Tom Tancredo Bio
Thomas Gerard Tancredo (born 20 December 1945) is an American politician from Colorado who represented the state’s sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009. A longtime conservative activist and former teacher, he mounted a 2008 presidential campaign focused on illegal immigration and national security. He was the Constitution Party’s nominee for Governor of Colorado in 2010 and has run in subsequent Colorado gubernatorial contests.
Early Life and Background
Thomas Gerard Tancredo was born on 20 December 1945 in Denver, Colorado, the son of Gerald Tancredo and Adeline Lombardi. All four of his grandparents emigrated from Italy, and he grew up in the predominantly Italian neighborhood of North Denver. He attended St. Catherine’s Elementary School and Holy Family High School in the Denver area.
Tancredo went on to study at the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned a degree in political science. During his college years, he was active with the College Republicans and the conservative organization Young Americans for Freedom. These early experiences helped shape his lifelong commitment to conservative political causes.
After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado, Tancredo became eligible for service in Vietnam in June 1969. He has said he went for his physical, told doctors he had been treated for depression, and eventually received a 1-Y deferment. Following his college years, he began a career in education that would eventually lead him into the political arena.
Path to US Politics
Tancredo’s interest in politics traces back to the eighth grade, when he played Fidel Castro in a class assignment. After college, he became a history teacher at Drake Junior High School in Arvada, where he also met his future wife, Jackie, who was also a teacher. In 1976, while still teaching, he ran for and won a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives.
He served two terms in the Colorado state legislature from 1977 to 1981, becoming one of the leaders of a vocal group of conservative legislators who opposed the policies of Colorado Governor Dick Lamm. During the 1970s, Tancredo pioneered opposition to bilingual education, an issue that would remain a defining feature of his political orientation throughout his career.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Tancredo as the regional representative in Denver for the Department of Education. He continued in that role through President George H. W. Bush’s administration, leaving the position in 1992 after having pared the office’s staff from 225 to 60 employees. In 1993, he became president of the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank in Golden, Colorado, and was a leader in the Colorado term limits movement before his election to Congress.
Tom Tancredo Career
Early Career (1977–1992)
Tom Tancredo’s political career began in 1976 when he won a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives while teaching history at Drake Junior High School. He served two terms in the state legislature, where he established himself as a conservative voice and a leader among Republicans who opposed Governor Dick Lamm’s policies. His early work on issues like bilingual education set the foundation for his later national profile.
His transition from state to federal service came in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the regional representative for the Department of Education in Denver. He served in this role for over a decade, continuing through the administration of President George H. W. Bush until 1992. During that time, he significantly reduced the size of the regional office staff.
US House of Representatives Breakthrough (1999–2009)
After Dan Schaefer decided not to run for a seventh full term in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District in 1998, Tancredo narrowly won a five-way Republican primary and went on to win the general election. He was only the second person to represent the 6th District since its creation in 1983. Despite an earlier promise to serve only three terms, he decided to run for a fourth term and won re-election, ultimately serving five terms in Congress.
Tom Tancredo is perhaps best known for his strong opposition to illegal immigration. In May 1999, he founded the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus and served as its chairman until January 2007, when he turned the chairmanship over to Brian Bilbray. He called for halting illegal immigration and proposed a three-year moratorium on legal immigration, and he sponsored legislation to eliminate H-1B visas for temporary workers in 2005.
His outspoken advocacy for immigration reform, and his criticism of President George W. Bush’s border security policies, reportedly made him a controversial figure within his own party. He clashed with White House political adviser Karl Rove, who allegedly called him a traitor to the party and to the president. Despite this, Tancredo continued to push his causes and sponsored the Sudan Peace Act, which passed the House 359-8 and was signed into law on 21 November 2002.
Presidential Campaign and Gubernatorial Runs (2007–2018)
On 2 April 2007, Tom Tancredo announced on 1040 WHO Talk Radio in Iowa that he would seek the Republican nomination for president in 2008, focusing on illegal immigration as his signature issue. He participated in multiple Republican debates and at one point took first place in the American Conservative Union ratings with a lifetime ranking of 99 out of 100. On his 62nd birthday, 20 December 2007, he ended his candidacy and endorsed Mitt Romney.
After his presidential run, Tancredo decided against seeking re-election to Congress. In 2010, he ran for Governor of Colorado on the American Constitution Party ticket, selecting Pat Miller as his running mate. He placed second in the election with 36.5 percent of the vote, well ahead of the Republican Party nominee Dan Maes. He re-registered as a Republican in January 2011.
Tancredo announced another run for governor in 2014 as a Republican, citing his opposition to Governor John Hickenlooper’s gun control legislation and the granted stay of execution for Nathan Dunlap. He lost the Republican primary to Bob Beauprez, who went on to lose the general election. In 2015, he left the Republican Party again to become an Independent. He announced a third gubernatorial run as a Republican in October 2017, but withdrew from the race on 30 January 2018.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Tom Tancredo’s most notable career moments was the founding of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus in 1999 and his role as a leading national voice against illegal immigration for nearly a decade. His 2008 presidential campaign, while ultimately unsuccessful, helped elevate the immigration debate within the Republican Party and showcased his combative political style.
Tom Tancredo Career Wins
Throughout his political career, Tom Tancredo won multiple elections in Colorado, including his initial 1976 state legislative race, five U.S. House terms from 1999 to 2009, and later gubernatorial campaigns. His electoral wins were driven largely by his conservative platform and his outspoken stance on immigration, term limits, and federalism.
Congressional Highlights
Tom Tancredo won his first congressional race in 1998 after a narrow victory in a five-way Republican primary for Colorado’s 6th Congressional District. He went on to win re-election multiple times, ultimately serving five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives until 2009. He founded and chaired the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus during this period, becoming one of the most recognizable immigration policy voices in Congress.
Other Wins and Achievements
Beyond his congressional service, Tancredo received the National Taxpayers Union’s Taxpayers’ Friend Award every year from 1999 to 2006 and earned an A grade from the organization for each of those years. He was also rated 97.8 percent by the American Conservative Union as of 2007 and received an A on the National Right to Life Committee report card. The Sudan Peace Act, which he sponsored, passed the House 359-8 and was signed into law on 21 November 2002.
Tom Tancredo Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Tom Tancredo was born to Gerald Tancredo and Adeline Lombardi, both of Italian descent. All four of his grandparents emigrated from Italy, and he grew up in the predominantly Italian neighborhood of North Denver. His Italian-American roots and working-class upbringing helped shape his conservative political values and his lifelong commitment to issues like immigration and national identity.
Personal Life
Tom Tancredo is married to Jackie Tancredo. The couple met as teachers at Drake Junior High School and married in 1977. They have two children and five grandchildren. A former Catholic, Tancredo now attends Cherry Hills Community Church, a congregation in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. In February 2009, The Denver Post reported that he had likely lost a significant amount of money invested in hedge funds with the Agile Group, a Boulder-based firm with substantial investments in Bernie Madoff’s investment firm.