Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin is a Republican former vice presidential candidate and the former governor of Alaska. Currently she is a speaker, author, and news commentator on Fox News.

Born in 1964, Ms. Palin grew up in Alaska. She played basketball for her high school team, earning the nickname “Sarah Barracuda” for her competitiveness. She won the Miss Wasilla pageant, and she finished third in the Miss Alaska pageant. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Iowa in 1987.

Palin served on the Wasilla City Council before being elected mayor in 1996. She completed two terms. After a failed campaign for lieutenant governor, she was appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

In 2006, Palin won the Alaska governorship. She supported and signed an ethics reform bill, and she used her veto power to make substantive budget cuts.

On Aug. 29, 2008, Sen. John McCain, the Republicans' choice for the presidential ticket, announced Sarah Palin would be his running mate. She drew huge crowds as she campaigned across the country. She was also famously portrayed by Tina Fey on "Saturday Night Live." On Nov. 4, Senator McCain and Palin lost the election to then-Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden. In July 2009, she shocked Alaskans and the political establishment by announcing she would resign as governor.

Since then, Palin has remained visible and influential. She formed a political action committee, SarahPAC, to raise money to support conservative candidates. She has a political show on Fox News and a Discovery Channel show called “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.”

On Feb. 6, 2010, when Fox News asked her if she would be running for president in 2012, she said, “I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country…. I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future.”

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