WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. Jo Ann Davis, a Virginia Republican first elected to the House of Representatives in 2000, died on Saturday after a long battle with breast cancer, her spokesman said. She was 57.

Davis, who died at her home in Gloucester, Virginia, had a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and was able to return her job, spokesman Chris Connelly said.

"She was back and doing well and then she had a recurrence at the beginning of 2007," he said.

Davis served on the House Armed Services and the House Foreign Affairs committees. Her heavily Republican district along the Chesapeake Bay north of the U.S. Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, has many Defense Department employees.

"Her very first piece of legislation was a helping hand for the families of service members who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to their nation," Robert "Mike" Duncan, Republican National Committee chairman, said in a statement. "Our deepest condolences go out to her family and friends."

Davis is survived by her husband, Chuck, two sons and a granddaughter.

Her death will not have an impact on which political party controls the House. Before her death, there were 232 Democrats, 201 Republicans and two vacancies.