Politics / Sarah Palin McCain Picks Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for Veep 42-year-old first-termer is first woman to serve on top GOP ticket By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff Posted Aug 29, 2008 10:04 AM CDT Copied At left, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announces her endorsement of Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, center, in his run for Alaska's congressional seat Friday, March 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen) John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP choice, NBC reports; McCain is expected to make the announcement at a rally in Ohio at noon today. Palin is a socially conservative mother of five who is both the state’s first woman governor and, at 42, its youngest. The pro-lifer, who's a former Miss Alaska contestant, will be the first woman to serve on a Republican presidential ticket and the first Alaskan to appear on a national ticket. She was elected in 2006, besting fellow Republican Frank Murkowski on a clean-government platform. (More Sarah Palin stories.) Get breaking news in your inbox. What you need to know, as soon as we know it. Sign up Report an error