John Swallow is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and politician

Politician

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

 who was a member of the Utah State House of Representatives and unsuccessfully ran against Democrat incumbent Jim Matheson

Jim Matheson

James David "Jim" Matheson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes eastern Salt Lake City....

 for a seat in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in 2002 and 2004.

Early life

At age nine, Swallow's father died in an accident. Afterwards, he lived with his maternal grandparents in Juneau, Alaska

Juneau, Alaska

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...

. When his mother married Richard Swallow he moved to Orem, Utah

Orem, Utah

Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and...

 where he adopted his step-dad's last name. After living in Utah the family moved to Nevada, and where Swallow's teenage years were spent on a farm.

At the age of 19, Swallow served on a Latter Day Saints Mission in Los Angeles, California where he learned to speak Spanish. He then earned both a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and a Law Degree from Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

. In 1985, Swallow married Suzanne Ceader, and after graduating from Brigham Young University moved to Sandy, Utah.

Politics

After working as a lawyer for several years, Swallow successfully ran for the Utah House of Representatives and continued serving as a State Representative for six consecutive years. In 2002 Swallow ran for a seat in the United States Congress and lost against Democrat incumbent Jim Matheson

Jim Matheson

James David "Jim" Matheson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes eastern Salt Lake City....

. Swallow made a second run for the US House in 2004, this time with the backing of the Club for Growth

Club for Growth

The Club for Growth is a politically conservative 527 organization active in the United States of America, with an agenda focussed on taxation and other economic issues, and with an affiliated political action committee . The Club advocates lower taxes, limited government, less government spending,...

, but again lost to Matheson.

After political office

In 2009 Swallow was made the Chief Deputy Attorney General of Utah for civil cases.