United States of America in 2008 | |
Political party: | Republican |
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State: | Illinois |
Opponent(s): | John McCain others |
Born: | July 15, 1955 Chicago, Illinois |
John H. Cox, 52. is the first announced candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2008. He made an announcement of his candidacy in March, 2006.
Cox was born, raised and educated in Chicago. His stepfather, Thomas Cox, was a lifelong postal employee and his mother, Priscilla, was a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools.
He rose from modest beginnings to successful careers as an attorney and accountant. He also founded an investment advisory firm, a real estate management company and a venture capital firm.
In the 1990's, John led the investment group that purchased Jays Foods, a major regional food manufacturer, saving over 600 local jobs. He recruited and led a team of managers who turned a $17 million loss into a $3 million profit in less than a year.
He has served on a local school board, a zoning board and on the boards of charities such as the American Cancer Society, Boy’s Hope/Girls Hope and United Charities.
John currently sits on the board of the USO and Fireworks for Kids Foundation.
John is the father of four daughters; Sarah, Stephanie, Shannon and Julianne. He and his wife, the former Sarah Hall, reside in Chicago.
He is the author of Politics, Inc , which urges changing American politics by fostering the principles of statesmanship in our elected officials.
Political involvement[]
Cox served as president of the Cook County (IL) Republican Party and helped with former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp’s presidential run in Illinois in 1988. The conservative businessman has sought office in the heavily "blue" state of Illinois twice, when he ran for the Republican nomination in the 10th Congressional District in Illinois in 2000 and for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2002.
He is currently campaigning for president in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. According to his Website [1], he is making almost monthly trips to each of these early primary or caucus states.
Issues[]
John Cox says he is a "Reagan Republican" who favors [[less taxes and free market approaches to solving our problems. He is cam on elmininating the IRS and replacing the tax code with a "fair tax" (national sales/consumption tax), cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, and encouraging the Iraqis to pay for their own reconstruction with oil revenues. He supports drilling in the ANWR section of Alaska, and wants to find more diverse energy sources. He is also pro-life. He often speaks of the "career politicians" he is hoping to replace in Washington, several of whom will likely be running against him in the presidential race by early next year.