Sarah Palin
11th Governor of Alaska
In office December 4, 2006 – July 26, 2009
Lieutenant	Sean Parnell
Preceded by	Frank Murkowski
Succeeded by	Sean Parnell
Chairperson, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
In office 2003–2004
Preceded by	Camille Oechsli Taylor[1]
Succeeded by	John K. Norman[2]
Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
In office 1996–2002
Preceded by	John Stein
Succeeded by	Dianne M. Keller
Member of the Wasilla City Council
In office 1992–1996
Personal details
Born	(1964-02-11) February 11, 1964 (age 60)[3] Sandpoint, Idaho, U.S.
Political party	Republican (1982 - Present)
Spouse(s)	Todd Palin (since 1988)
Children	Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, Trig
Residence	Wasilla, Alaska
Alma mater	University of Idaho
Profession	Sportscaster Homemaker Politician
Signature

Sarah Louise Palin (/ˈpeɪlɪn/ (listen); née Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator and author. She was the ninth Governor of Alaska, from 2006 to 2009. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election alongside Arizona Senator John McCain, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice presidency. Her book Going Rogue has sold more than two million copies. Since January 2010, she has provided political commentary for Fox News, and hosted a television show, Sarah Palin's Alaska.

She was elected to Wasilla City Council in 1992 and became mayor of Wasilla in 1996. In 2003, after an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor, she was appointed Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, responsible for overseeing the state's oil and gas fields for safety and efficiency. The youngest person and first woman to be elected Governor of Alaska, Palin held the office from December 2006 until her resignation in July 2009. She has since endorsed and campaigned for the Tea Party movement, as well as several candidates in the 2010 midterm elections.

Palin was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Alaska's at-large congressional district in the 2022 election. She lost to Mary Peltola.

Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho to Charles R. "Chuck" Heath, a science teacher and track and field coach, and Sarah "Sally" (née Sheeran), a school secretary. Palin's siblings are Chuck Jr., Heather, and Molly.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Palin has English, Irish, and German ancestry.^[9]

When Palin was a few months old, the family moved to Skagway, Alaska^[10] where her father received his job to teach.^[11] They relocated to Eagle River in 1969, and finally moved to Wasilla in 1972.^[12][13]

Palin played flute in a band when she was in junior high, then she attended Wasilla High School where she was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,^[14] During her senior year, she was co-captain and point guard of the basketball team that won the 1982 Alaska state championship, earning the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her competitive streak.^[15][16]

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Palin was a member of the Wasilla, Alaska city council from 1992 to 1996, and was the city's leader or mayor from 1996 to 2002. She tried to become the assistant to the Governor of Alaska (the lieutenant governor) in 2002, but lost the race. Palin led the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004, and was chosen to become Governor of Alaska in November 2006 by first being picked to be the choice of the Republican Party and then being chosen over a man in the Democratic Party who had twice been governor of the state. She was both the youngest governor of Alaska and the first female governor of the state. She resigned July 26, 2009. Though elected on a platform of clean government, she blamed the many ethics cases brought against her. She said the legal costs and time kept her from doing her job.

On August 29, 2008, John McCain, who was the choice of the Republican Party to become president of the United States, said he wanted Palin to become the Vice President. She was picked at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota to be the Republican Party choice. She was the first woman to be chosen by the Republican Party to try to become either President or Vice President and the first person from Alaska to be picked for one of these jobs by either the Republican or the Democratic Party. Many Republicans liked the choice, but many other people thought she did not have enough experience and was not smart enough. This image came about from errors in her speeches and interviews with journalists like Katie Couric^[17] and Charles Gibson. Her opponent was Joe Biden, who won.

Palin resigned as governor on July 26, 2009.

In 2009, Palin, with help, wrote a book about her life called Going Rogue.^[18] It was at the top of the bestseller list, and she drew large crowds at her book signings.^[19]

She formed her political action committee, Sarah PAC, in January 2009. Since 2009, she has spoken many times at meetings of the conservative Tea Party movement. Since January 2010, she has been a paid contributor to Fox News Channel.^[20]

On November 14, 2010, a show on TLC called Sarah Palin's Alaska debuted and was hosted by Sarah Palin. It was canceled after one season. On October 5, 2011, she chose not to run for the 2012 Presidential Election because she wanted to spend time with her family.^[21]

In January 2016 Palin announced her support of Donald Trump for President in the 2016 election.^[22]

On April 1, 2022, Palin announced that she would run for Alaska's at-large congressional seat that was left empty after the death of Congressman Don Young.^[23] She lost the special election to Democrat Mary Peltola.^[24] She ran again against Peltola in the November 2022 general election and lost again.

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• Official Campaign Website for McCain/Palin 2008
• Sarah Palin at the Open Directory Project