Geo-Political Think Tank                        

2008 Republican Party Ticket

Campaign

US presidential
vice-presidential
election, 2008

Candidate

John Sidney McCain (presidential)
Arizona Senator
1987-incumbent
Sarah Louise Heath Palin
(vice-presidential)
Governor of Alaska
2006 incumbent

Affiliation

Republican Party

Status

VP presumptive nominee
August 29, 2008

Headquarters

Arlington, Virginia

On August 29, 2008, Palin was announced as presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain's vice-presidential candidate.Palin's selection surprised many Republican officials, several of whom had speculated about other candidates such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, United States Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.

According to ABC News, McCain was originally thinking of selecting Lieberman, but was told that the Republican base would never accept Lieberman because of his moderate-to-liberal social views. Although Palin had been on the list as an "unconventional" choice for some time, she was not seriously considered for the number-two spot on the ticket until just a few days before the announcement. On the morning of August 28, McCain invited her to his home near Sedona, Arizona and formally offered her the spot.This offer was later confirmed after further talks later that night in Dayton, Ohio; site of the event where McCain formally introduced Palin the next morning.

Palin had said:^[1]

But as for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I am used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskan.

She was on the Wasilla, Alaska, city council from 1992 to 1996 and mayor from 1996 to 2002. After an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002, she chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004. She was elected governor of Alaska in November 2006, becoming the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position in Alaska.

On August 29, 2008, Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain announced that he had chosen Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate. She was nominated at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Palin is the first woman and the first Alaskan to run on the Republican party's presidential ticket.

Palin in Kuwait visiting soldiers of the Alaska National Guard, July 24, 2007

Mayor of Wasilla

Palin served two terms (1996-2002) as mayor of Wasilla. At the conclusion of Palin's tenure as mayor in 2002, the town had about 6,300 residents and it is now the fifth largest population center in the state.

In 1996, Palin defeated three-term incumbent mayor John Stein, on a platform targeting wasteful spending and high taxes and introducing abortion, gun rights, and term limits as campaign issues.Although the election was a nonpartisan blanket primary, the state Republican Party ran advertisements on her behalf.

Governor of Alaska

In 2006, running on a clean-government platform, Palin defeated Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary.Her running mate was State Senator Sean Parnell. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens gave a late endorsement to Palin and filmed a television commercial with her during the gubernatorial campaign.

Despite spending less than her Democratic opponent, she won the gubernatorial election in November, defeating former governor Tony Knowles 48.3% to 40.9%.Palin became Alaska's first female governor and at age 42, the youngest governor in Alaskan history. She is the state's first governor to have been born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood, and the first not to be inaugurated in Juneau; she chose to have the ceremony held in Fairbanks instead. She took office on December 4, 2006 and has been very popular with Alaska voters. Polls taken in 2007 early in her term showed her with a 93% and 89% popularity among all voters. A poll taken in September 2008 shows her popularity at 82%.^[71][72] Palin declared that top priorities of her administration would be resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development.^[73]