| | After earning his law degree, Allen served as clerk for a federal judge and then opened a law office in Charlottesville. Allen's first race for the Virginia House of Delegates was in 1979, two years after he graduated from law school. He placed third in a field of four candidates. He ran again in 1981 and won the election. The seat he held was the same one held by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. He was a delegate from 1982 to 1991, representing a district in Albemarle County. On November 5, 1991, Allen won a special election to fill the seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]] for Virginia's 7th District with 63% of the vote. On November 1993, Allen was elected the 67th Governor of Virginia, serving from 1994 to 1998. Allen could not run for re-election because Virginia's constitution does not allow a governor to succeed himself; as of 2006 Virginia is the only state that has such a provision. Governor Allen was elected to the Senate in November 2000, defeating the Democratic incumbent, [[Chuck Robb]]. George Allen was the only Republican to unseat a Democratic incumbent that year. He served on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Allen was frequently mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for the [[2008 Presidential Election]]. However, his 2006 defeat for his Senate seat help derail his potential candidacy. On December 10, 2006, Allen gave an interview in which he stated that he would not seek the 2008 nomination. He has been mentioned as a candidate for Governor of Virginia in 2009. Allen would be eligible to run since his two terms would be non-consecutive. | | After earning his law degree, Allen served as clerk for a federal judge and then opened a law office in Charlottesville. Allen's first race for the Virginia House of Delegates was in 1979, two years after he graduated from law school. He placed third in a field of four candidates. He ran again in 1981 and won the election. The seat he held was the same one held by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. He was a delegate from 1982 to 1991, representing a district in Albemarle County. On November 5, 1991, Allen won a special election to fill the seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]] for Virginia's 7th District with 63% of the vote. On November 1993, Allen was elected the 67th Governor of Virginia, serving from 1994 to 1998. Allen could not run for re-election because Virginia's constitution does not allow a governor to succeed himself; as of 2006 Virginia is the only state that has such a provision. Governor Allen was elected to the Senate in November 2000, defeating the Democratic incumbent, [[Chuck Robb]]. George Allen was the only Republican to unseat a Democratic incumbent that year. He served on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Allen was frequently mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for the [[2008 Presidential Election]]. However, his 2006 defeat for his Senate seat help derail his potential candidacy. On December 10, 2006, Allen gave an interview in which he stated that he would not seek the 2008 nomination. He has been mentioned as a candidate for Governor of Virginia in 2009. Allen would be eligible to run since his two terms would be non-consecutive. |
| − | On August 11, 2006, during his Senate reelection campaign, Allen used the word "macaca" to refer to S.R. Sidarth, who was filming the event as a "tracker" for the opposing Webb campaign. Sidarth is of [[Indian]] ancestry, but was born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia. Macaca means "monkey" in some [[African]] nations. Allen apologized and said that he did not know the meaning of the word. Allen was also subject to controversy when three of his college football teammates said that he had used the word "nigger" in college. [[Liberal]]s immediately made this a major issue. However, seven teammates have stated they do not recall any racist behavior on Allen's part. Allen dismissed the claims as "ludicrously false." | + | On August 11, 2006, during his Senate reelection campaign, Allen used the word "macaca" to refer to S.R. Sidarth, who was filming the event as a "tracker" for the opposing Webb campaign. Sidarth is of [[Indian]] ancestry, but was born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia. Macaca means "monkey" in some [[African]] nations. Allen apologized and said that he did not know the meaning of the word. |