Jim Gilmore
Encyclopedia
James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American
politician
from the Commonwealth
of Virginia
, former 68th Governor of Virginia
, and a member of the Republican Party
. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent. He later was elected to public office as a county prosecutor
, as the Attorney General of Virginia
from 1994 to 1998, and as the 68th Governor of Virginia
from 1998 to 2002.
Gilmore campaigned for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination until July 2007, when he became the first major Republican candidate to leave the race. Gilmore was nominated as the Republican candidate for Virginia's United States Senate
seat being vacated by John Warner
. In the November 2008 election, Gilmore lost to his Democratic opponent Mark Warner
.
to Margaret Evelyn Kandle, a church secretary, and James Stuart Gilmore, Jr., a grocery store butcher
. He graduated from John Randolph Tucker High School
and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia
in 1971. Gilmore associated himself with the University's College Republicans
chapter, and the Jefferson Literary & Debating Society.
at Fort Huachuca
in Arizona. Gilmore also received rigorous foreign language education at the United States Defense Language Institute
in Monterrey, California. Gilmore then worked for three years in the early 1970s, purportedly in Heidelberg, West Germany, as a U.S. Army counter intelligence agent where he became fluent in German.
in 1987 and 1991, and then was first elected to statewide office in 1993 as Virginia's Attorney General. After his term ended in 1997, Gilmore joined the law firm of LeClairRyan
as a partner.
in a bid to succeed George Allen
as governor. Gilmore campaigned heavily on the twin promises of hiring 4,000 new teachers in public schools and phasing out Virginia's personal property tax on automobiles. Gilmore was elected, winning 56% of the vote to Beyer's 43%.
In his first year as Governor, Gilmore pushed for car tax reduction legislation that was eventually passed by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly
. The legislation reduced car taxes on all cars valued less than $1,000, and phased out the tax on auto values over $1,000 as follows: 12.5% reduction in 1998; 25% reduction in 1999; 47.5% reduction in 2000; 70% reduction in 2001; 100% reduction in 2002. Beginning in 2001, Virginia's economy slowed and tax revenues flattened. In addition to a downturn in the national economy in 2001, Northern Virginia's economy was severely impacted after terrorists flew a hijacked airplane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on September 11, 2001
, resulting in the closure of Reagan National Airport for several months. Despite the economic downturn, Gilmore insisted on advancing the car tax phase out from a 47.5% reduction of each taxpayer's bill in 2000 to the scheduled 70% reduction in 2001. Gilmore signed an executive order reducing state spending by all agencies, except for education, to keep the state's budget balanced during the economic downturn. Democrats criticized the spending reductions and car tax cut. According to the Washington Post, "Virginia's politicians struggled to balance car-tax relief against demands for public services." When Gilmore left office in January 2002, the state's "rainy day fund," or revenue stabilization fund, contained $1 billion.
Gilmore also implemented new Standards of Learning reforms in Virginia's public schools. The Standards of Learning prescribed a uniform curriculum in mathematics
, science
, English
and social studies
and instituted new tests at the end of the third, fifth and eighth grades, as well as end-of-course tests in high school, to measure student achievement. During Gilmore's term, Virginia's public school students' scores increased on these state tests as well as nationally normed tests.
In 1999, Gilmore proposed and signed into law legislation that reduced tuitions at public colleges and universities by 20%. Gilmore also commissioned a Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education that studied accountability and governance of public colleges and universities. Gilmore's Commission authored the first blueprint for decentralized regulatory and administrative authority to some universities in return for agreements to meet agreed upon performance objectives.
Gilmore also proposed and signed into law Virginia's first stand-alone Martin Luther King Holiday. Prior to this proposal, Virginia had observed a combined Lee-Jackson-King Day that recognized Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Martin Luther King on the same day each year. Gilmore and his wife, Roxane Gatling Gilmore, hosted a historic reception in the Governor's Mansion for Coretta Scott King
and announced a technology partnership between Virginia and the King Center for Nonviolence. Gilmore also proposed and funded a new African-American History Trail in Virginia and called upon the State Board of Education
to include a more diverse range of historical figures in Virginia's Social Studies curriculum. Test scores during Gilmore's term showed a narrowing of the "achievement gap" between minority and white students. Gilmore significantly increased funding for two of Virginia's historically black universities, Norfolk State University
and Virginia State University
.
