Karen Shepherd, a Democrat, served as state senator for District 1 from 1991 to 1992. She was subsequently elected to represent Utah's 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House when Wayne Owens chose to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate. Robert Steiner, a Democrat, replaced her as state senator. Steiner, the great grandson of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns was a former part owner of the Salt Lake Tribune and heir of the Steiner American Linen Corporation. Steiner retired from the Senate in 1999.