Editing Barbara Bush (section)

=== 1960s ===
[[File:George and Barbara Bush in Houston, Texas on the night which George Bush was elected to Congress - NARA - 186373.tif|right|thumb|The Bushes celebrate George's election to Congress in 1966.|alt=George and Barabara stand in front of a George Bush for Congress sign. George's arm is around Barbara's shoulders.]]
In 1962, Bush learned to campaign when her husband ran for the chairmanship of the [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]] Republican Party. She initially believed that he had been appointed to the position, only later realizing that he would need to seek election. Bush accompanied her husband as he traveled to each precinct in the county.{{Sfn|Schneider|Schneider|2010|p=331}}{{Sfn|Carlin|2016|p=615}} She grew to like campaigning, as it provided her a change of pace and gave her an opportunity to spend more time with him, though found the downtime boring and took up [[needlepoint]] to occupy herself.{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=65}} Bush campaigned with her husband again when he ran to represent [[Texas]] in the U.S. Senate [[1964 United States Senate election in Texas|in 1964]].{{Sfn|Schneider|Schneider|2010|p=331}} This campaign demonstrated to her a less pleasant aspect of political life, as false information was spread during her husband's [[Partisan primary|primary election]], alleging that her father was a communist.{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|p=66}}{{Sfn|Gutin|2008|p=17}} While campaigning, she would sometimes hide her last name to solicit more honest feedback about her husband.{{Sfn|Carlin|2016|p=615}} Bush won the primary, but he lost the general election to incumbent [[Ralph Yarborough]]. Because of her involvement with the campaign, she took his loss personally.{{Sfn|Gutin|2008|p=17}}

Bush returned to the campaign trail for her husband [[1966 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas|in 1966]] when he ran for a seat in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]],{{Sfn|Gutin|2008|p=18}} and the family moved to [[Washington, D.C.]] after his victory.{{Sfn|Carlin|2016|p=615}} In Washington, her primary focus was to raise her younger children and manage her household, but she also involved herself in the activities of the capital. She attended political briefings and social events,{{Sfn|Schneider|Schneider|2010|p=331}} and her attendance at regular events at the White House endeared her to First Lady [[Lady Bird Johnson]].{{Sfn|Anthony|1990|p=144}} She also started a newspaper column, "Washington Scene", that was published in Houston.{{Sfn|Carlin|2016|p=615}} Bush was active in the neighborhood where she lived, befriending prominent neighbors such as [[Shirley Neil Pettis]], [[Potter Stewart]], and [[Franklin D Roosevelt Jr.]]{{Sfn|Kilian|2002|pp=68–70}} The Bushes became known in Washington for the barbecues that they hosted each Sunday, a practice that they carried over from their time in Houston. [[Andrew Card]], a member of the Bush administration, cited Barbara's hosting during this time as a significant factor in George's good relations with members of Congress during his presidency.{{Sfn|Page|2019|loc=Chapter 7}}