Gilmore created the nation's first state Secretary of Technology, a position first held by Donald Upson. Together they established a statewide technology commission, and signed into law the nation's first comprehensive state Internet
policy.
During his term, 37 people were executed in Virginia. Gilmore granted executive clemency to one death row
inmate on the basis of mental illness
. In another well publicized case, he pardon
ed Earl Washington, a former death row inmate, after DNA
tests, ordered by Gilmore, implicated another person. Gilmore also ordered DNA tests in the case of Derek Rocco Barnabei; the tests confirmed Barnabei's guilt and he was executed.
As Governor, Gilmore signed into law legislation establishing a 24-hour waiting period and informed consent for women seeking an abortion
, as well as a ban against partial birth abortion. Gilmore increased funding for adoption
services. He also signed into law a bill that banned human cloning
. In 1998, Gilmore went to court to try to prevent the removal of a feeding tube of coma
victim Hugh Finn. Gilmore argued that removal of a feeding tube was not removal of artificial life support because it amounted to starvation of an infirm person who could not feed himself. As Attorney General of Virginia, Gilmore had defended a legal challenge to Virginia's first parental notification law for minors seeking abortions.
John W. Forbes, who was Secretary of Finance under Gilmore, was sentenced to ten years in prison for defrauding Virginia's tobacco commission of $4 million. Forbes had served as Governor Gilmore's representative to the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission when he directed funds to a charity that he controlled. In response, Gilmore said, "He abused the trust that was put in him at the great expense of the people of Southside Virginia, who deserve much better."
The Virginia Constitution forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms, so Gilmore could not run for a second term in 2001. He was succeeded by Democrat
Mark Warner
, who took office in early 2002.
During his term as governor, Gilmore chaired the Congressional Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce. The Commission was charged with the task of making recommendations to the United States Congress
on Internet taxation. The Commission's Report to Congress opposed taxation of the Internet.
From 1999 to 2003, Gilmore chaired the Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, nicknamed the Gilmore Commission
. It presented five reports to Presidents Bill Clinton
and George W. Bush
, and to Congress each December 15 from 1999 through 2003.
From January 2001 to January 2002, Gilmore was the Chairman of the Republican National Committee
. Gilmore, who desired to focus on electing conservative candidates across the United States, resigned from this position due to differences of opinion with the Bush Administration, who wanted the RNC to focus on re-electing the President to a second term in office.
On December 19, 2006, Gilmore announced he would form an exploratory committee
to "fill the conservative void" in the race. On January 9, 2007, Gilmore officially filed papers with the Federal Election Commission
to form the Jim Gilmore for President Exploratory Committee.
Gilmore said he represented "the Republican wing of the Republican Party" in the race for the 2008 Presidential nomination; the comment mirrored the slogan used by Howard Dean
when seeking the Democrat
ic nomination in the 2004 election
, who lifted the slogan from Senator Paul Wellstone
. Gilmore officially announced his candidacy on April 26, 2007.
In the first quarter of 2007 Gilmore raised $174,790, the second lowest of any of the major-party candidates. Gilmore hosted only one fundraiser in the first quarter due to a late exploratory announcement.
On July 14, 2007, Gilmore announced that he was ending his campaign. Gilmore said that it would be "impractical" to run, citing the difficulty of raising enough money to be competitive in early-voting states of Iowa
, New Hampshire
, and South Carolina
.
, who announced his retirement for his senate term ending in 2009. By the end of the summer, many media outlets, most notably the Washington Post, thought it would be a foregone conclusion that Gilmore would jump into the Senate race. Gilmore's successor as governor, Mark Warner, had already announced in September, and 11th District Congressman Tom Davis
had informally announced his candidacy a few days after Mark Warner's announcement.
