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(Photo: CBS/AP)
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Age: 61
Born: June 24, 1945; Peekskill, N.Y.
Education: B.A., Yale University, 1967; J.D., Columbia University, 1970
Military: None
Family: Married (Libby), four children
Hometown: Garrison, N.Y.
Religion: Catholic
Career: Governor of New York, 1995-2006; State Senate, 1993-94; State Assembly, 1985-92; Mayor of Peekskill, 1982-84; Chair, Peekskill GOP City Committee, 1977-83; Practicing attorney, 1970-89
Pataki spent his childhood on a 15-acre fruit and vegetable farm near downtown Peekskill, a small city on the Hudson River. His father was the son of Hungarian immigrants; his mother was of Italian and Irish heritage. Both sets of grandparents lived on the farm, along with several aunts, uncles and 12 cousins.
Pataki attended Yale University, where he majored in history. He became involved with a mainstream Republican group in the Political Union and began to think about a political career. He graduated Yale in 1967.
He went on to Columbia Law School, where he made law review and graduated in 1970, at the height of the Vietnam War. Pataki was saved from the draft by poor eyesight. After law school, he joined a Wall Street law firm for four years before leaving to become a partner at another firm. His practice consisted mostly of corporate litigation, estates and real estate.
In the early 70s, Pataki began to work for Republican gubernatorial candidates, like Nelson Rockefeller in 1970, and Malcolm Wilson in 1974. He later worked as a State Senate aide. By 1977, he became chairman of the Peekskill Republican Committee.
Pataki built a political career out of toppling entrenched incumbents. In his first race in 1991, he ousted Peekskill’s three-term Democratic mayor. Three years later, he handily defeated the Democratic Assemblyman. In 1992, he defeated a sitting GOP state Senator – his former boss – in a primary.
Pataki solidified his reputation as a giant killer in 1994 when he defeated iconic three-term Gov. Mario Cuomo, 49 percent to 45 percent.
Pataki was mentioned in 2000 as a possible running mate for George W. Bush, and had been further mentioned as a possible replacement for Vice President Cheney, should Cheney have opted not to run in 2004, as his political stock rose dramatically in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
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