Paul Mitchell (politician)

Mitchell was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up as the oldest of six children in Waterford Township, Michigan. He graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in 1978.[3] Mitchell owned and operated Ross Medical Education Center.[4]

Mitchell ran for the 32nd district seat in the Michigan State Senate in 2013 to succeed Roger Kahn,[5] but withdrew from the race.[6] He became the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition of Michigan, a conservative nonprofit foundation.[7] Mitchell led a campaign opposed to Proposal 1, a ballot proposition proposing a tax plan for roads, on the May 2015 ballot.[8][9]

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.[10]

Mitchell 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.[4][11][12] He won the primary, defeating Phil Pavlov and Alan Sanborn.[13] Mitchell won the general election, defeating Frank Accavitti.[14]

Mitchell assumed office on January 3, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Study Committee.[15]

Mitchell voted in favor of the American Health Care Act of 2017.[16]

In July 2019, Mitchell announced he would not seek a third term in Congress, citing the "rhetoric and vitriol" of Washington and a desire to spend more time with his family.[17]

Shortly after a tweet was sent by President Donald Trump on July 14th 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. 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." A few days later, while Mitchell waited to go on to a prime-time T.V. network appearance, he saw a clip of Trump rally attendees chanting, "send her back," aimed at one of the congresswomen, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). 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. 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.[18]

Mitchell moved to Saginaw County, Michigan, when he married his wife, Sherry Mitchell, in 2008.[4] A longtime resident of Thomas Township, near Saginaw,[19] he bought a home in Dryden Township to enter the race for the 10th. He and his wife, Sherry, have six children. [4]

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