ST PAUL (Minnesota), Sept 1: Republican vice presidential pick Sarah Palin revealed on Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant, in the latest bombshell to rock the Hurricane Gustav-curtailed Republican convention.

The surprise choice of Palin as White House hopeful John McCain’s running mate last week electrified the Republican Party’s social conservative base, in particular evangelical Christians who had been reluctant to back McCain.

On Monday Palin, a 44-year-old mother of five and an outspoken abortion foe, shook up the election campaign again by revealing that her teenage daughter was pregnant and planning to marry the baby’s father.

“Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned,” she said in a statement with her husband Todd.

“We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support,” they said.

“Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family.

“We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.” Pailin, the governor of Alaska, was holed up in the convention city St Paul on Monday with no public engagements scheduled.

McCain earlier flew into Philadelphia, as he monitored the fallout from Hurricane Gustav, which was hammering the Louisiana coast and prompted the Republican candidate to severely curtail the convention’s opening day.—AFP