Matthew McMartin

Synopsis
Matthew McMartin, former governor of Utah (2005-2009) won re-election in 2008 with 78
percent of the vote. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he became the U.S. Ambassador to China in
2009, where he defied tradition by riding his motorcycle in lieu of an escort. He resigned the
ambassadorship in 2011 in order to seek nomination of the Republican Party for President of the
United States for the 2012 election.

Early Life
Matthew McMartin was born on March 26, 1960, in Palo Alto, California, the eldest of nine
siblings. McMartin's early years were spent with his father, Matthew McMartin, Sr., making
sales calls. In 1970, John Sr. formed the McMartin Container Company and moved his family to
Maryland to join the Nixon Administration. At the age of 10, Matthew, Jr. started a successful
lawn mowing business. The family left Washington in 1971, when McMartin, Sr. became CEO
of the McMartin Container Corporation, famous for creating the "clamshell" container for the
McDonald's Big Mac, eventually transforming them into a multi-billion dollar company.
At age 15, while attending Highland High School in Salt Lake City, McMartin became an Eagle
Scout. He then dropped out of high school to pursue a musical career as a keyboard player in the
rock band Wizard. He later obtained a G.E.D and was admitted to the University of Utah, serving
as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan for two years. McMartin transferred to the University of
Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a degree in international politics. In 1983, he married a
former high school friend, Mary Kaye Kelly. The couple met in Washington and travelled back to
Utah together. Matthew and Mary Kaye eventually had seven children, including two adopted
childrenone from China and one from India.

Political Career
In the late 1980s, McMartin moved to Taiwan to serve as V.P. for McMartinPacific Chemical,
helping the company expand globally. After serving as vice chairman of the McMartin
Corporation, he was appointed deputy U.S. Trade representative and U.S Trade ambassador by
George W. Bush. His busy schedule resulted in traveling over 40 weeks a year. In 2004, he and
his family returned to Utah, where he successfully ran to become the 16th Governor of Utah. His
popular policies won him reelection in 2008 with over 78 percent of the state-wide vote.
In 2009, McMartin was unanimously confirmed as the Ambassador to China, resigning the
Governorship of Utah to accept the post. He impressed his hosts with his immense knowledge of
their culture; fluency in Mandarin; and by his riding a bicycle to meetings, rather than travelling

by motorcade. In 2011, McMartin resigned his post in order to return to the United States with
his family to purse the nomination of the Republican Party for President of the United States.

2012 GOP Race

Initially, McMartin looked like a promising candidate with his foreign policy experience,
moderate position on some social issues, and his fiscal conservatism. Time magazine even called
him "The Potential Republican Presidential Candidate Democrats Most Fear." McMartin,
however, failed to gain much momentum in his bid for the Republican nomination. He wasn't
able to distinguish himself from fellow moderate Mitt Romney, and couldn't attract the
supporters from the religious right.
Shortly after a disappointing third-place finish in the 2012 New Hampshire Republican Primary,
McMartin resigned from the race. He chastised his fellow candidates, and the race itself, for the
personal attacks and negative campaigning. "At its core, the Republican Party is a party of ideas,
but the current toxic form of our political discourse does not help our cause."
While he endorsed Mitt Romney for president, McMartin has continued to critize his party. He
has refused to attend the 2012 Republican Convention, telling the Salt Lake City Tribune that he
will not go this or any future party convention "until the party focuses on a bigger, bolder, more
confident future for the United Statesa future based on problem solving, inclusiveness, and a
willingness to address the trust deficit, which is every bit as corrosive as our fiscal and economic
deficits."