Behind every candidate (minus Lindsay Graham) is a rock: the spouse who supports the candidate and provides a humanizing factor to the candidate’s image. You’ve probably heard plenty about the Democrats and Republicans running for President, but we don’t know much about their spouses. Here’s a snapshot on the potential new first lady or first gentleman, or America’s Next Top Spouse.
Heidi Cruz
Heidi Cruz is a managing director at Goldman Sachs. The Cruz’s met when they both were campaigning on George W Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign.
Kelley Paul worked as a political consultant for The Strategy of Media and is a freelance writer. In 1988, Kelley met Rand Paul in Atlanta at a backyard oyster roast.
Karen Santorum was a neonatal intensive care nurse. She attended law school at the University of Pittsburgh and met Rick Santorum while interning at a law firm.
Mary Pat Christie met Chris Christie as undergraduate students at the University of Delaware where each was their class president. The former Wall Streeter took a hiatus from her job as managing director at Angelo, Gordon and Co. in New York City. Mary is the chair for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, which raises funds to rebuild communities destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
Columba Bush
Columba Bush met Jeb when he visited Mexico for a high school program. The Bushes married in 1974. As First Lady of Florida, Columba took up causes such as substance abuse and domestic violence but she has largely been out of the spotlight.
Jane Sanders
In 1981, Jane met Bernie Sanders on the night of his mayoral win in Burlington, Vermont and they married in 1988. She is the former president of Burlington College and has PhD with a concentration in leadership and policy studies from Union Institute and University.
Jeanette Rubio
Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio met Marco Rubio at a neighborhood party in Miami and they have been married since 1998. In the late 1990s, she was a Miami Dolphins cheerleader and was featured in the cheerleader’s first swimsuit calendar. Jeanette has been a stay-at-home mom to the couple’s four children.
Janet Huckabee
Janet and Mike Huckabee met in high school and married when they were 18. She ran unsuccessfully for Arkansas Secretary of State while Mike Huckabee was running for his second term as governor.
Supriya Jindal
Supriya met Bobby Jindal in high school but they started dating after they graduated high school. She majored in chemical engineering at Tulane University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She also has a Masters in Business Administration from Tulane. As Louisiana’s first lady, she runs the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children encouraging students to have a strong foundation in math and science.
Frank Fiorina met Carly Fiorina when they both worked in the corporate sector at AT&T. He retired early to support Carly’s political career.
Libby Pataki
Former First Lady of New York, Libby Pataki married George Pataki in 1973. She is the director of Putnam County Tourism. During her time as first lady, she focused on boosting the state’s agricultural industry and raising awareness for breast cancer. Libby is also co-founder of the Pro-Israel organization One Jerusalem.
Former first lady of Rhode Island Stephanie Chafee and Lincoln Chafee have been married for 25 years. She is the co-founder of Rhode Island’s only free health care clinic.
Hong Le Webb
Hong Le Webb met Jim Webb while they were involved in Vietnamese business ventures. She was born in Vietnam and moved to the US in 1975. Hong has a law degree from Cornell University and works as a corporate securities lawyer in Washington.
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