Mike was raised in Lawrenceville by a single mom who was left to raise 7 children with no help from his father. Needless to say, he grew up very humbly. At a young age, he learned the value of hard work and thrift. One of his many jobs was to pass out flyers for a sports merchandiser as a way to earn shoes for himself.  Mike was blessed to have male role models come into his life at key times during his youth. At 15, Mike came across a man named Jack Brown who was remodeling Mike’s uncles’ property. Jack was former chairman of the Gwinnett Republican Party. He invested in Mike by paying him to read volumes of books on the foundations of our great nation throughout high school. Mike’s foundations were formed and developed at this point. This was the start of Mike’s journey in politics.

 

Mike ran for public office for the first time at 23 years old. He lost his first race but realized that he had a passion for people. At 27, he decided to challenge a 22-year incumbent State Representative who was out of step with the district. He won, in spite of a shortened election cycle due to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. As a Republican, he arrived at the Capitol to find himself deep in the minority party.  As a part of Republican leadership, he labored 8 years in the minority until 2004, when the Democrat drawn maps were thrown out of court. This allowed Republicans in the House to complete the change of control of the Capitol leadership.