Gilmore lobbied strongly for choosing the party's nominee at a statewide convention rather than a primary, claiming that a convention would cost only $1 million versus the $4 million required to run a primary campaign. This was no small consideration, as the race for the Democratic nomination essentially ended with Mark Warner's entry into the race. It was understood that Warner would use his considerable wealth to self-finance his campaign. It was thought that a convention would favor Gilmore, since most of the delegates would come from the party's activist base, which is tilted strongly to the right. A primary was thought to favor Davis due to his popularity in voter-rich Northern Virginia
; Davis is a moderate Republican, and most Republicans in Northern Virginia tend to be more moderate than their counterparts elsewhere in the state. On October 13, 2007 the state party's central committee voted 47–37 to hold a convention rather than a primary. With this decision, Gilmore said he was seriously considering a run for the Senate.
Gilmore formally announced his candidacy via a YouTube
video on November 19, 2007. He said that he was running to give Virginia "a strong and steady hand" in the Senate. The domain name jimgilmoreforsenate.com had been registered on July 10—four months before Gilmore's formal entry-- and the username that uploaded the video to YouTube had been registered on October 16.
Gilmore faced a challenge from his right in State Delegate Bob Marshall
of Prince William County. Marshall charged Gilmore with being too soft on abortion. However, at the convention Gilmore won the nomination by 65 votes out of 3,000 cast—less than a percentage point.
In the November election, Gilmore was defeated, winning only 34 percent of the vote to Warner's 65 percent. Gilmore only carried four counties in the state—Rockingham
, Augusta
, Powhatan and Hanover
. In many cases, he lost in many areas of the state that are normally reliably Republican.
http://freecongress.org which was founded by the late conservative movement leader Paul Weyrich
in 1977.
Gilmore has also served as Chairman of the National Council on Readiness & Preparedness, a homeland security
program focused on community involvement and public/private partnerships. He is also President of USA Secure, a non-profit homeland security think tank
based in Washington, D.C.
He is also on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association
and is a political commentator on Fox News.
He also became one of the first former office holders to start a personal blog
. The Virginia Patriot is the official blog of Jim Gilmore.
Gilmore and his wife, Roxane Gatling Gilmore, currently divide their time between Henrico County and Alexandria
. They have two sons, Jay and Ashton.
Topic pages and databases
Archival Records
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
from the Commonwealth
Commonwealth (United States)
Four of the constituent states of the United States officially designate themselves Commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia....
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, former 68th Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
, and a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent. He later was elected to public office as a county prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
, as the Attorney General of Virginia
Attorney General of Virginia
The Attorney General of Virginia is an executive office in the Government of Virginia. Attorneys General are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election . There are no term limits restricting the number of terms someone can serve as Attorney General...
from 1994 to 1998, and as the 68th Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
from 1998 to 2002.
Gilmore campaigned for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination until July 2007, when he became the first major Republican candidate to leave the race. Gilmore was nominated as the Republican candidate for Virginia's United States Senate
United States Senate election in Virginia, 2008
The 2008 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Warner decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term...
seat being vacated by John Warner
John Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...
. In the November 2008 election, Gilmore lost to his Democratic opponent Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
.
Early life and education
Gilmore was born in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
to Margaret Evelyn Kandle, a church secretary, and James Stuart Gilmore, Jr., a grocery store butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
. He graduated from John Randolph Tucker High School
John Randolph Tucker High School
John Randolph Tucker High School is a high school in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. It is named after lawyer and Henrico County Judge John Randolph Tucker. Its students and faculty often refer to themselves as "Tucker Tigers"...
and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1971. Gilmore associated himself with the University's College Republicans
College Republicans
The College Republican National Committee is a national organization for college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States...
chapter, and the Jefferson Literary & Debating Society.
Spy
Gilmore enlisted in the United States Army after attending college, receiving training and preparation for service in the Military Intelligence Corps at the newly created United States Army Intelligence CenterUnited States Army Intelligence Center
The United States Army Intelligence Center of Excellence is the United States Army's school for professional training of military intelligence personnel...
at Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
in Arizona. Gilmore also received rigorous foreign language education at the United States Defense Language Institute
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
in Monterrey, California. Gilmore then worked for three years in the early 1970s, purportedly in Heidelberg, West Germany, as a U.S. Army counter intelligence agent where he became fluent in German.
