Sarah Palin

Sarah Louise Palin (PAY-lin; née Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee under U.S. senator John McCain. Palin was elected to the Wasilla city council in 1992 and became mayor of Wasilla in 1996. In 2003, after an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor, she was appointed chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, responsible for overseeing the state's oil and gas fields for safety and efficiency. In 2006, at age 42, she became the youngest person and the first woman to be elected governor of Alaska. Immense legal fees incurred by both Palin and the state of Alaska from her fights against ethics investigations led to her resignation in 2009. Palin was nominated as John McCain's vice presidential running mate at the 2008 Republican National Convention. She was the first Republican female vice presidential nominee and the second female vice presidential nominee of a major party, after Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. The McCain-Palin ticket subsequently lost the 2008 election to the Democratic Party's then-U.S. senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Throughout the race, her public image and experience came under media attention. Although her vice presidential bid alongside McCain was unsuccessful, the 2008 presidential election significantly raised Palin's national profile. Since her resignation as governor in 2009, she has campaigned for the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement. In addition, she has publicly endorsed several candidates in multiple election cycles, including Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign. She has also led a career as a television personality. From 2010 to 2015, she provided political commentary for Fox News. She hosted TLC's Sarah Palin's Alaska in 2010–11 and Amazing America with Sarah Palin on the Sportsman Channel in 2014–15. From 2014 to 2015, she oversaw a short-lived subscriber-based online TV channel, the Sarah Palin Channel, via TAPP TV. Her personal memoir, Going Rogue, written following the 2008 election, sold more than one million copies. In 2022, Palin ran in the special election for Alaska's at-large congressional seat that was vacated after the death of Representative Don Young, but lost to Democrat Mary Peltola, who completed Young's unfinished term. Palin faced Peltola and others again in the November general election for the same seat, and again lost to Peltola, who won re-election to serve a full two-year term.

Infobox

Lieutenant

Sean Parnell

Preceded by

Dorothy Smith

Succeeded by

Colleen Cottle

Governor

Frank Murkowski

Deputy

Mike BillRandy RuedrichDaniel Seamount

Born

Sarah Louise Heath (1964-02-11) February 11, 1964 (age 61)Sandpoint, Idaho, U.S.

Political party

Republican

Spouse

mw- Todd Palin (m. 1988; div. 2020)

Children

5, including Bristol

Education

University of Idaho (BA)

Website

Official website

Party

Republican

Tables

· Governor of Alaska › Job approval ratings

May 15, 2007

Date

May 15, 2007

Approval

93%

Disapproval

Not reported

Pollster

Dittman Research

May 30, 2007[citation needed]

Date

May 30, 2007[citation needed]

Approval

89%

Disapproval

Not reported

Pollster

Ivan Moore Research

October 19–21, 2007

Date

October 19–21, 2007

Approval

83%

Disapproval

11%

Pollster

Ivan Moore Research

April 10, 2008

Date

April 10, 2008

Approval

73%

Disapproval

Pollster

Rasmussen Reports

May 17, 2008

Date

May 17, 2008

Approval

69%

Disapproval

Pollster

Rasmussen Reports

July 24–25, 2008

Date

July 24–25, 2008

Approval

80%

Disapproval

Not reported

Pollster

Hays Research Group

July 30, 2008

Date

July 30, 2008

Approval

64%

Disapproval

14%

Pollster

Rasmussen Reports

September 20–22, 2008

Date

September 20–22, 2008

Approval

68%

Disapproval

Not reported

Pollster

Ivan Moore Research

October 7, 2008

Date

October 7, 2008

Approval

63%

Disapproval

37%

Pollster

Rasmussen Reports

March 24–25, 2009

Date

March 24–25, 2009

Approval

59.8%

Disapproval

34.9%

Pollster

Hays Research

May 4–5, 2009

Date

May 4–5, 2009

Approval

54%

Disapproval

41.6%

Pollster

Hays Research

June 14–18, 2009

Date

June 14–18, 2009

Approval

56%

Disapproval

35%

Pollster

Global Strategy Group

Date	Approval	Disapproval	Pollster
May 15, 2007	93%	Not reported	Dittman Research
May 30, 2007[citation needed]	89%	Not reported	Ivan Moore Research
October 19–21, 2007	83%	11%	Ivan Moore Research
April 10, 2008	73%	7%	Rasmussen Reports
May 17, 2008	69%	9%	Rasmussen Reports
July 24–25, 2008	80%	Not reported	Hays Research Group
July 30, 2008	64%	14%	Rasmussen Reports
September 20–22, 2008	68%	Not reported	Ivan Moore Research
October 7, 2008	63%	37%	Rasmussen Reports
March 24–25, 2009	59.8%	34.9%	Hays Research
May 4–5, 2009	54%	41.6%	Hays Research
June 14–18, 2009	56%	35%	Global Strategy Group

1992 Wasilla City Council Seat E election[391] · Electoral history

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

965

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Sarah Palin	530	54.92
	Nonpartisan	John Hartrick	310	32.12
	Write-in	Others	125	12.95
Total votes			965

1996 Wasilla mayoral election[392] · Electoral history

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

965

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Sarah H. Palin	651	57.66
	Nonpartisan	John C. Stein (incumbent)	440	38.97
	Nonpartisan	Cliff Silvers	36	3.19
	Write-in	Others	2	0.18
Total votes			965

1999 Wasilla mayoral election[393] · Electoral history

Turnout

Party

Turnout

Party

1,235

Candidate

32.62

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Sarah Palin (incumbent)	909	73.60
	Nonpartisan	John Stein	292	23.64
	Nonpartisan	Cliff Silvers	32	2.59
	Write-in	Others	2	0.16
Turnout			1,235	32.62

2006 Alaska gubernatorial Republican primary[394] · Electoral history

Total votes

Party

Total votes

Party

101,695

Candidate

100.00

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sarah Palin	51,443	50.59
	Republican	John Binkley	30,349	29.84
	Republican	Frank Murkowski (incumbent)	19,412	19.09
	Republican	Gerald Heikes	280	0.28
	Republican	Merica Hlatcu	211	0.21
Total votes			101,695	100.00

2006 Alaska gubernatorial election[395] · Electoral history

Plurality

Party

Plurality

Party

17,459

Candidate

7.36

Turnout

Party

Turnout

Party

238,307

Candidate

51.1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	mw- ±%
	Republican	Sarah Palin	114,697	48.33	−7.6
	Democratic	Tony Knowles	97,238	40.97	+0.3
	Independent	Andrew Halcro	22,443	9.46	n/a
	Independence	Don Wright	1,285	0.54	−0.4
	Libertarian	Billy Toien	682	0.29	−0.2
	Green	David Massie	593	0.25	−1.0
	Write-in candidate	Write-in votes	384	0.16	+0.1
Plurality			17,459	7.36
Turnout			238,307	51.1
	Republican hold		Swing	-7.6

· Electoral history

Party