Wendy E. Long

Wendy Elizabeth Long (née Stone; born 1960) is an American litigation attorney. She was the nominee of the Republican Party and The Conservative Party of New York State in November 2012 for the United States Senate in New York. She lost the general election to incumbent Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.

Education
Following her graduation from Dartmouth College, Long attended Northwestern University School of Law, where she served as an editor of the Northwestern University Law Review. During her third year of law school, Long studied at Harvard. Long graduated from Northwestern University School of Law, cum laude and Order of the Coif, in 1995. Long has also studied as a Publius Fellow at the Claremont Institute.

Career
Long served as a law clerk for Judge Ralph K. Winter on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City, and then clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. Long later served as a litigation partner for the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, LLP in New York City.

In 2005, Long helped to found the The Judicial Confirmation Network (now known as the Judicial Crisis Network), where she served as chief counsel. Long has advanced the cause of judicial restraint through extensive media and public speaking, participated in discussion and debate on U.S. Circuit Court and U.S. Supreme Court nominations, and led public support or opposition to judicial nominations; Long supported the confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States. Long also played a prominent role in opposing the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Since 2007, Long has been a legal advisor to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Long has also served as press secretary for two Republican U.S. Senators, William L. Armstrong from Colorado and Gordon J. Humphrey from her native New Hampshire.

2012 Senate Candidacy
Long challenged Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the November 6, 2012 general election for United States Senate. On March 16, 2012, Long received 47% of the New York State Republican convention vote, with Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos receiving 27% and Congressman Bob Turner receiving 25%; all three candidates attained access to the ballot for the Republican primary. Long prevailed by a sizeable margin in the June 26 Republican primary, receiving 50.9% of the vote; Turner received 35.6% of the vote and Maragos 13.5%. Long was designated as the nominee for the Conservative Party of New York State, having received 91% percent of the delegate vote at the Conservative Party's state convention; thus, Long appeared on both the Republican and Conservative lines in the November 6 general election for U.S. Senate.

Long's U.S. Senate candidacy was endorsed by National Republican Senate Committee chairman Senator John Cornyn, former Governor George Pataki, former Representative Rick Lazio, Representative Bob Turner, Grover Norquist, American Conservative Union PAC, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, The New York Post, former Conservative gubernatorial candidate Herbert London, National Organization for Marriage, the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms PAC, and several current and former Republican candidates and elected officials. Long also carried the support of Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum political action committee.

Long lost the general election for United States Senate to Kirsten Gillibrand by more than 40%.

Personal life
Long was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, as Wendy Elizabeth Stone. She married Arthur S. Long in 1998. Long resides in New York City with her husband and their two children. She is not related to Michael R. Long, the chairman of the Conservative Party of New York State.

Long is a current member of the Board of Trustees of Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York. She is an active member of the Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan and serves as a catechism teacher. Long also serves as a member of the New York City Parks Mounted Auxiliary Unit.