Attorney
Gilmore entered the University of Virginia Law School in the mid-1970s, graduating in 1977. After working for a decade as an attorney at the firm Benedetti, Gilmore, Warthen and Dalton, he was elected Commonwealth's Attorney of his native Henrico CountyHenrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in 1987 and 1991, and then was first elected to statewide office in 1993 as Virginia's Attorney General. After his term ended in 1997, Gilmore joined the law firm of LeClairRyan
LeClairRyan
-History:Founded by Gary D. LeClair and Dennis M. Ryan, LeClairRyan is a first generation firm that has grown 100-fold in its first 20 years.LeClairRyan has approximately 300 attorneys in 21 offices. Attorneys and legal professionals are currently located in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts,...
as a partner.
Governor of Virginia
In 1997, Gilmore faced then-Lieutenant Governor Don BeyerDon Beyer
Donald Sternoff "Don" Beyer, Jr. is the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In addition, he owns automobile dealerships in Virginia, and has a long record involved in community, political and philanthropic work....
in a bid to succeed George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
as governor. Gilmore campaigned heavily on the twin promises of hiring 4,000 new teachers in public schools and phasing out Virginia's personal property tax on automobiles. Gilmore was elected, winning 56% of the vote to Beyer's 43%.
In his first year as Governor, Gilmore pushed for car tax reduction legislation that was eventually passed by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
. The legislation reduced car taxes on all cars valued less than $1,000, and phased out the tax on auto values over $1,000 as follows: 12.5% reduction in 1998; 25% reduction in 1999; 47.5% reduction in 2000; 70% reduction in 2001; 100% reduction in 2002. Beginning in 2001, Virginia's economy slowed and tax revenues flattened. In addition to a downturn in the national economy in 2001, Northern Virginia's economy was severely impacted after terrorists flew a hijacked airplane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on September 11, 2001
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, resulting in the closure of Reagan National Airport for several months. Despite the economic downturn, Gilmore insisted on advancing the car tax phase out from a 47.5% reduction of each taxpayer's bill in 2000 to the scheduled 70% reduction in 2001. Gilmore signed an executive order reducing state spending by all agencies, except for education, to keep the state's budget balanced during the economic downturn. Democrats criticized the spending reductions and car tax cut. According to the Washington Post, "Virginia's politicians struggled to balance car-tax relief against demands for public services." When Gilmore left office in January 2002, the state's "rainy day fund," or revenue stabilization fund, contained $1 billion.
Gilmore also implemented new Standards of Learning reforms in Virginia's public schools. The Standards of Learning prescribed a uniform curriculum in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
and instituted new tests at the end of the third, fifth and eighth grades, as well as end-of-course tests in high school, to measure student achievement. During Gilmore's term, Virginia's public school students' scores increased on these state tests as well as nationally normed tests.
In 1999, Gilmore proposed and signed into law legislation that reduced tuitions at public colleges and universities by 20%. Gilmore also commissioned a Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education that studied accountability and governance of public colleges and universities. Gilmore's Commission authored the first blueprint for decentralized regulatory and administrative authority to some universities in return for agreements to meet agreed upon performance objectives.
Gilmore also proposed and signed into law Virginia's first stand-alone Martin Luther King Holiday. Prior to this proposal, Virginia had observed a combined Lee-Jackson-King Day that recognized Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Martin Luther King on the same day each year. Gilmore and his wife, Roxane Gatling Gilmore, hosted a historic reception in the Governor's Mansion for Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader. The widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.Mrs...
and announced a technology partnership between Virginia and the King Center for Nonviolence. Gilmore also proposed and funded a new African-American History Trail in Virginia and called upon the State Board of Education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
to include a more diverse range of historical figures in Virginia's Social Studies curriculum. Test scores during Gilmore's term showed a narrowing of the "achievement gap" between minority and white students. Gilmore significantly increased funding for two of Virginia's historically black universities, Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University is a four-year, state-supported, coed, liberal arts, historically black university located in Norfolk, Virginia. It is member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the Virginia High-Tech Partnership.-Academics:...
and Virginia State University
Virginia State University
Virginia State University is a historically black and land-grant university located north of the Appomattox River in Chesterfield, in the Richmond area. Founded on , Virginia State was the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans...
