Sue Wagner, the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor of Nevada and a Republican champion of abortion rights at a time when her party took the opposite tack, died on Tuesday morning in Reno. She was 86.

Wagner built her political career as a moderate Republican, serving in both chambers of the state Legislature before becoming lieutenant governor. Although she survived a 1990 plane crash and served out her term as lieutenant governor, her injuries from the accident effectively ended her political career. She later worked as a campaign adviser and served on the Nevada Gaming Commission for 12 years. 

Born in Portland, Maine, in 1940, Wagner moved with her family to Arizona when she was 10 and stayed out West for the rest of her life. She was elected to the state Assembly to represent a Reno-area district in 1975 while raising her two young children, then to the state Senate in 1980. 

Just months before Wagner's election to the Senate, her husband Peter died in a plane crash during a research trip for the environmental science-focused Desert Research Institute (DRI), where he was a physicist. After his death, Wagner joined the staff of DRI and spent nearly a decade at the Nevada-based institution, advocating for greater investment in environmental studies.  

During her 1990 campaign for lieutenant governor, Wagner was flying back to Carson City from a Labor Day parade in Fallon when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, leaving her with debilitating injuries to her back and neck. Also injured in the crash was Wagner's aide Stephanie Tyler, future Republican state treasurer Bobby Seale and Seale's campaign manager Brian Krolicki; the latter would eventually become lieutenant governor himself. Seale's wife, Judy, died. 

Wagner triumphed in the general election two months later, although she had to wear a neck brace for the remainder of the campaign. Her injuries prevented her from seeking elected office in the future: she opted against running for re-election in 1994 and repeatedly refused later calls to seek out Nevada's governorship or a U.S. Senate seat. 

But Wagner remained in public service, spending 12 years on the state's gaming commission after being appointed in 1997. Her continued participation in civic life was plentiful and diverse, from becoming a UNR professor to overseeing the Legislature's internship program.

Wagner was a spirited advocate for women's representation in Nevada politics, culture and history, and was instrumental in the success of a 1990 referendum that helped codify abortion rights in state law. She said in a 2017 interview with the Nevada Women's History Project she was inspired by female political leaders from a young age, naming pioneering Sen. Margaret Chase Smith (D-ME) as one of her childhood role models. 

She was a moderate Republican for most of her life, fighting for environmental protections, further research on children's health and wellness, and the creation of the Nevada Commission on Ethics. In 2014, she changed her party registration from Republican to nonpartisan, saying the Republican Party had become too extreme. 

This is a developing story. A fuller obituary will be posted in the coming days. 

This story was updated at 5:50 p.m. on 3/17/26 to clarify that Sue Wagner's neck injuries from a 1990 plane crash were temporary; to correct that Brian Krolicki was working for Bobby Seale when the 1990 plane crash took place; and to correct that Stephanie Tyler worked on Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election campaign.

Tabitha Mueller contributed to this story.