Jim Kolbe

Jim Kolbe
Kolbe in the 1990s
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona
In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	James F. McNulty Jr.
Succeeded by	Gabby Giffords
Constituency	5th district (1985–2003) 8th district (2003–2007)
Member of the Arizona Senate from the 14th district
In office January 3, 1977 – December 31, 1982
Preceded by	Lucy Davidson
Succeeded by	William De Long
Personal details
Born	James Thomas Kolbe (1942-06-28)June 28, 1942 Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 3, 2022(2022-12-03) (aged 80)
Political party	Republican (before 2018) Independent (2018–2022)
Spouses	Sarah Dinham ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1992)​ Hector Alfonso ​ (m. 2013)​
Education	Northwestern University (BA) Stanford University (MBA)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1967–1969 (Active) 1970–1977 (Reserve)

James Thomas Kolbe (June 28, 1942 – December 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Arizona's 5th congressional district from 1985 to 2003 and its 8th congressional district from 2003 to 2007. A moderate, pro–abortion rights Republican, he came out as gay in 1996 after voting in support of the Defense of Marriage Act; his subsequent re-elections made him the second openly gay Republican elected to Congress.

After leaving Congress, Kolbe served on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations under Democratic president Barack Obama. Kolbe left the Republican Party and became an independent in 2018 after the election of Donald Trump. He endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.