.
Gilmore created the nation's first state Secretary of Technology, a position first held by Donald Upson. Together they established a statewide technology commission, and signed into law the nation's first comprehensive state Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
policy.
During his term, 37 people were executed in Virginia. Gilmore granted executive clemency to one death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate on the basis of mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
. In another well publicized case, he pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ed Earl Washington, a former death row inmate, after DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
tests, ordered by Gilmore, implicated another person. Gilmore also ordered DNA tests in the case of Derek Rocco Barnabei; the tests confirmed Barnabei's guilt and he was executed.
As Governor, Gilmore signed into law legislation establishing a 24-hour waiting period and informed consent for women seeking an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, as well as a ban against partial birth abortion. Gilmore increased funding for adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
services. He also signed into law a bill that banned human cloning
Human cloning
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. It does not usually refer to monozygotic multiple births nor the reproduction of human cells or tissue. The ethics of cloning is an extremely controversial issue...
. In 1998, Gilmore went to court to try to prevent the removal of a feeding tube of coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
victim Hugh Finn. Gilmore argued that removal of a feeding tube was not removal of artificial life support because it amounted to starvation of an infirm person who could not feed himself. As Attorney General of Virginia, Gilmore had defended a legal challenge to Virginia's first parental notification law for minors seeking abortions.
John W. Forbes, who was Secretary of Finance under Gilmore, was sentenced to ten years in prison for defrauding Virginia's tobacco commission of $4 million. Forbes had served as Governor Gilmore's representative to the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission when he directed funds to a charity that he controlled. In response, Gilmore said, "He abused the trust that was put in him at the great expense of the people of Southside Virginia, who deserve much better."
The Virginia Constitution forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms, so Gilmore could not run for a second term in 2001. He was succeeded by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
, who took office in early 2002.
Other positions, 1997–2003
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
on Internet taxation. The Commission's Report to Congress opposed taxation of the Internet.
From 1999 to 2003, Gilmore chaired the Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, nicknamed the Gilmore Commission
Gilmore Commission
Gilmore Commission is the informal and commonly used name for the U.S. Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction....
. It presented five reports to Presidents Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, and to Congress each December 15 from 1999 through 2003.
From January 2001 to January 2002, Gilmore was the Chairman of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
. Gilmore, who desired to focus on electing conservative candidates across the United States, resigned from this position due to differences of opinion with the Bush Administration, who wanted the RNC to focus on re-electing the President to a second term in office.
Presidential candidacy in 2008
A "Draft Gilmore for President" group was formed in August 2006 encouraging Gilmore to run for president.On December 19, 2006, Gilmore announced he would form an exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
to "fill the conservative void" in the race. On January 9, 2007, Gilmore officially filed papers with the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
to form the Jim Gilmore for President Exploratory Committee.
Gilmore said he represented "the Republican wing of the Republican Party" in the race for the 2008 Presidential nomination; the comment mirrored the slogan used by Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
when seeking the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
ic nomination in the 2004 election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
, who lifted the slogan from Senator Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
. Gilmore officially announced his candidacy on April 26, 2007.
In the first quarter of 2007 Gilmore raised $174,790, the second lowest of any of the major-party candidates. Gilmore hosted only one fundraiser in the first quarter due to a late exploratory announcement.
On July 14, 2007, Gilmore announced that he was ending his campaign. Gilmore said that it would be "impractical" to run, citing the difficulty of raising enough money to be competitive in early-voting states of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Senate campaign
In an interview with Politico.com, Gilmore said that he had been approached to run for the Senate seat of John WarnerJohn Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...
, who announced his retirement for his senate term ending in 2009. By the end of the summer, many media outlets, most notably the Washington Post, thought it would be a foregone conclusion that Gilmore would jump into the Senate race. Gilmore's successor as governor, Mark Warner, had already announced in September, and 11th District Congressman Tom Davis
Thomas M. Davis
Thomas Milburn "Tom" Davis III was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Virginia's 11th congressional district in Northern Virginia. Davis was considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by five-term incumbent and fellow Republican John...
had informally announced his candidacy a few days after Mark Warner's announcement.
