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Sarah Palin Biography

State Governor

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Name at birth: Sarah Louise Heath

Sarah Palin, the first female governor of Alaska, was John McCain's running mate in the U.S. presidental elections of 2008. Palin was born in Idaho but moved to Alaska with her family when she was three months old. Two accomplishments from her youth have become especially well known: she played point guard for Wasilla High School's 1982 championship team, and she placed second in the Miss Alaska contest of 1984. After attending four different colleges, she earned a journalism degree from the University of Idaho in 1987, then returned to Alaska and married Todd Palin, her high school boyfriend, in 1988. After a few stints as a TV sportscaster in Anchorage, Palin joined the Wasilla city council in 1992, then served as the city's mayor from 1996-2002. She became Alaska's first woman governor on 4 December 2006, after running a campaign based on ethics and clean government. Two years later, in a surprise selection, Arizona senator McCain made her the Republican Party's first female candidate for vice president. She and McCain were defeated by the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but that didn't slow Palin's apparent presidential ambitions. She kept in the public eye throughout the beginning of 2009, making high-profile trips out of Alaska and giving hope to her fans. In a surprise move, she announced on 3 July 2009 that she would resign in the middle of her first term as governor. Her resignation became official on 26 July 2009, when Lt. Governor Sean Parnell was sworn in to replace her. She published a memoir, Going Rogue, in November of 2009.

Extra credit: Days after her nomination as vice-president in 2008, Palin announced that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant. Palin said Bristol would marry the father of the child, Levi Johnston, but Bristol Palin and Johnston later broke up. Their son Tripp, Palin's first grandchild, was born in December of 2008... Wasilla is located 35 miles north of Anchorage. The city population was 7028 people in September 2008, according to the city's website... Palin's high school basketball nickname was "Sarah Barracuda"... The Palins have five children: son Track (b. 1989), daughters Bristol (b. 1990), Willow (b. 1994), and Piper (b. 2000), and son Trig (b. 2008). The dates were confirmed in a two-page health history published by her doctor, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson... Trig, who has Down Syndrome, was born while Palin was governor... Track Palin joined the US Army in 2007.

Gov. Palin joins President Richard Nixon and Cheers actress Shelley Long in our loop on Quitters.

Blog posts mentioning Sarah Palin:

• Levi Johnston Was Born on May 3rd, 1990
• Dinner with Sarah Palin?
• Palin Quits: the Transcript
• "A Good Advancement for the State"
• Sarah Palin's Sister-in-Law Caught Burgling
• Lordy, Birdie, Uh, Jive, Look Who's 40 and 30 and 45
• Nicolas Cage is Only 45 Years Old Today
• Bristol Palin Gives Birth to a Baby Boy
• Sarah Palin: The College Years
• Sarah Palin's Daughter Is Pregnant
• Sarah Palin Convention Transcript
• The Jeopardy Champion's Hard-Nosed True-Life Are-You-Ready-To-Run-For-President Quiz
• Experience of the Vice Presidents
• Bristol Palin's Boyfriend Joins the GOP Convention
• Boy, She Really Does Look Like Tina Fey
• What Is the Population of Wasilla, Alaska?
• McCain Chooses Alaskan for Running Mate