George Pataki

What he’s got: Underrated intellect, foreign policy smarts, and political savvy; executive experience dealing with a dysfunctional government in New York state; personal and professional maturity.

What he lacks: National name recognition; potential in Iowa and South Carolina; a clear and plausible path to the nomination that doesn't involve the self-immolation of a good portion of the field.

Read Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s Scouting Report

Photo Gallery

While on a day-long solidarity visit to Israel in December 2001, Pataki writes a note before placing it in a crack in Jerusalem’s Western Wall.Photograph by: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

Pataki, former President George W. Bush, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during a fundraising reception in New York City on October 5, 1999. Photograph by: AP Photo/Stuart Ramson

Pataki greets former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore look on. The three men were attending a Republican fundraiser aboard a ship on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee. Photograph by: AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Pataki speaks during a press conference in New York City on global warming on October 16, 2006, as former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger looks on.Photograph by: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Pataki speaks at an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the opening of the 9/11 memorial in New York City. Photograph by: James LEYNSE/REA/Redux

Pataki is sworn in as New York’s governor for the third time on January 1, 2003. Photograph by: Librado Romero/The New York Times

Top Priorities

National defense: Send troops to fight the Islamic State.
Education reform: Reject the common core, support charter schools, and downsize the Department of Education.
Immigration reform: Secure the border and create a path to legalized status for illegal immigrants.

Pataki’s Resumé

1964-1967

Attended Yale University, where he graduated in three years.
1967-1970

Attended Columbia Law School.
1970-1987

Worked at Plunkett and Jaffe law firm.
1985-1992

Served in the New York State Assembly.
1993-1995

U.S. Senator from New York.
1995-2006

Governor of New York.
2007-Present

Counsel for Chadbourne and Parke, LLP.

Highs

2010: Created Revere America, an organization committed to repealing Obamacare.
2005: Named one of 20 “Individuals who stand out for their efforts to cut gases that cause global warming” by Bloomberg Businessweek.
2002: Passed the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York.
1981: Became the youngest mayor of Peekskill, New York, at age 36.
1969-1970: Served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review.

Watch This

Pataki yucks it up at St. Patrick’s Day breakfast roast.

The former Governor of New York discusses his favorite comedians and delivers his own comedic remarks at a fundraising breakfast in Massachussetts.

Lows

2002: Andrew Cuomo said Giuliani, not Pataki, was the true leader on 9/11.
1994: Rudy Giuliani backed Mario Cuomo over Pataki in the New York gubenatorial campaign.

He Once Said...

“Freedom, I fear, is at risk today from an ever more powerful, more intrusive government in Washington.”

“We understood we were all Americans who had been attacked and were going to rise up together, and we did.”

- On the aftermath of 9/11.

“I have always started at the bottom, I think that’s the best way to do it. You appreciate something more when you earn it.”

“In a government where it’s supposed to be of the people, if someone chooses the path that’s different than mine, we should respect that as opposed to mocking it.”

- In response to people mocking Caitlyn Jenner and other transgender individuals

When he’s not running for office, Pataki is...

Speaking Spanish or Hungarian.

Family

Wife

Elizabeth "Libby" Pataki

Former director of tourism for Putnam County.
Children

Emily Pataki, Daughter

Teddy Pataki, Son

Allison Pataki, Daughter

George Owen Pataki, Son
Parents

Louis Pataki, Father

Margaret Pataki, Mother