Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore is thinking about joining a multitude of other candidates who might vie for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
If he does, it will be his second run for the president, having dropped out of the race for the 2008 presidential nomination because of low poll numbers. If he decides to run, Gilmore, who is not widely known outside of Virginia, probably would again be considered a dark horse.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Gilmore wouldn’t rule out a possible run, although he has been giving some high-profile speeches, including one at the recent conservative summit, organized by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), in Des Moines.
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In that Iowa Freedom Summit speech, which was televised on C-SPAN, he called for a more robust foreign policy and tax reform, including the elimination of the “death tax.” The speech also was a vehicle to present his governmental and political credentials.
Here are eight facts about the personal life of Gilmore:
1. The politician was born James Stuart Gilmore III on Oct. 6, 1949, in Richmond, Virginia, where he was raised.
2. His father, James Stuart Gilmore Jr., was a grocery store meat cutter and his mother, Margaret Evelyn Kandle, was a church secretary.
3. Gilmore graduated from John Randolph Tucker High School in Henrico County, Virginia.
4. Gilmore graduated in 1971 with a degree in foreign policy from the University of Virginia.
5. From 1971 to 1974, he served a three-year tour in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence officer and counterintelligence agent.
6. Gilmore graduated in 1977 from University of Virginia Law School.
7. For a decade, he practiced law with the law firm of Benedetti, Gilmore, Warthen and Dalton, where he became a partner.
8. He was elected Virginia attorney general in 1993 and as governor in 1997 after promising to hire more teachers and phase out the state’s sales tax on cars.
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