cnn
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Here's a look at the life of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.
Birthdate: February 11, 1964
Place of birth: Sandpoint, Idaho
Birth name: Sara Luisa Heath
Father: Charles Heath, a teacher
Mother: Sara (Sheeran) Heath
Marriage: Todd Palin (1988-2020, divorced)
Children: Trigonometry, April 18, 2008; Piper, March 19, 2001; Sauce, July 5, 1994; Bristol, October 18, 1990; Track, April 20, 1989
Education: University of Idaho, B.A., 1987
Religion: Christian
First female governor of Alaska.
She was a finalist in the 1984 Miss Alaska pageant.
Their fifth child, Trig, was born with Down syndrome.
He was an intermittent contributor to Fox News between 2010 and 2015.
1992-1996 – Member of Wasilla City Hall.
1996-2002 – Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
2002 – He loses his bid to become lieutenant governor of Alaska.
2003-2004 – He is a member of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
November 7, 2006 – He is elected governor of Alaska, defeating former two-term governor Tony Knowles (49% to 41%).
December 4, 2006-July 26, 2009 – Governor of Alaska.
July 28, 2008 – Alaska state lawmakers vote to hire an investigator to determine whether Palin fired former state Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because she would not fire Palin's former brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, a state trooper.
August 6, 2008 – A former state employee files an ethics complaint against Palin, accusing her of using her position to get a supporter a government job.
August 29, 2008 – Named Arizona Senator John McCain's vice presidential running mate.
September 1, 2008 – He announces that his 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant, and the McCain campaign releases a statement that McCain knew about the pregnancy when he selected Palin as his running mate.
September 3, 2008 – Accepts the Republican Party's nomination for vice president at the Republican National Convention.
October 10, 2008 – State investigator Stephen Branchflower releases a report alleging that Palin abused her power as Alaska governor and violated state ethics law by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired.
October 18, 2008 – He appears on “Saturday Night Live” with his lookalike Tina Fey.
November 3, 2008 – Alaska Personnel Board releases report concluding that Palin did not violate ethics law regarding her former brother-in-law.
November 4, 2008 – McCain loses the presidential election to Barack Obama.
January 27, 2009 – Launches political action committee SarahPAC to raise money.
July 3, 2009 – Announces that she is leaving her position as governor of Alaska. She resigns on July 26.
November 2009 – Palin's memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” is published.
February 6, 2010 – Delivers keynote address at the Tea Party's first national convention.
March 25, 2010 – Discovery Communications announces that Palin will appear in an eight-part documentary series, called “Sarah Palin's Alaska,” on the TLC network.
November 2010 – Palin's book, “America at Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and the Flag,” is published.
October 5, 2011 – He announces that he is not running for president.
January 20th, 2014 – In a Facebook post about Martin Luther King Day, Palin sends a message to Obama: “Mr. President, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and all those who are committed to ending any racial division, without playing the race card anymore.”
July 27, 2014 – Subscription-based Sarah Palin channel launches online.
January 19, 2016 – He endorses Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign stop in Iowa.
March 13, 2016 – Palin's husband, Todd, is seriously injured in a snowmachine accident in Alaska. He is hospitalized for two weeks.
June 27, 2017 – She files a lawsuit against the New York Times alleging that a recent editorial falsely portrayed her as responsible for inciting the 2011 shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords. August 29th A federal judge dismisses the lawsuit, stating that he sees no evidence of malicious intent.
August 6, 2019 – A federal appeals court overturns a lower court's decision to dismiss Palin's defamation lawsuit.
March 11, 2020 – Palin appears on “The Masked Singer,” performing a rendition of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.”
February 15, 2022 – A jury finds the New York Times not liable for defamation against Palin. After the jury returns its unanimous verdict, Judge Jed Rakoff dismisses the case, citing that Palin has failed to meet the “actual malice” standard. The historic case New York Times v. Sullivan's 1964 specifies that public figures suing for defamation must show that the offender knew the statement was false or showed “reckless disregard” for the truth.
April 1, 2022 – Palin announces that she is running for Congress, seeking to fill Alaska's only seat in the United States House of Representatives after the death of veteran Representative Don Young.
August 31, 2022 – She loses to Democrat Mary Peltola in the special election to fill the Alaska House seat for the remainder of 2022, according to unofficial results released by the Alaska Division of Elections. In a statement, Palin criticizes ranked-choice voting after the results are released. This is the first time Alaska has used ranked-choice voting. Palin will have another shot at the House race in a few months, as she is among those vying to fill the full term in a separate election in November.
November 6, 2022 – Palin is once again defeated by Peltola in her bid for the House seat.
