Paul Mitchell (politician)

Mitchell was born in Boston, Massachusetts. The oldest of six children, he was raised in Waterford Township, Michigan.

Mitchell graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in 1978.[2]

Paul Mitchell previously owned and operated Ross Medical Education Center.[3] He ran for the 32nd district seat in the Michigan State Senate in 2013 to succeed Roger Kahn,[4] but withdrew from the race.[5] He became the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition of Michigan, a conservative nonprofit foundation.[6] Mitchell led a campaign opposed to Proposal 1, a ballot proposition proposing a tax plan for roads, on the May 2015 ballot.[7][8]

Mitchell ran for the United States House of Representatives in Michigan's 4th congressional district in 2014, losing the Republican Party primary election to John Moolenaar.[9] He moved to Michigan's 10th congressional district in 2015 to run for the House of Representatives in that district, following Candice Miller's decision not to run for reelection.[3][10][11] He won the primary, defeating Phil Pavlov and Alan Sanborn.[12] Mitchell won the general election, defeating Frank Accavitti.[13]

Mitchell assumed office on January 3, 2017. He was a member of the Republican Study Committee.[14] He voted in favor of the unsuccessful American Health Care Act of 2017, which would have repealed the Affordable Care Act and replaced it with another program.[15]

In July 2019, Mitchell announced he would not seek a third term in Congress, citing the "rhetoric and vitriol" of the federal government, a desire to spend more time with his family, and health issues.[16]

Shortly after a post on Twitter was sent by President Donald Trump on July 14, telling four female, minority, first-term congressional representatives to "go back" to their countries of origin, Mitchell called a fellow House GOP leader and asked him to persuade Trump to cease his rhetoric.[17] Mitchell said, "It's the wrong thing for a leader to say", and he told the leader, "It's politically damaging to the party, to the country."[18] A few days later, while Mitchell waited to go on to a prime-time television network appearance, he saw a clip of Trump rally attendees chanting, "send her back," aimed at one of the congresswomen, Ilhan Omar.[18] Mitchell asked an aide, "How do I even respond to this on TV?" For Mitchell, the final straw was the refusal of Trump staffers to listen.[18] Mitchell begged Vice President Mike Pence, and the Vice President's Chief of Staff Marc Short to arrange a one-on-one conversation between Mitchell and Trump to address his misgivings.[17]

On November 29, 2020, Mitchell tweeted a response to a tweet by Trump claiming rigged elections: "Oh my God. . @realDonaldTrump Please for the sake of our Nation please drop these arguments without evidence or factual basis. #stopthestupid".[19] The hashtag is a reference to "stop the steal", a slogan used by Trump supporters who claimed that the election had been stolen from Trump.[20]

On December 14, 2020, during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Mitchell announced he would no longer continue as a member of the Republican Party and would serve out the rest of his term in Congress as an independent.[21]

Mitchell moved to Saginaw County, Michigan, when he married his wife, Sherry Mitchell, in 2008. A longtime resident of Thomas Township, near Saginaw,[25] he purchased a home in Dryden Township to run for the 10th district seat in Congress.

In June 2021, Mitchell announced he had been diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer and underwent surgery to remove a mass and blood clot near his heart.[26] He died on August 15, 2021, aged 64.[27][28]

• List of United States representatives who switched parties

• Paul Mitchell at Curlie
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart