Remember Sarah Palin? She dominated media coverage as John McCain’s outspoken vice presidential pick in the 2008 election, and sought to maintain her relevance in the Republican Party in the years that followed. It hasn’t really worked out.
Palin endorsed Donald Trump during the Republican Primary, delivering a bizarre speech that was widely mocked. Even Trump seemed a little weirded out, and she all but disappeared from the campaign trail after that, which is pretty remarkable considering her near-celebrity status among Republican voters in recent years.
The Washington Post reports that Palin may be giving up on politics altogether. One leading indication? Sarah PAC, the political action committee Palin launched in 2009, officially shut down at the end of 2016.
The organization was largely irrelevant to begin with, and served little purpose beyond raising money and promoting Sarah Palin. During the 2016 election cycle, the PAC spent just $82,500 on donations to candidates, compared to $830,000 on consultants, and $168,000 on travel and hotel expenses.
That’s par for the course as far as Sarah PAC is concerned. During the 2010 midterm elections, when Palin was still relatively popular in Republican circles, the PAC raised $5.6 million, but spent just $509,000 of that on candidate donations. It’s pretty clear that Palin was never really interested in starting a political “movement” of any kind.
What next for Palin? Reports indicate she has signed on to produce a courtroom television show modeled after Judge Judy. But that might not necessarily mean the end of political career. Donald Trump’s election suggests this could be as good a way as any for Palin to launch a run for the White House.
TAKE THE POLL