What will the next First Lady (or Gentleman) champion?
9 min readJan 20, 2016
First Lady Michelle Obama’s footsteps will not be easy to follow. As I begin to think about choosing the next president, I can’t help but wonder what it will be like without First Lady Michelle Obama. She has re-defined the role as First Lady. A president’s spouse serves as an outlet, a confidant, and in the current First Lady’s case, an advocate. The First Lady (or Gentleman) will play an integral part in the next White House. So, what will the next presidential candidate’s spouse add to the American Presidency?
Melania Trump
- Bio: Melania is from Slovenia, and she started modeling at the age of sixteen. She received her degree in architecture and design at the University of Slovenia. Melania met Trump in 1998, they married in 2005. She is fluent in Slovenian, French, and Italian, and as her own jewelry line for QVC.
- Causes: Melania has spoken about the importance of family and served as the American Red Cross’s goodwill ambassador from 2005–2009. She has also worked with the Boys Club of New York and the Police Athletic League. Her potential causes would most likely be family oriented.
- Quotable: “I give him my opinions, and sometimes he takes them in, and sometimes he does not. Do I agree with him all the time? No. I think it is good for a healthy relationship. I am not a ‘yes’ person. No matter who you are married to, you still need to lead your life.” She adds: “I don’t want to change him. And he doesn’t want to change me.” (Harpers Bazaar 2016)
Bill Clinton
- Bio: Bill Clinton attended Georgetown University and Yale Law School. He was the 42nd President of the United States serving from 1993–2001, in which he signed into law the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform that focused on health care for children. Notably, President Clinton left the White House with a high favor-ability rating.
- Causes: The William J. Clinton Foundation focuses on international issues such as the HIV and AIDS initiative, and addresses problems such as public health, addressing issues of religious and ethnic conflict, and poverty alleviation.
- Quotable: “I told her when she got elected to the Senate from New York that she’d given me 26 years, and so I intended to give her 26 years. Whatever she wanted to do was fine with me. If she wanted to know my opinion, I would tell her, but she had carte blanche to make whatever decisions she wanted, and tell me what I was supposed to do about it.” (CNN 2015)
Heidi Cruz
- Bio: Heidi Cruz received her bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Relations from Claremont McKenna College, as well as completed her Masters degree in European Business in Brussels, and went on to graduate from Harvard Business School in 2000. She worked for the Bush administration on economic policy before re-locating to Texas and working for Goldman-Sachs as an investment manager.
- Causes: Cruz has said her causes as First Lady would be focused on economic policy and helping to alleviate poverty for children and families.
- Quotable: “My role is very simple,” Heidi Cruz said. “Doing whatever I can do to help Ted win.”
Jane O’Meara Sanders
- Bio: Jane grew up in New York and attended an all-girls prep Catholic high school. She attended the University of Tennessee for one year, majoring in sociology and child development before leaving to start a family with her first husband. When her first husband’s job eventually transferred her to Vermont, she finished her degree in social work and then took a job at the police department. She met Bernie when he was campaigning for mayor, and they married in 1988. Jane became president of Burlington College, an alternative college offering bachelor’s degrees in the arts. She stepped down amid controversy in 2011
- Causes: Sanders is an advocate of her husband’s. Her issues would surround free higher education and universal healthcare coverage.
- Quotable: For me,” Jane Sanders said, “the focus has to be on the individual, the worker, not on profit margins, not on stock returns, but on how do we have a wonderful community in the State of Vermont that has good jobs that keep our kids here and keeps our communities healthy.” (MSNBC 2015)
Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio
- Bio: Jeanette attended South Miami Senior High where she met Marco. She went on to major in fashion design at Miami-Dodd Community College although she did not finish, she became a dancer for the Miami Dolphins. Marco and Jeanette were married in 1998, she is a stay at home mother to four children.
- Causes: Jeanette pushed Marco to sponsor legislation to investigate the youth sex trade in Florida. She currently works part-time for Norman Breman’s foundation, and encourages funding for organizations that help abused victims of human trafficking.
- Quotable: “And I’m very involved — you know, with the time I have in between the kids and my job-in the issue of human trafficking,” she said. “There’s a local organization called Kristi’s House that they started for kids who were abused and then got involved in human trafficking.” (Parade Magazine 2013).
Katie O’Malley
- Bio: Katie O’Malley received her bachelor’s degree from Towson University and received her law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1991. She is a Baltimore City District Court Judge. She met Martin O’Malley when she was a law student and they wed in 1990, they have four children.
- Causes: Katie is known for speaking out against domestic violence as well as bullying. She has traveled internationally to support her causes, with notable trips being to Russia, Ukraine, and Brazil.
- Quotable: “[On campaigning/being First Lady] You get to meet people, you get to talk about issues that are affecting people, and it’s sort of what I do every day now,” she said. “I meet people every day. I’m in a courtroom and it looks like church sometimes. You walk in and it’s just jam-packed with people, so I think it’s a role that would be easy for me to adjust to.” (HerCampus 2014)
Candy Carson
- Bio: Candy Carson grew up in inner-city Detroit and graduated from Yale University in psychology and music with classes in pre-med. She went on to study at John Hopkins and earned her Masters in Business Administration. Candy is also gifted in music and played the violin at Ben Carson’s campaign kick-off. Candy and Ben have three sons and seven grandchildren.
