Sarah Palin

In the hot summer of 2008, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) trailed his rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) badly. He needed to shake up the presidential campaign. So he turned to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), who became an instant rock star — and a foundation for a political movement that came to define the next decade.

Palin, born in Idaho in 1964, moved to Alaska at a young age. She received a degree in journalism from the University of Idaho and went on to become a television sports reporter in Anchorage. After marrying her high school sweetheart and helping him manage his family commercial fishing business, Palin in 1992 made her first foray into politics. She won a seat on the Wasilla City Council as a Republican and, later, was elected mayor of the small town. 

Palin ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2002. But she beat a scandal-plagued incumbent governor four years later, making her both Alaska’s youngest-ever governor and its first female chief executive. 

She was not without controversy. Palin was investigated for firing the state’s public safety commissioner, and an independent state investigator found she abused her power in doing so. 

When McCain came calling, Palin leaped at the chance to go national. She became the first Republican woman to run for vice president.

Palin later resigned her position as governor and went on to pen an autobiography, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” ink a deal for her own reality TV show on TLC and become a commentator for Fox News.

— Morgan Chalfant

photo: Greg Nash