Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin was Governor of Alaska and John McCain's running mate in 2008, the first woman on a Republican national ticket, and a precursor of the populist politics that reshaped the party. Born in Sandpoint, Idaho in 1964 and raised in Alaska, she won a beauty pageant that funded part of her education, took a journalism degree at the University of Idaho, and worked briefly as a sports reporter. She was elected to the Wasilla city council in 1992 and became mayor in 1996 at thirty-two, in a town of about 5,500. She chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and resigned in 2004, publicly accusing a fellow Republican commissioner of ethics violations — the act that built her reputation as a reformer. She defeated the incumbent governor in the 2006 primary and won the office, taking on the state party establishment and the oil companies. She raised production taxes and used the proceeds to increase the annual dividend paid to every Alaskan, and negotiated a natural gas pipeline agreement. Her approval rating was among the highest of any American governor. McCain chose her in August 2008 after meeting her twice. She energised the Republican base immediately, drawing large crowds and delivering a well-received convention speech. She was then damaged by interviews in which she struggled with basic policy questions, and by an inability to name a newspaper she read. The ticket lost, and she resigned as governor in July 2009 with eighteen months remaining, citing legal costs from ethics complaints. She became a commentator and Tea Party figure, and lost a 2022 congressional race.
- Lived: 1964 CE – ?
- Nationality: American
- Roles: governor
