Loretta Lorna Sanchez (born January 7, 1960) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2017, representing parts of central Orange County, California. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected in 1996, when she defeated long-serving Republican U.S. Representative Bob Dornan by fewer than 1,000 votes. During her time in the House of Representatives, Sanchez was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate-to-conservative Democrats. Sanchez chose not to run for re-election to the House in 2016, instead opting to run in the state's U.S. Senate race. She was defeated in the general election by fellow Democrat, California Attorney General and future U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, 61.6% to 38.4%. She is the sister of Linda Sánchez, who currently represents California's 38th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
