Mike Lee (U.S. politician)
Michael Shumway "Mike" Lee ( born June 4, 1971 in Mesa, Arizona) is an American lawyer and politician ( Republican). Since January 3, 2011, he represents the state of Utah in the U.S. Senate.
Early years and legal career
Mike Lee is the son of Rex E. Lee, who held the office of United States Solicitor General from 1981 to 1985. The family moved a year after the birth of the boy to Provo, Utah, where Rex Lee founding dean of the Law School at Brigham Young University ( BYU) was. After his father was in 1975 resigned as Assistant Attorney General in government services, Mike Lee spent most of his youth in McLean (Virginia), a suburb of Washington. He received his high school degree in 1989 then again in Provo. Meanwhile, his father had become president of the university in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science graduated from the Lee in political science.
In 1997 he passed his law exams at the Law School at BYU. He then worked as a legal assistant at Dee Benson, a judge at the Federal District Court of Utah, busy. After that, Lee worked in the same capacity for the later Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who belonged to the federal appeals court based in Newark at that time. Finally, he finished his legal education at the law firm Sidley Austin in Washington.
His first office in the public service held Lee then a few years later as a deputy federal prosecutor based in Salt Lake City, where he prepared the proceedings before the Federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth District Court. Between January 2005 and June 2006 he was legal counsel ( General Counsel ) of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, before he went back to Washington for a year and worked there as an assistant to now the Supreme Court making Samuel Alito. Finally, he returned in the summer of 2007 back to Salt Lake City and joined the local branch of the Washington law firm Howrey LLP. He specialized there on constitutional law.
Mike Lee has been married since 1993. With his wife and their three children, he lives in Alpine. He is a second cousin of the two Democratic U.S. Senators Mark Udall of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico.
Candidacy for the U.S. Senate
By 2010, Mike Lee has held no political office. Prior to the 2010 Senate elections he ran for since 1993 held by Republican Bob Bennett mandate in the U.S. Senate and appeared as one of seven competitors in the vote of his party at the State Republican Convention against this at. Lee received the first ballot 982 votes ( 28.75 percent ) and finished in first place in front of the businessman Tim Bridgewater (917 votes, 26.84 percent). Bennett was charged with 885 votes of third parties ( 25.91 percent). In the second ballot only came to these three candidates, this time Bridgewater ( 37.42 percent ), there was Lee ( 35.99 percent ); Bennett finally left with a share of 26.99 percent. In the third round, then put clear by Bridgewater with 57.28 percent.
However, this vote was not binding on the final nomination: This was the outcome of internal party primary dependent. In the run-up Lee was then supported by the Tea Party movement, which he regarded as the liberal Bridgewater the residue - on whose side the deselected Senator Bennett had asked - caught up and this eventually defeated with 51.2 percent of the vote.
Prior to the actual election, Lee was then the clear favorite in the traditionally conservative and republican elected Utah. His Democratic opponent, businessman Sam Granato, came in the polls not exceed a value of 32 percent. Ultimately, it was no surprise: Lee sat through clearly and sparked Bob Bennett on 3 January 2011 as the Senator from Utah.