George Elmer Pataki Bio
George Elmer Pataki (born June 24, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 53rd Governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. A moderate Republican, he previously served in the New York State Assembly and State Senate and as Mayor of Peekskill. After leaving the governorship, he worked in law and energy consulting and briefly sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Pataki is remembered for cutting state taxes, presiding over New York’s response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, expanding health coverage for low-income residents, and raising the state’s credit rating three times. He is the most recent Republican to win the New York governorship and, together with his second Lieutenant Governor Mary Donohue, remains the last Republican elected to statewide office in the state.
Early Life and Background
George Elmer Pataki was born on June 24, 1945, in Peekskill, New York, to Louis P. Pataki, a mailman and volunteer fire chief, and Margaret Lagana. His paternal grandfather, János Pataki, emigrated from the Kingdom of Hungary in 1908 and worked in a hat factory, while his maternal grandfather, Matteo Laganà, came from Calabria, Italy. Pataki grew up alongside an older brother, Louis, in a tight-knit household shaped by his Hungarian, Italian, and Irish roots.
After graduating from Peekskill High School, Pataki entered Yale University in 1963 on an academic scholarship and earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1967. At Yale he chaired the Conservative Party of the Yale Political Union and took part in campus debates. He then received his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1970, setting the stage for a career that would blend public service and the law.
Path to US Politics
Pataki began his political ascent in Peekskill, the Hudson Valley city where he had grown up. While practicing law at the Peekskill firm Plunkett and Jaffe, he became close friends with Michael C. Finnegan, who would go on to manage his campaigns for mayor, the State Assembly, the State Senate, and the governorship. Their partnership laid the foundation for nearly every legislative success Pataki would later achieve in Albany.
He first won elected office in November 1981, defeating Democratic incumbent Fred Bianco Jr. with 70 percent of the vote to become Mayor of Peekskill, and was re-elected in 1983 with 74 percent. The following year he moved to the New York State Assembly, where he represented the 91st District from 1985 to 1992. In 1992 he challenged seven-term Republican State Senator Mary B. Goodhue in a primary, won the seat, and served one term in the State Senate before launching his successful run for governor in 1994.
George Elmer Pataki Career
Early Career (1981–1994)
Pataki’s first major political role came in 1981 when he was elected Mayor of Peekskill. His strong margins in that race and his 1983 re-election established him as a rising figure in Westchester County politics and prepared him for a move to statewide office.
In November 1984 he won a seat in the New York State Assembly by defeating one-term Democratic incumbent William J. Ryan with 53 percent of the vote. He went on to win re-election in 1986, 1988, and 1990, with vote shares of 63 percent, 74 percent, and more than 90 percent respectively. After winning a State Senate seat in 1992, he spent two years building a statewide profile and networks that would carry him into the 1994 governor’s race.
1994 Gubernatorial Breakthrough (1994–1998)
Pataki entered the 1994 race as a first-term state senator and a decided underdog against three-term Governor Mario Cuomo. His campaign received a major boost when U.S. Senator Al D’Amato endorsed him, and he easily won the Republican primary over former State Republican Chairman Richard Rosenbaum. He selected academic Betsy McCaughey, known for her critique of the Clinton health care plan, as his running mate.
Polls showed Cuomo ahead by as many as ten points in the final two weeks, but Pataki closed the gap by challenging Cuomo’s pursuit of a fourth term and pledging to serve only two terms himself. He narrowly defeated Cuomo in the general election, taking 48.8 percent to Cuomo’s 45.5 percent, with Independence candidate Tom Golisano receiving 4.2 percent. The victory made Pataki the first Republican elected Governor of New York since Nelson Rockefeller, and it launched him onto the national stage.
1998 and 2002 Re-election Campaigns (1998–2006)
Pataki entered the 1998 race as the clear front-runner and won unopposed in the Republican primary. He paired with new running mate Judge Mary Donohue after dropping McCaughey from the ticket. Facing Democratic nominee Peter Vallone and Independence Party nominee Tom Golisano, Pataki won a second term with 54.3 percent of the vote, his highest share in any gubernatorial race.
Despite his earlier pledge to serve only two terms, Pataki ran for re-election in 2002 with Donohue once again as his running mate. He emphasized continuity after the September 11 attacks and his work on the recovery. He won the general election with 49.4 percent of the vote against State Comptroller Carl McCall, who took 33.5 percent, and Golisano. The 2002 contest was the last time a Republican was elected Governor of New York, and Pataki remains the most recent Republican to win the office.
Post-Governorship and 2016 Presidential Campaign (2006–Present)
After leaving office in 2006, Pataki joined the law firm Chadbourne and Parke in New York, focusing on its renewable energy practice. He also formed the Pataki-Cahill Group, an environmental consulting firm with his former chief of staff John Cahill, and in 2010 launched Revere America, a nonprofit that advocated repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Pataki briefly entered the 2016 Republican presidential race, formally announcing his candidacy on May 28, 2015. His long-shot bid struggled to gain traction, and he withdrew on December 29, 2015, before the primaries began. He went on to endorse Florida Senator Marco Rubio and, after Rubio’s exit, Ohio Governor John Kasich. In later years he has remained a vocal critic of the Cuomo and Hochul administrations and, in 2022, endorsed Republican Lee Zeldin in the New York gubernatorial race.
Notable Events and Milestones
Pataki’s most defining moment as governor came in the days and months following the September 11, 2001 attacks. He worked with New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to appoint the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which oversaw the distribution of nearly $10 billion in federal aid and the construction of what became the National September 11 Memorial. He also championed a major expansion of health coverage, the restoration of the death penalty, the Clean Water/Clean Air Environmental Bond Act, and a 2000 gun control law that was among the strictest in the nation at the time.
George Elmer Pataki Career Wins
George Elmer Pataki won three consecutive terms as Governor of New York, a feat that made him the most successful Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state in more than half a century. His victories spanned 12 years and gave him a record of legislative and electoral success that has not been matched by any New York Republican since.
Governorship Highlights
Pataki’s first gubernatorial win, in 1994, ended a long Democratic hold on the office and made him the first Republican elected governor since Nelson Rockefeller. His 1998 re-election, in which he captured 54.3 percent of the vote, was his strongest statewide performance, and his 2002 victory made him the only Republican to win three gubernatorial races in modern New York history.
Other Wins and Achievements
Before becoming governor, Pataki won two terms as Mayor of Peekskill (1981 and 1983) with commanding margins, four terms in the New York State Assembly (1984, 1986, 1988, 1990), and one term in the State Senate (1992). During his governorship he raised New York’s credit rating three times and signed more than 100 new criminal justice statutes.
George Elmer Pataki Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Pataki comes from a family of European immigrants. His paternal grandfather, János Pataki, left the Kingdom of Hungary in 1908 and worked in a hat factory, while his father, Louis P. Pataki, served as a mailman and volunteer fire chief. On his mother’s side, his grandfather Matteo Laganà emigrated from Calabria, Italy, and his grandmother Agnes Lynch came from County Louth, Ireland. Pataki has an older brother, Louis.
Personal Life
Pataki married his wife, Libby Pataki, in 1973, and the couple have four children. Their daughter, Allison Pataki, is a writer. Pataki is Catholic, holds an amateur radio license, and suffered a serious health scare in 2006 when a burst appendix led to a second surgery and a hospital stay at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. He has remained active in public life since leaving the governorship and continues to speak on issues of state and national concern.