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 was a member of the Republican Study Committee.[15]

Mitchell voted in favor of the unsuccessful American Health Care Act of 2017, which would have repealed the Affordable Care Act and replaced it with another program.[16]

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

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. 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 television network appearance, he saw a clip of Trump rally attendees chanting, "send her back," aimed at one of the congresswomen, Ilhan Omar. 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]

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]

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.[20]

Mitchell moved to Saginaw County, Michigan, when he married his wife, Sherry Mitchell, in 2008.[4] A longtime resident of Thomas Township, near Saginaw,[21] he purchased a home in Dryden Township to run for the 10th district seat in Congress. He and his wife, Sherry, have six children.[4]

• 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
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress