A conservative leader, Marine veteran, and problem solver. Mike’s part of a new generation of independent leaders who are fighting to end the careerism and corruption in Washington, D.C. He’s pushing Congress to actually do its job and fix problems, rather than punting them to the next generation.

Mike joined the United States Marine Corps the day he graduated from college.

He served seven years on active duty as a Human Intelligence/Counterintelligence Officer and Regional Affairs Officer for the Middle East and North Africa, earning the rank of Captain. During his service he deployed twice to Iraq as a commander of intelligence teams.

Mike also served on General Petraeus’ Central Command Assessment Team in the Middle East and spent three years working in the U.S. intelligence community, including tours in the National Counterterrorism Center and the Drug Enforcement Agency. He subsequently served as the lead Republican staffer for the Middle East, North Africa, and Counterterrorism on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as the national security advisor for Governor Walker’s Presidential Campaign. He worked in the private sector as the Senior Global Market Strategist at Breakthrough Fuel, a Green Bay-based energy and supply chain management company competing in 48 countries around the world before running for Congress.

Mike stands as a thought leader on congressional reform and national security issues.

Mike was the honor graduate from The Basic School, the Marine Corps CI/HUMINT Basic Course, as well as the MAGTF Intelligence Officers Course. He earned a PhD in International Relations from Georgetown University. Mike also earned a masters degree in Security Studies with honors from Georgetown and a masters of science in Strategic Intelligence from National Intelligence University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University with a focus on Near Eastern Studies and Arabic. Mike lives with his wife, Anne, and their daughters, Grace and Rose, in Allouez, WI.