Gilmore lobbied strongly for choosing the party's nominee at a statewide convention rather than a primary, claiming that a convention would cost only $1 million versus the $4 million required to run a primary campaign. This was no small consideration, as the race for the Democratic nomination essentially ended with Mark Warner's entry into the race. It was understood that Warner would use his considerable wealth to self-finance his campaign. It was thought that a convention would favor Gilmore, since most of the delegates would come from the party's activist base, which is tilted strongly to the right. A primary was thought to favor Davis due to his popularity in voter-rich Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
; Davis is a moderate Republican, and most Republicans in Northern Virginia tend to be more moderate than their counterparts elsewhere in the state. On October 13, 2007 the state party's central committee voted 47–37 to hold a convention rather than a primary. With this decision, Gilmore said he was seriously considering a run for the Senate.
Gilmore formally announced his candidacy via a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video on November 19, 2007. He said that he was running to give Virginia "a strong and steady hand" in the Senate. The domain name jimgilmoreforsenate.com had been registered on July 10—four months before Gilmore's formal entry-- and the username that uploaded the video to YouTube had been registered on October 16.
Gilmore faced a challenge from his right in State Delegate Bob Marshall
Robert G. Marshall
Robert G. "Bob" Marshall is a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 13th District, currently serving his 7th term. His district includes portions of Prince William and Loudoun counties.In 2008, Marshall was a candidate for the United States Senate seat being...
of Prince William County. Marshall charged Gilmore with being too soft on abortion. However, at the convention Gilmore won the nomination by 65 votes out of 3,000 cast—less than a percentage point.
In the November election, Gilmore was defeated, winning only 34 percent of the vote to Warner's 65 percent. Gilmore only carried four counties in the state—Rockingham
Rockingham County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 67,725 people, 25,355 households, and 18,889 families residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile . There were 27,328 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, Augusta
Augusta County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 65,615 people, 24,818 households, and 18,911 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 26,738 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
, Powhatan and Hanover
Hanover County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 86,320 people, 31,121 households, and 24,461 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 32,196 housing units at an average density of 68 per square mile...
. In many cases, he lost in many areas of the state that are normally reliably Republican.
Present activities
In December 2009, Jim Gilmore became President & CEO of the Free Congress FoundationFree Congress Foundation
The Free Congress Foundation , is a conservative think tank founded by Paul Weyrich. It was based near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C...
http://freecongress.org which was founded by the late conservative movement leader Paul Weyrich
Paul Weyrich
Paul M. Weyrich was an American conservativepolitical activist and commentator, most notable as a figurehead of the New Right. He co-founded the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and the Free Congress Foundation, another conservative think tank...
in 1977.
Gilmore has also served as Chairman of the National Council on Readiness & Preparedness, a homeland security
Homeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
program focused on community involvement and public/private partnerships. He is also President of USA Secure, a non-profit homeland security think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
based in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He is also on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
and is a political commentator on Fox News.
He also became one of the first former office holders to start a personal blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
. The Virginia Patriot is the official blog of Jim Gilmore.
Gilmore and his wife, Roxane Gatling Gilmore, currently divide their time between Henrico County and Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. They have two sons, Jay and Ashton.
External links
Official sites- Official Senate campaign website
- Virginia Patriot, Gilmore's official blog (former presidential site redirects here)
- Official MySpace profile
- Gilmore's website as governor of Virginia, January 1999
Topic pages and databases
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Profile at votimus.com
- Collected articles on James S. Gilmore III from The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer - Vote 2008: Jim Gilmore
- Hugh Finn case
Archival Records
- A Guide to the Records of the Policy Office of Governor James S. Gilmore, 1998-2001 at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Policy Office Legislative Files of Governor James S. Gilmore, 1998-2001 at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Policy Office Clemency Files of Governor James S. Gilmore, 1998-2001 at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Executive Office Association Files of Governor James S. Gilmore, 1998-2001 at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Executive Office Congressional E-Commerce Commission Files for Governor James S. Gilmore, 1999-2000 at The Library of Virginia
- Archived Web Site of Jim Gilmore for Senate, 2008 part of Virginia's Political Landscape, 2008 at Virginia Memory