Path to Power
Palin often credits days playing basketball in high school for giving her an edge in the political arena. She helped clinch the state title for her team in 1984 with a free-throw in the final minutes of the championship game. “This really sounds hokey, but that was a turning point in my life” she told the Anchorage Daily News after winning Wasilla’s mayoral race in 1996. “We were supposed to be the underdogs big time. You see firsthand anything is possible and learn it takes tenacity, hard work and guts.”
Born in Idaho, but raised in Alaska, Palin had something of a tomboy’s upbringing. Her father, Chuck, is an avid sportsman who taught his daughter to hunt, fish and trap game. Palin later parlayed her love of the outdoors into several business ventures, working alongside her husband, Todd, for a time as a commercial fish operator. She also made periodic appearances as a television sports anchor on KTUU, Anchorage’s NBC affiliate.
Palin’s first elected position was to the Wasilla City Council in 1992. Four years later she ran for mayor against a three-term incumbent on a tax-cutting platform and won an upset victory. In 2002, she embarked on a longshot race to become lieutenant governor and lost. She did, however, run an impressive campaign that caught the attention of incumbent Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski.
This led to a short-lived appointment to the Alaskan Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which was created to protect the public interest in exploration and development of oil and gas resources. Palin resigned from her post in protest as part of whistle-blowing efforts against fellow Republican Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, who was also chairman of the state party and very close to Gov. Murkowski. Palin believed Ruedrich, and others, hadn’t acted ethically during deals the state had negotiated with ExxonMobil, Conoco Philips and British Petroleum for development along Alaska’s North Slope.
After Palin resigned from the commission, she embarked on a campaign to unseat Gov. Murkowski, promising to open the North Slope to competitive bidding. Ruedrich eventually resigned from the commission and was fined $12,000 for ethics violations in 2004.
Gubernatorial Race
When Palin ran against Murkowski in the 2006 GOP primary, she was forced to rely on grassroots support to advance her candidacy. This was largely because Ruedrich, a loyal Murkowski supporter, remained state GOP chairman and controlled party resources, keeping them out of her reach. Palin was such an outcast from the state party that she even considered running as an Independent. At the time she vented to a local talk-radio host, “One of the challenges is being up against those who run our party.”But Palin was also helped by the fact Alaskans were feeling hostile towards members of the GOP establishment, like Ruedrich, who had become too cozy with the oil industry.
After winning the GOP primary, Palin gained a comfortable lead over former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles, who after losing a campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2006, sought to reclaim his position as governor. Palin won by double-digits and became Alaska’s first female governor at the age of 42.
A little more than a year after being sworn-in, Palin met GOP presidential candidate John McCain at a Republican governor’s meeting. “We just talked about earmark reform and how it’s going to happen,” Palin said at the time.
After McCain won the Republican nomination for president, he unexpectedly tapped Palin to become his vice presidential candidate. Although the McCain-Palin ticket did not win in 2008, the campaign introduced Palin to the nation and she is now one of the most popular figures within the Republican Party.
Gubernatorial Resignation
On July 26, 2009, Palin abruptly retired as Alaska governor, 18 months before her term ended. In a typically folksy speech, Palin blasted the media for focusing on her family and political opponents for filing ethics complaints that she says became a distraction and resource drain for Alaksa.
She urged the media to stick to the truth for the sake of military troops dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. “So, how about, in honor of the American soldier, quit making things up,” Palin goaded.