- Causes: The Carson’s give scholarships to deserving students through their Carson Scholars Fund, awarding 6,700 scholarships. Candy has helped co-author four of her husband’s books and also was awarded the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.
- Quotable:“The calling of a neurosurgeon isn’t easy to live out, and Ben has been required to go above and beyond the call of duty many times,” she writes in her upcoming memoir, A Doctor in the House. “The life of a neurosurgeon’s wife isn’t much easier. But it’s all been worth it. Together, we’ve been through poverty, tragedy, wealth, and joy, and I’ve come to love Ben more as each year has passed.” (The Political Insider 2015)
Columba Bush
- Bio: Columba Bush grew up in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico to the parents of migrant workers. She attended a Catholic girls school, and met Jeb when she was only sixteen. At the time, Jeb was teaching English as a Second Language near her hometown. They were married in 1974 and have three children.
- Causes: As First Lady of Florida, Columba Bush championed the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. She has been vocal about alcohol and substance abuse throughout her public life.
- Quotable: “I did not ask to join a famous family… I simply wanted to marry a man that I loved.” (Washington Post 2015)
Mary Pat Christie
- Bio: Mary Pat Christie was the class president of the University of Delaware in 1995, following her husband who was class president in 1994. She went on to receive her MBA at Seton Hall University and began a career in investment banking. In 2015, she left her position from Angela, Gordon & Co to spend more time with her family. Mary and Chris have four children.
- Causes: During Hurricane Sandy, she took a three month leave from her job to run the Hurricane Sandy relief fund. She also launched New Jersey Heroes which recognizes non-profit organizations that are doing well in New Jersey
- Quotable: “I could see him transferring those skills on the national level, because he knows the issues so well and because he can really bring people together and forge compromise and get things done, he’s a real doer; he’s not just a talker… So much of what Chris and I have done over the years has been done as a team, so we decided to continue the tradition.” (CATS Roundtable 2015)
Karen Waldbillig (Kasich)
- Bio: Karen received her bachelor’s degree in communications from Ohio State University and pursued a career in marketing, public relations, and health care. She was Vice President at GSW Worldwide until she left to take care of her two daughters with John. John and Karen were married in 1997.
- Causes: Like First Lady Michelle Obama, Karen Kasich is passionate about healthcare and living a healthy life. She has created a program for local artists as First Lady and has also advocated for anti-drug programs as well as programs for the homeless. Her two initiatives are focused on healthy lifestyles for children.
- Quotable: “I tell him that all the time. This is his deal. He wants to run, and I want him to run, but it’s not my thing. Politics is not my thing. I’m not going to be the spouse that’s at every event, shaking every hand, going to all the Lincoln Day dinners. That was never me. There are spouses who live for this. I wouldn’t care if I never did it, other than I am supporting him. ” (The Columbus Dispatch 2015)
Kelley Paul
- Bio: Kelley Paul graduated from Rhodes College with degrees in English and communications. Kelley has worked as a political consultant, author and writer. She met Rand when he was a medical student at Duke University and they married in 1990 and have three boys.
- Causes: In Kentucky, Kelley raises money for wounded veterans charities. She is also busy with her work in political consulting
- Quotable: “He’s very optimistic and thinks anything can happen and isn’t really afraid to take risks,” she says. “And that’s great and exciting when you are in your 20s. But you realize how valuable that is with all of life’s ups and downs. Things happen; your kids get older, your parents get older; the older you get, the more challenges you are confronted with. And for me the thing that I have most loved and been grateful for in him as a husband is that he is always optimistic and doesn’t fall apart in a crisis.” (Vogue 2015)
Janet Huckabee
- Bio: Janet Huckabee grew up in Hope, Arkansas and was the fourth of five children. She met Mike in high school, and married him a year after graduating from high school in 1974. She unsuccessfully ran for Arkansas Secretary of State in 2002, the same year her husband was running for his second term as governor. After her campaign, Janet attended John Brown University and received her degree in organizational management. Janet and Mike have three children. She is known for being a “tomboy” and enjoys bungy jumping, playing basketball, jet skiing, and piloting airplanes.
- Causes: During Hurricane Katrina, Janet worked with Habitat for Humanity to develop residences for families who were displaced during the disaster.
- Quotable: “If it wasn’t for the grace of God, I’d have shot a few people already.” (Janet Huckabee in 2002 in regards to her campaign for Secretary of State)
Frank Fiorina
- Bio: Frank started out as a truck driver, according to Carly Fiorina, and eventually climbed his way up the corporate ladder to become an executive at AT&T. Frank retired at age 48 to take care of his daughters from a previous marriage and to support Carly in her political endeavors.
- Causes: Frank has said that if Carly were to win the White House he would focus on issues such as the military and substance abuse.
- Quotable: “People ask me, what’s it like being married to someone as powerful and as smart. It’s wonderful and it’s awful,” he joked to about 20 people gathered at a coffee shop in Marion, Iowa earlier this month. “Because everything she does is better than me.” (Associated Press 2015)
Karen Santorum
- Bio: Karen attended Duquesne University to major in nursing, and then University of Pittsburgh Law school where she met Rick. Karen never practiced law and instead became a full time mother and tutor to her seven home-schooled children.
- Causes: Karen is an advocate for family values and is staunchly pro life.
- Quotable: “There is no greater joy in life than to be a mother. It is the most important job I will ever have.”
