Linda Chavez, born June 17, 1947, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a prominent Hispanic conservative author, commentator, and radio talk show host. In 1986 she ran as a Republican from Maryland for the United States Senate but lost to Democrat Barbara Mikulski. In 2000 she was named a Library of Congress Living Legend. In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated her for Secretary of Labor, but the nomination was withdrawn after it was revealed that she had once hired an illegal immigrant.

She is not to be confused with Linda Chavez-Thompson, the vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee and executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO.

Quotes

"I think organized labor -- I think quite mistakenly -- somehow thought that I was going to be their worst nemesis. I had a very nice talk with John Sweeney this morning, by the way, and I don't think [...] that would have been the case. I think I would have actually been very helpful in trying to bridge a gap that exists between the Republican Party and organized labor." - Linda Chavez, January 2001

"My name is Linda Chavez. You may remember me as President George W. Bush's original choice for Secretary of Labor. Big Labor Bosses like the AFL-CIO's John Sweeney pulled out all the stops to defeat my nomination. After all, members of the media were calling me "Big Labor's Worst Nightmare." And they were right! I'm completely opposed to the special privileges given to Big Labor unions [...] powers that no other private organizations have. [...] We can cripple liberal politics in this country by passing the Workers' Freedom of Choice Act. If we stop now, the terrorists win." - Fundraising letter two years later