
In 1994, Yeakel took a position with the Department of Health and Human Services as a regional director for nonprofit coordination. Currently, she is a director of women's studies at Drexel University.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bob Edgar |
Democratic nominee for United States Senator from Pennsylvania (Class 3) 1992 |
Succeeded by Bill Lloyd |