7:02pm UK, Friday August 29, 2008

Republican John McCain has announced Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate and declared that her strong principles and fighting spirit will help him shake up Washington.

Tipped to run: Sarah Palin

Mrs Palin is Governor of Alaska and had not been considered in the running by many until recently.

McCain confirmed the choice of the 44-year-old today at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, on his 72nd birthday.

He said: “It’s with great pride that I tell you that I have found the right partner to help me shake up Washington and make it start working again for the people who are counting on us.

“She’s exactly who I need, she’s exactly who this country needs to help me fight.”

McCain and Palin will now face Democratic nominee Barack Obama and his number two, veteran Joe Biden, in the elections on November 4.

Palin told the rally she was honoured to be chosen and would be honoured to serve next to the “next President of the United States”.

McCain’s choice of Palin is being seen as an effort to attract disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton, who was defeated by Barack Obama in the race to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

Jon-Christopher Bua, Sky News’ Political Analyst, said McCain needed a “game changing figure” and Palin may be the one to break the traditional Republican mould.

She is also a “sweetheart” of the religious conservatives but on the downside has limited experience and could come off badly against Obama’s running mate Biden, he added.

Palin has led the oil-producing northwestern US state of Alaska since December 2006 and was the first woman and youngest person to hold the job.

Known as an anticorruption crusader, Palin studied journalism and is on the conservative wing of her party.

A married mother-of-five, she is an opponent of abortion rights, a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), and supporter of a pipeline to move natural gas across her sprawling state.

She is also an avid hunter, angler and reportedly enjoys tucking into a moose-burger.

If McCain were elected, his choice of Palin as a running mate would make her the first woman vice president in the United States.

Senator McCain is yet to be officially nominated at the Republican convention.

The four-day event is a mammoth undertaking with some 4,600 delegates and 10,000 members of the media expected.

The official job of a convention is to formally nominate the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as agree the party’s platform, or manifesto.