Tom Tancredo is a truly conservative member of the Republican Party. Serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1999, Tancredo has established himself as "a solid pro-life, pro-gun, small government republican, and emerged as the leader in the national struggle for true immigration reform. (Source: Tancredo '08). He campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination until 20 December 2007.

Life & Politics

Thomas Gerard Tancredo was born December 20, 1945 in Denver, Colorado to his mother, Adeline Lombardi, and his father Gerald Tancredo, both children of Italian immigrants. Earning a degree in political science from the University of Northern Colorado, Tancredo was active with the College Republicans and the conservative, nonpartisan organization Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). Tancredo was in favor of the Vietnam War and supported it vocally as a Republican student activist. He became eligible to serve in Vietnam after graduating from the University of Northern Colorado in June 1969. Tancredo has said he went for his physical, telling doctors he'd been treated for depression, and eventually got a "1-Y" deferment. In 1976, while teaching history at Drake Junior High School in Denver, he ran for and won a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives. He served two terms (1977-1981) and was one of the leaders of a vocal group of conservative legislators opposing the policies of Colorado Governor Dick Lamm. During the 1970s, Tancredo pioneered opposition to bilingual education, an issue that would remain a feature of his political orientation.

A former Roman Catholic, Tancredo is now a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He has been married to Jackie Tancredo since 1977, they have two children and five grandchildren. (Source: Biography pulled from Wikipedia)

After Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1981, Tancredo was appointed by the President to be the regional representative in Denver for the Department of Education. He stayed on from 1981 until 1992, through the first Bush administration and pared the office's staff from 225 to only 60 employees. In 1993, he became president of the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank based in Golden, Colorado, serving there until his election to Congress. He was also a leader in the Colorado term limits movement.

After Dan Schaefer District since its creation in 1983 (former astronaut Jack decided not to run for a seventh full term in the 6th Congressional District in 1998, Tancredo narrowly won the five-way Republican primary and went on to victory in November. Despite his promise to serve only three terms in Congress, he later decided to run for a fourth term and won re-election. Tancredo cited as his reason for seeking re-election, the report of the 9/11 Commission, which noted that experience and continuity of service in Congress should be considered more important than term limits.

U.S. House of Representatives

Tancredo sponsored the Sudan Peace Act. The Sudan Peace Act says "A viable, comprehensive, and internationally sponsored peace process, protected from manipulation, presents the best chance for a permanent resolution of the war, protection of human rights, and a self-sustaining Sudan". The Act passed the House of Representatives with a 359-8 vote, was passed unanimously in the Senate without amendment seven days later, and was signed into law on November 21, 2002.

Tancredo introduced the Mass Immigration Reduction Act. The act would have imposed an indefinite moratorium on immigration to the United States. About 300,000 total legal immigrants would have been allowed into the country annually for at least the first five years of the act and, after that, until such time as there were fewer than 10,000 illegal immigrants entering per year. When those conditions were met, immigration would only have been allowed at whatever level the president and both houses of Congress agreed would have no adverse impact on wages, housing, the environment, or schools. When last introduced in 2003, the bill had 11 cosponsors. Organizations that have endorsed Tancredo's bill include: NumbersUSA Population-Environment Balance, Carrying Capacity Network, Federation for American Immigration Reform, Negative Population Growth, and the American Patrol. Tancredo introduced the bill in 1999 (H. R. 41), 2001 (H. R. 2712), and 2003 (H. R. 946). Tancredo did not re-introduce the bill in 2005, but in 2007 he proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to "establish English as the official language of the United States," (H.R. 19). In 2005, Tancredo introduced a resolution calling on the President to recognize the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and to abandon the One-China Policy. He has been critical of the People's Republic of China. This has since been modified and reintroduced as H. Con. Res. 73.

On February 9, 2006 Tancredo addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference, the annual conference of the American Conservative Union. In a poll conducted of those attending the conference, 5% predicted that Tancredo would be the 2008 nominee. At the 2007 CPAC conference, held March 13, Tancredo was ranked sixth in the straw poll, with 9%, when first and second choices were combined.

2008 Presidential Bid

In January 2007, Tancredo announced his formation of an exploratory committee on seeking the Republican presidential nomination. This came after his saying a month before that he would run if no other candidate addressed the immigration issue that had always been central to his politics. In February, the American Conservative Union gave Tancredo a lifetime ranking of 99 out of 100, naming him the most conservative-minded 2008 candidate for President. In December of 2007, Tancredo withdrew his candidacy after failing to garner wide public support for a successful campaign.