Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is a former ambassador to the United Nations who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in the 1996 U.S. Presidential Election and 2000 U.S. Presidential Election.
In 1979, Keyes received a PhD in government from Harvard University. He joined the U.S. Department of State in 1978, as a protege of U.N. ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick in the Ronald Reagan administration, staying put there until 1987 after disagreement on U.N. funding. Kirkpatrick was viewed as a mentor to Keyes. He was a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In spite of Keyes' experience as a U.N. ambassador, he has been critical of the U.N. itself.
After resigning, Keyes ran for the U.S. Senate in 1988, losing to Democratic incumbent Paul Sarbanes of Maryland; Keyes had 38% of the vote. He ran again for the Senate in 1992, once again losing to Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski.
In spite of his losses in runs for the Senate, Keyes — a devout Roman Catholic — became the host of a radio talk-show, America's Wake-Up Call: The Alan Keyes Show, which was nationally syndicated, and broadcasted out of a studio in Owings Mills, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. The show strongly championed conservative causes, which included opposition to abortion and gay rights, abolishing the income tax, supporting gun rights, and decrying the separation of church and state. He has even criticized the GOP's leadership during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
In 1996, Keyes ran for President of the United States, but he lost in the race to Bob Dole. Keyes ran again in 2000, staying in the race until he lost to George W. Bush.
Keyes is married to his wife, Jocelyn, and has three children, which are Francis, Maya, and Andrew.