Background
Obermeyer was born Theresa Nangle in 1945 in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Obermeyer was born Theresa Nangle in 1945 in Saint Louis, Missouri.
A subsequent Master of Education in 1970 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education, from Saint Louis University followed.
Obermeyer made an unsuccessful run against Republican Ted Stevens for the United States Senate in 1996. In 1996 Obermeyer served a thirty-day jail term for disorderly conduct in a federal judge"s chambers during a discussion regarding her husband"s bar examinations. After studying at Villa Duchesne High School from 1959 until 1963, she received a Bachelor in Political Science from the Maryville University in Saint Louis in 1967.
She worked in different jobs in education at different colleges in Missouri and Maryland before working as Assistant Director for student activities at Saint Louis Community College–Florissant Valley from 1973 until 1978.
She then moved to Alaska where she became the Director of Student Services at the Anchorage Community College of University of Alaska Anchorage. Between 1981 and 1993, she was an instructor at Chapman University, and between 1984 and 1990 a teacher at the McLaughlin Youth Center.
From 1990 until 1994 she sat on the board of the Anchorage School District, and in 1993 she was the treasurer of the board. In 1996, she ran for the United States. Senate.
She was the highest-placed Democratic candidate in the open primary, receiving 4,072 votes (337) and advancing to the general election with Republican incumbent Ted Stevens and Jed Whittaker of the Green Party.
The race drew national attention for her erratic behavior: she blamed Stevens for her husband"s failure to pass the bar exam and contended that he had passed the bar by fraud. She "trailed" him to campaign events, frequently wearing a prisoner"s outfit and once dragging a ball and chain behind her. During the campaign, she was arrested and served 30 days in prison in California and Oregon for probation violations.
In the general election, Stevens was re-elected with 177,893 votes (7671%).
Obermeyer received 24,133 (10.51%, finishing behind Whittaker, who took 29,037 votes (1252%). Since 1979, she also worked as a real estate broker.