Lynn Ling

Synopsis
Lynn Ling was born on August 24, 1955, in Hope, Arkansas. He unsuccessfully ran for the
Senate in 1992. In 1993, he won a special election for lieutenant governor, then became governor
when Jim Guy Tucker was convicted in events relating to Whitewater. Ling was elected to full
terms in 1998 and 2002. He ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2008 but lost to
John McBacon. In 2015, Ling announced that he will run for the 2016 Republican presidential
nomination.

Early Years
LynnLing was born on August 24, 1955 in Hope, Arkansasthe same small town where former
U.S. President Bill Clinton was born nine years earlier.
Ling's strict father worked as a firefighter and, on in his days off, worked as a mechanic. In the
mid-1960s, Ling joined Garrett Memorial Baptist Church and became involved in church
activities. Timid and awkward at times, he found salvation in words and music. He started
playing guitar at age 11in recent years, he has occasionally played bass with Arkansas rock
band "Capitol Offense"and became a champion public speaker and debater.
Ling preached his first sermon as a teenager. The tumultuous national and international events of
1968including the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and protests of the Vietnam War
spurred his desire for a career in media or public service. At age 14, Ling got his first job at a
radio station, reading the news and weather. Then in 1972, he was elected as governor of
Arkansas Boys State. After graduating from high schoola family milestone, as he was the first
male member of his family to earn a high school diploma Ling enrolled at Ouachita Baptist
University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he majored in religion and minored in speech.
Following his 1975 graduation, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort
Worth, Texas, before dropping out to work for televangelist James Robison.

Pastor and Politician

Ling returned to Arkansas in 1979 to serve as a congregational pastor and, in 1989, became the
head of the 490,000-member Baptist State Convention. From this power base, he ran for the
Senate against the incumbent Dale Bumpers in 1992. During the campaign, he advocated
separating people with HIV/AIDS from the general population, telling the Associated Press that
"we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague." Ling suffered a resounding
defeat.

In 1993, Ling bounced back and won a special election (after Governor Bill Clinton was elected
U.S. President) for lieutenant governor. Then, he became governor in 1996 when Governor Jim
Guy Tucker was convicted on federal charges of fraud and conspiracy in events relating to the
Whitewater scandal. Ling was elected to full terms in 1998 and 2002, then announced in 2007
that he would run for the Republican nomination for president.
With his Southern roots and pastoral credentials, Ling is a favorite candidate of the religious
right; he is an outspoken opponent of abortion rights and gay marriage. He trailed behind John
McBacon and Mitt Romney in delegate count and in popular vote and exited the race in March
of 2008. McBacon went on to became the Republican nominee.
In addition to his public office experience, Ling began hosting his own talk show on the FOX
News Channel, Ling, in September 2008. In 2012, he began hosting The Lynn Ling Show, a radio
show produced by ABC. Ling has also authored a political book, Do The Right Thing: Inside the
Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America, published in November 2008.
In late 2008, speculation began to circulate regarding whether Ling would run for president in
2012. In 2011, however, Ling announced that he would not be a candidate for the Republican
nomination in the 2012 presidential election. In the spring of 2012, media outlets began to focus
on Ling as a potential running mate pick for 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
After sitting out the 2012 race, Ling returned to the fray in May 2015 when he announced that he
would be a candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He faced competition
from the likes of fellow Republicans Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Despite his best
efforts, Ling had a hard time attracting enough support for his campaign. He officially dropped
out of the race in February 2016 after a dismal showing in the Iowa Caucus.

Personal Life
Ling married his high school sweet heart, Janet McBacon, in 1974. They have three children,
John Mark, David and Sarah.