Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin served as governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009, the state's first female governor. In August 2008, Senator John McCain chose Palin to serve as his vice-presidential running mate in his presidential campaign, making Palin the first woman to run on the Republican Party's presidential ticket.

Palin was born on February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho, moving to Alaska with her family in later that year. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications from the University of Idaho in 1987, then returned to Alaska to work as a sports reporter at an Anchorage television station.

Palin served on the Wasilla City Council from 1992 to 1996 and as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. In 2002, she campaigned unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Alaska. After the election, she was appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission by Gov. Frank Murkowski, but resigned after attempting to investigate fellow commissioner and state Republican Party chair Randy Ruedrich.

She resigned as governor of Alaska in July 2009. In 2010, she became a contributor to the Fox News Channel. An unofficial spokesperson for the Tea Party movement, she delivered the keynote address at the first National Tea Party Convention in February of 2010, and her support helped Tea Party candidates win in the congressional primaries. She left Fox News in 2015, and supported Donald Trump during the 2016 election. In 2022, she ran in the special election and then the general election to fill the seat of the late Rep. Don Young, but lost both elections to Mary Peltola.

Palin is the author of "Going Rogue: An American Life" (2009), "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag" (2010), "Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas" (2013) and "Sweet Freedom: A Devotional" (2015).

Source:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020, Feb. 7). Sarah Palin: American Politician. In Britannica. Retrieved on Feb. 18, 2020 from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sarah-Heath-Palin.