Problem: The out-of-office political party needed to vet potential vice presidential candidates to ensure that no problems would surface after one of them was nominated.
Action: Fairfax developed a comprehensive questionnaire and asked each candidate to complete it and grant Fairfax access to his or her financial data and other pertinent sources of information. Prospective candidates were also asked to execute a non-disclosure agreement. Once we received the completed questionnaire, we undertook an extremely thorough, detailed background investigation of each candidate that included examination of banking and other financial records and interviews with family members, friends, neighbors, and past and present business associates. We also conducted extensive research into such public and private sources as voting records, litigation history, regulatory checks, licensing applications and approvals, and correspondence.
Result: While many politicians touted their own candidacy, the party ultimately considered only those candidates vetted by Fairfax. None were found to have any issues that precluded a nomination. And unlike some other campaigns, there were no surprises; during the general election campaign, neither the press nor the opposition discovered anything that had not already been found and addressed during the vetting process.