Goldwater was born in Phoenix, Arizona.
Goldwater entered politics in 1949. He served as a Senator from the State of Arizona, from 1953 to 1965 and again from 1969 to 1987. He was the Republican candidate for the Presidency in the 1964 election, losing to Lyndon Johnson.
Before Goldwater, the Republican Party was not clearly committed to political conservatism. He alarmed even some of his fellow partisans with his brand of staunch fiscal conservatism and militant anti-Communism. After boldly declaring in a 1964 speech that "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice ...", Goldwater was painted as a dangerous figure by the incumbent Johnson administration, which countered Goldwater's slogan "In your heart, you know he's right" with the line "In your guts, you know he's nuts." Goldwater garnered only thirty-nine percent of the election day vote, but he changed the Republican Party forever.
Goldwater died in Paradise Valley, Arizona.