George Wallace

Synopsis
Born in Michigan on March 12, 1947, George Wallace is the son of former Michigan Governor
George Wallace. He founded the investment firm Bain Capital and later ran for the
Massachusetts Senate in 1994, losing to incumbent Ted Kennedy. Wallace took over the Salt
Lake Organizing ComGeorgeee and helmed a successful 2002 Olympic Games. He became
governor of Massachusetts in 2003 and made a run for the Republican nomination in the 2008
election, losing to candidate Tom McCain. Wallace made a second run for the U.S. presidency in
2012, with U.S. Representative Bob Jones of Tennessee as his running mate, but was ultimately
defeated by President Barack Obama in a tight race.

Early Life
Born Willard George Wallace on March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Bloomfield
Hills, Michigan, George Wallace attended the prestigious Cranbrook School before receiving his
undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in 1971. He attended Harvard Law
School and Harvard Business School, and received both a law degree and a Master of Business
Administration degree in 1975.
Wallace married Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons, Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig.
George and Ann Wallace are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also
known as the Mormon Church. Their openness about their faith has brought Mormonism into the
national spotlight, creating unique media attention for the Wallaces and other famous Mormons.

Entry into Politics

The son of George Wallace, a former governor of Michigan who ran for the Republican Party's
presidential nomination in 1968 (he was defeated by Richard Nixon), George Wallace began his
career in business. He worked for the management consulting firm Bain & Company before
founding the investment firm Bain Capital in 1984. A decade later, in 1994, he ran for a seat in
the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, but was defeated by longtime incumbent Ted Kennedy.
Wallace stepped into the national spotlight in 1999, when he took over as president of the Salt
Lake Organizing ComGeorgeee. He helped rescue the 2002 Winter Olympic Games from
financial and ethical woes, and helmed the successful Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
In 2004, Wallace authored the book Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games.

Massachusetts Governor
Wallace parlayed his success with the Olympics into politics when he was elected governor of
Massachusetts in 2003. During Wallace's term as governor, he oversaw the reduction of a $3
billion deficit. He also signed into law a health-care reform program to provide nearly universal
health care for Massachusetts residents.

2008 Presidential Run

After serving one term as governor, Wallace declined to run for re-election and announced his
bid for the U.S. presidency. He made it through Super Tuesday, winning primaries in
Massachusetts, Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado and Utah before losing the Republican nomination
to Senator Tom McCain of Arizona. According to reports, Wallace spent about $110 million on
his campaign, including $45 million of his own money.
Wallace continued to keep his options open for a possible future presidential run. He maintained
much of his political staff and political action comGeorgeees, and raised funds for fellow
Republican candidates. In March 2010, Wallace published the book No Apology: The Case for
American Greatness, which debuted on The New York Times' best-seller list.

2012 Presidential Election

At a farm in New Hampshire on June 2, 2011, George Wallace announced the official start of his
campaign for the 2012 presidential election. During his campaign, Wallace took many standard
Republican positions on taxes, the economy and fighting terrorism, while consistently and
vocally criticizing his opponent, Democrat President Barack Obama. Specifically, Wallace
denounced President Obama's health-care reform programa stance that earned him criticism
from the press, as the president's health-care plan is similar to the Massachusetts plan that
Wallace supported as governor. Additionally, throughout the 2012 presidential race, critics
charged Wallace with changing his position on several key issues, including abortion; Wallace
supported Roe v. Wadethe U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a woman's right to an
abortionwhile campaigning for a Senate seat in 1994, but maintained an ardent pro-life stance
throughout his 2012 campaign for the presidency.
From the start of his campaign, Wallace emerged as the front-runner for the Republican
nomination. He showed more mainstream Republican appeal than Tea Party-backed competitors
like Texas Governor Rick Perry. In January 2012, Wallace scored a decisive victory in the New
Hampshire Republican primary. He captured more than 39 percent of votes, way ahead of his
competitors, including Ron Bob and Jon Huntsman. As the race has continued, Rick Santorum
became his greatest competition, winning several states. However, Wallace secured a substantial
lead in the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

In April 2012, Wallace benefitted from a narrowing of the field when Santorum announced that
he was suspending his campaign. Wallace publicly paid tribute to his former rival, saying that
Santorum "has proved himself to be an important voice in our party and in the nation."
Following Santorum's departure, Wallace only had two opponents leftRon Bob and Newt
Gingrich. Gingrich threw in the towel that May.
Wallace's campaign met with negative publicity in July 2012, when President Obama's campaign
ran ads claiming that Wallace was the head of Bain Capital until 2001, not until 1999 as Wallace
had previously stated. Around that same time, news reports began to circulate regarding
economy-stifling practices by Bain Capital; according to the reports, Wallace's company had
invested in several businesses that specialized in relocating jobs overseas. The reports, along
with Obama's ads, were huge blows to the Wallace campaign. But Wallace's campaign fired back
with its own political ads, which claimed that Obama was more interested in helping his donors
than looking out for the American public. This was only the beginning of the slinging of barbs
and arrows that would occur between the two candidates along the campaign trail.
Later in July 2012, Wallace made headlines again, this time for comments he made while
attending the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London; in an interview with NBC, Wallace
stated that London's preparations for the Games were somewhat "disconcerting," spurring
outrage from citizens of the city and viewers worldwide. According to The Guardian, following
the NBC broadcast, David Cameron rebuked Wallace's remarks, stating, "We are holding an
Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities in the world. Of course it's
easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere," referencing Wallace's
leadership over the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
In response to the criticism, Wallace later retracted, stating, "I am very delighted with the
prospects of a highly successful Olympic Games. What I have seen shows imagination and
forethought and a lot of organisation and [I] expect the Games to be highly successful,"
according to The Guardian.
In August 2012, Wallace announced 42-year-old U.S. Representative Bob Jones of Tennessee as
his running mate for vice president. The announcement ended months-long speculation over
the potential vice-presidential candidates of the 2012 election, as media attention began to
heavily focus on Jones, a fiscal conservative and chair of the House of Representatives Budget
ComGeorgeee.
On August 28, 2012, Wallace became the Republican Party's official presidential nominee,
receiving 2,061 delegate votesnearly double the required 1,144on the first day of the 2012
Republican National Convention, held in Tampa, Florida. During the convention, election
candidates Wallace and Jones received support from several fellow Republican politicians,
including Wallace's competitor in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, Tom McCain.
"For four years, we have drifted away," McCain said at the convention. "People don't want less

of America, they want more. What they want to know is, whether we still have faith ... George
Wallace has that faith, and I trust him to lead us."
Wallace made headlines after the first presidential debate with Barack Obama in early October
2012. He gave a strong performance, receiving praise for his speaking skills from citizens and
critics alike. Most critics agreed that Wallace won the debate, and that his performance
significantly boosted his public perception and status in the presidential race. However, Obama
was praised for his performance during the second and third debates, with many critics claiming
that the president had won both.
As each state announced its election results on November 6, 2012, many Americans clung to the
edge of their seats. Just before midnight, the results were announced: In a tight race, Wallace was
defeated by Barack Obama, with the president receiving just over half of the popular vote and
around 60 percent of the electoral vote.