Personal Life and Family

Jim Gilmore, 57, has exactly the credentials that most Republicans are looking for in their nominee for President. Jim Gilmore is the leader Republicans can trust to stand for low taxes, secure borders, a strong national defense and the preservation of traditional family values.

A native of Richmond Virginia, Jim Gilmore is the son of a working class parents who served as a member of U.S. Army counter-intelligence; a tough crime busting prosecutor in Virginia; a popular no-nonsense Virginia Attorney General; and a former Governor who became a champion of the taxpayers by reducing taxes on working men and woman by $1.5 billion.

A graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Law, Jim Gilmore is a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Appointed by Congress as the chairman of a Congressionally created national commission charged with making recommendations on ways to prevent and respond to terrorism, which became known as the Gilmore Commission, Jim Gilmore has become a nationally known authority on homeland security.

Born in the historic fan district of Richmond on Oct. 6, 1949, Jim Gilmore is the son of a Safeway meatcutter and a church secretary. Jim Gilmore graduated from J.R. Tucker High School and studied foreign policy at the University of Virginia.

While at UVA, Jim Gilmore joined College Republicans, and was elected a statewide officer, and met his wife Roxane. He and Roxane today are the parents of two sons, Jay and Ashton.

After graduating from the University of Virginia, Jim Gilmore volunteered for the Army. He graduated with honors from the Army Intelligence School and the Defense Language Institute and was assigned to the 650th Military Intelligence Group. Fluent in German, he served in the U.S. Army’s counter-intelligence unit in Germany during the Vietnam-era. Jim Gilmore also is a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Air Force Academy, having been appointed by President Bush and elected chairman by his fellow board members.

Returning to Virginia, Jim Gilmore entered the University of Virginia School of Law and graduated in 1977, beginning practice with a small Richmond law firm. After opening his own firm and private practice, Jim Gilmore ran for prosecutor in Henrico County, Virginia and was elected in 1987 and reelected in 1991, establishing an impressive record as a crime fighter.In August of 2006, a grassroots Draft Gilmore effort was formed by volunteers to make the case that Jim Gilmore is the most consistent conservative among major Republican candidate for President. On December 19, 2006, Jim Gilmore announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee.