Utah politicians and others reacted to the installation of a statue of Martha Hughes Cannon in the U.S. Capitol Visitor’s Center on Wednesday. A trailblazing woman from Utah, Martha Hughes Cannon was a suffragist, doctor, senator, orator, wife and mother and is now in a place of honor in Emancipation Hall.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who has been involved in Martha’s journey from the very beginning, spoke at multiple events surrounding the installation. On Wednesday, she posted on X, simply, “Martha made it.”
All of Utah’s federal delegation were in attendance at the ceremony. Utah’s senior senator, Mike Lee, spoke at the installation and posted on X, saying that “Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon’s statue will now share our story with every visitor who steps into the United States Capitol. Her presence here reminds us that Utah’s history is rich with those who dared to make a difference.”
Outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney posted, “Utah will be well represented by this trailblazing suffragist who was the first woman ever to be elected as a state senator in the United States.”
Incoming Senator-elect John Curtis hosted a luncheon before the installation and spoke and wrote about the importance of allies. “Equally yoked in our pursuit of a more perfect union, let’s commit to being the allies and forging the alliances that history demanded back then — and upon which the future of America depends, now — in our families, in the workplace, in our communities, at the ballot box, and in the halls of power.”
Congressman Blake Moore called Martha Hughes Cannon a “trailblazer for women as a physician, suffragist, & public health advocate, & she made American history when she joined the UT State Senate as the first female state senator.” Congressman Burgess Owens also welcomed Martha “to her new home in Emancipation Hall.”
Congresswoman Celeste Maloy also spoke at the installation and spoke about Martha as someone who was not one-dimensional, not a caricature from history, but a multi-faceted woman, “who had to make a lot of choices in her life, and over and over again she chose to make life better for everyone.”
Many others were there as well. President Camille Johnson, General Relief Society President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave the opening prayer and posted about the event on Instagram. “She was determined. She was tenacious. I hope that women, including my granddaughters and my great-granddaughters, will learn of Martha Hughes Cannon and be inspired by her example,” she said.