Tom Tancredo

official photo of Tom Tancredo

Birth Name: Thomas Gerard Tancredo

Place of Birth: Denver, Colorado, U.S.

Date of Birth: December 20, 1945

Ethnicity: Italian

Tom Tancredo is an American politician. As a Republican, he was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado, from January 3, 1999 to January 3, 2009.

He was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2008.

Tom is the son of Adeline (Lombardi) and Gerald Tancredo. He is married to Jackie, with whom he has two children.

Tom’s paternal grandfather was named Joseph Tancredo. Joseph was Italian, and was born in Potenza, Basilicata.

Tom’s paternal grandmother was named Lena/Lane Antonio. Lena was born in Colorado, to Italian parents.

Tom’s maternal grandfather was named Anthony Lombardi. Anthony was Italian.

Tom’s maternal grandmother was named Lena. Lena was Italian.

Three people of significant Italian heritage have won a caucus, primary, and/or nominating ballot for a major American party’s Presidential nomination. The three are:
*Al Smith (who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States in 1928, and was also a candidate for the 1920, 1924, and 1932 Democratic nominations for President: in 1928, he won 12 contests; in 1932, he won 4 contests; Smith’s paternal grandfather was Italian)
*Michael DiSalle (1960; Democratic; won 1 state, Ohio)
*Rick Santorum (Republican; ran in 2012 and 2016: in 2012, he won 11 contests; Santorum is of three quarters Italian descent)

Ted Cruz, whose maternal great-grandfather was Italian, won 11 contests in the 2016 Republican Party primaries.

Other people of significant Italian heritage who have mounted plausible or semi-plausible campaigns for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States are:
*John A. Volpe (who sought the 1968 Republican nomination)
*James Traficant (who sought the 1988 Democratic nomination; Traficant’s father was of Italian descent)
*Rudy Giuliani (who sought the 2008 Republican nomination)
*George Pataki (who sought the 2016 Republican nomination; Pataki’s maternal grandfather was Italian)
*Chris Christie (who sought the 2016 and 2020 Republican nominations; Christie’s mother was of Italian descent)
*Richard Ojeda (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Ojeda’s mother is of at least three quarters Italian descent)
*Tim Ryan (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Ryan’s mother is of Italian descent)
*Bill de Blasio (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; de Blasio’s mother was of Italian descent)
*Ron DeSantis (who sought the 2024 Republican nomination)

Geraldine Ferraro, who was of Italian descent, was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1984.

Sources: Genealogy of Tom Tancredo – http://www.wargs.com

Tom’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Tom’s mother on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org