Gary Lee Bauer (born May 4 1946, Covington, Kentucky) is a conservative American politician notable for his ties to several evangelical Christian groups and campaigns. Bauer received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown College and a law degree from Georgetown University. He served as Ronald Reagan's Undersecretary of Education from 1982 to 1987, and as an advisor on domestic policy from 1987 to 1988. While serving under Reagan, he was named Chairman of President Reagan's Special Working Group on the Family. His report, "The Family: Preserving America's Future," was presented to the President in December 1986.

Bauer served as the president of the Family Research Council from 1988-1999. He resigned from this position to run for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. He dropped out of the race after the primaries in February 2000. In 1996, he founded the Campaign for Working Families (CWF), a non-partisan Political Action Committee dedicated to electing pro-family, pro-life and pro-free enterprise candidates to federal and state offices. In addition to serving as the chairman of CWF, Bauer is also the president of American Values, a non-profit organization committed to defending life, traditional marriage, and equipping children with conservative values. . Gary Bauer was one of the signers of the Statement of Principles of Project for the New American Century (PNAC) on June 3, 1997.