By wplog

Published Monday, Dec. 3, 2007 | 3:30 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008 | 1:39 p.m.

(Tancredo dropped out of the presidential race for the Republican nomination on Dec. 20, 2007. See a video of his explanation on his campaign Web site.)

Party: Republican

Political Position: U.S. Representative from Colorado (1999-present)

Age: 61

Tancredo's Credentials: If ever there was a presidential candidate closely linked to one issue, it would be Tom Tancredo, a conservative U.S. congressman who represents Colorado's 6th District. Tancredo has made a name for himself nationally by constantly beating the drum against immigration — both legal and illegal. Tancredo said he entered the race because the other candidates were not pursuing the issue to his satisfaction.

The grandson of Italian immigrants, he favors strictly enforcing existing immigration laws and has even tried to deport a high school student scholar whose parents were here illegally from Mexico after the student publicly complained he couldn't get in-state tuition in Colorado.

A lifelong resident of the Denver area, Tancredo was active in the GOP during his college years and spoke in favor of the Vietnam war, although he was personally given a deferment because of depression. After getting a political science degree, he became a junior high school teacher in the Denver area.

Tancredo won a seat in 1976 in the Colorado Legislature and served two two-year terms. While there he spearheaded efforts to fight bilingual education. In 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan appointed him as a regional representative of the U.S. Department of Education. Tancredo served in that position until 1993, then joined a conservative think tank based in Golden, Colo., where he stayed until running for Congress in 1998.

Date of Birth: Dec. 21, 1945

Place of Birth: Denver, Colo.

Home: Littleton, Colo.

Spouse: Jackie Tancredo

Children: Ray Tancredo, Randy Tancredo

Religion: Evangelical Presbyterian

Education: University of Northern Colorado, B.A., political science, 1968.

Experience: U.S. House of Representatives, Colorado District 6, 1999-present; U.S. Department of Education, regional representative, 1981-1993;

Colorado State House of Representatives, 1976-1982.

Notables: Taught junior high civics from 1968-1981. When elected in 1998 to the U.S. House of Representatives, Tancredo said he would only serve two terms, but in September of 2002 announced he would break his two-term pledge.

Sun Archives: Editorial: Foreign policy problem

Tancredo on the Issues: A look at where Tancredo stands on the issues and how he has voted.

Nevada Contributions: A breakdown of Tancredo's financial contributions from the Silver State.

State by State Contributions: A breakdown of Tancredo's financial contributions acoss the U.S.

Tancredo's MySpace page: Read Tancredo's profile information and leave a message.

Tancredo's Flickr page: View Tancredo's photos from the campaign trail.

YouTube Videos: View Tancredo's latest campaign videos.

Tancredo's blog: View Tancredo's official campaign blog.

Contact Info:

Tancredo for A Secure America

P.O. Box 7204

McLean, VA 22106

Campaign Manager: Tim Haley and more key people.

Web site: http://teamtancredo.org

— Las Vegas Sun intern Jenna Kohler and new media managing editor Dave Toplikar compiled this report.