George Perry Mahoney - was an Irish American

Irish American

Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...

 Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from the state of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, mostly famous as the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 nominee for Governor

Governor of Maryland

The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

 in 1966 by his campaign slogan, "Your Home Is Your Castle; Protect It".

He was born in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 as son of William D. Mahoney and Matilda "Cook" Mahoney. He married his wife Abigail Catherine O'Donnell (died in 1963) on November 24, 1927, and later Ann Matilda Fagg. He worked as an engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

 and a construction executive and real estate developer.

Under Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 Herbert O'Conor

Herbert O'Conor

Herbert Romulus O'Conor , a Democrat, was the 51st Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1939 to 1947. He also served in the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1947 to 1953....

 (a fellow Irishman from Baltimore's 10th Ward), Mahoney was appointed as a member on the State Racing Commission where he made a name for himself accusing the industry of fixing horse races by injecting horses with stimulants and narcotics. He was later named Chairman by Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 O'Conor. In 1950 he served as a member of the Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...

 from Maryland. Later he ran unsuccessfully for nominations for Governor in 1950, 1954 and 1962, and to the U.S. Senate (1952, 1956, 1958, 1970).

Mahoney was also a delegate from Maryland for Democratic National Conventions in 1952, 1956, 1960 and 1964.

He won the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1966. However, as a member of the Dixiecrat

Dixiecrat

The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States in 1948...

-style segregationist wing of party he lost the support of many Democratic voters, who instead favored the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 candidate, Baltimore County Executive

Baltimore County Executive

The Baltimore County Executive is the highest elected official representing the government of Baltimore County, Maryland. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for Baltimore County on December 6, 1956...

 Spiro Agnew

Spiro Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...

 (who in 1969 became Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 under Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

). Agnew won the election.

In 1968 Mahoney ran for a Senate seat again, this time not as a Democrat, but with the support of George Wallace

George Wallace

George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...

 and his segregationist American Independent Party

American Independent Party

The American Independent Party is a right-wing political party of the United States that was established in 1967 by Bill and Eileen Shearer. In 1968, the American Independent Party nominated George C. Wallace as its presidential candidate and retired Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay as the vice...

, but lost.

Mahoney was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians

Ancient Order of Hibernians

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be Catholic and either Irish born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836...

, Elks and Friendly Sons of St. Patrick

Friendly Sons of St. Patrick

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, or The Society of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland, is an American social organization for Irish-Americans founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 17 , 1771.General Stephen Moylan was one of society's organizers and...

. He died in Baltimore, Maryland.