Jane Eskind

Jane Greenebaum Eskind (May 18, 1933 – August 4, 2016) was an American activist and politician from the state of Tennessee. She served on the Tennessee Public Service Commission, becoming the first woman to win an election to a statewide office in Tennessee. Early life and career Eskind was born on May 18, 1933, in Louisville, Kentucky to Samuel "Bud" and Doni Greenebaum. She graduated from Atherton High School, and then attended Brandeis University before graduating from the University of Louisville. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1956. From 1964 to 1969, Eskind worked as a lobbyist for the Tennessee chapter of the League of Women Voters. She left the league to join the Democratic Party over what she saw as a limitation of the league's nonpartisan strategy. Eskind joined the Democratic Women's Club. She was elected and served as the president of the Davidson County Democratic Women in 1973. She served as a representative of Tennessee on the Democratic National Platform Committee in 1972 and 1976, and was elected to the Democratic State Executive Committee in 1974. Electoral politics In the 1978 United States Senate elections, Eskind ran for the United States Senate seat representing Tennessee. She won the Democratic Party's primary election to become the Democratic nominee, becoming the first woman to win a statewide primary in Tennessee. She lost the general election to incumbent Howard Baker. In 1980, Eskind won election to the Tennessee Public Service Commission, becoming the first woman to win an election to a statewide office in Tennessee.