Born in Garnett , Kansas, on September 12, 1956, Sam Brownback, a Kansas State University graduate, served as Kansas Secretary of Agriculture before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1994. Just two years later, he resigned his position after defeating Jill Docking, a Wichita Democrat, for the unexpired term of Senator Bob Dole. Brownback was reelected in 1998 and again in 2004. kshs.org