Edward Carlisle "Ted" Harrison

NS Nation Name: GF&V
Character Name: Edward Carlisle "Ted" Harrison
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 66
Character Role: Governor of New York
Appearance:

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Character State of Origin: New York
Character Affiliation: Republican
Main Strengths: Widely respected for his bi-partisanship, an eloquent speaker with a aristocratic flair. Very experienced, and calm, with a war record to boot. He has good knowledge for the issues and is seen as a moderate. Considered competent with a reputation of strong management. He is a powerful regional power broker for the GOP in the North East.
Main Weaknesses: Older, with ties to the establishment. A long history and record, with a little bit of a rocky relationship with the hard right.
Short Bio: Born on September 7th, 1950, Teddy Harrison was born to an upper class, wealthy family. His father was a shipping magnate and his mother a premier New York socialite. Harrison grew up going to the best highschools, and despite being accepted into Columbia University, Harrison joined the US Navy. As a young Lieutenant, Harrison served with distinction in Vietnam, aboard the USS Independence. However, Harrison was injured in combat in 1973, a bullet to the back. The wound forced him to have a kidney surgically removed, and he was honourably discharged with a Purple Heart. When he returned home to New York, Harrison re-entered Columbia, receiving a degree in Economics and International relations, he later received a law degree from Yale, though he never practiced law itself.

In 1975, Teddy met his future wife, Caroline, and they had three children. Charles (b. 1979), Victoria (b. 1982), and Lauren (b. 1986). Caroline and Teddy are practicing Catholics. In 1976, Teddy volunteered on Gerald Ford's Primary race, and later, in 1980, on George H.W. Bush'. His strong military record and education prompted numerous calls for him to jump into electoral politics. In the 1984 congressional elections, Harrison ran in New Yorks 20th congressional District, and won in a romp, riding the coat tails of Ronald Reagan into office. As a Representative, Harrison focused on community outreach, and economic freedoms. He supported Vice-President Bush in the 1988 GOP primary, but was later a less than enthusiastic surrogate, finding the scorched earth tactics of Lee Atwater highly distasteful. He was re-elected in 1994 with a huge majority, and became one of the highest ranking Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee. In 2000, with the resignation of Patrick Moynihan, Harrison ran for the Senate in New York. In the tight electoral race, Harrison only just lost, winning 48.8% of the Vote, to 49.2% for the Democrats. The loss humbled the Congressman, and he resigned his seat in 2004, to spend more time with his family.

After 20 years in House, Harrison was drafted once again to be the GOP nominee for the 2006 New York Gubernatorial election. The race was seen as a Democratic lock, but a shockingly good debate performance, combined with a strong campaign surged Harrison to victory, winning 52.7% of the vote. He was re-elected for his second term in 2010 with an even larger share of the vote, and for a third, and what is rumored to be a final, term in 2014, with 61.1% of the vote. His wild popularity in his home state, a usually Democratic state to boot, has made him a perennial option for the GOP Presidential nomination, a chance he never full took.
Other Info: A powerful leader for Northeastern Democrats .