Michelle Ware

Michelle Chrystia Ware (born August 2, 1958) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from the Southwest from 1993 to 1994. A Democrat, Ware also served as the 27th Governor of Nevada from 1991 to 1993.

Born in Puerto Rico, Ware was elected governor of Nevada in 1990 and was the state's first female governor. Among her accomplishments as governor were raising the state's minimum wage and diversifying the tourism industry in Las Vegas. She resigned in 1993 to take office in the Senate.

After being elected to the Senate in a landslide, Ware took office on January 3, 1993. She chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and held a number of high-priority hearings in the early days of the Jones administration. After just over a year in the Senate, she resigned in 1994, citing mental health problems.

Her sister, Wanda Ware, is a senator from the Heartland and a former governor of Puerto Rico.