Michael Todd Whitaker Carey (born March 13, 1971) is an American politician and former coal lobbyist serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

Ohio's 15th congressional district The 15th congressional district of Ohio currently represented by Republican Mike Carey. It was represented by Republican Steve Stivers from 2011 until May 16, 2021, when he resigned to become president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce ...

. A member of the Republican Party, Carey was first elected in a 2021 special election.

Early life and education

Carey was raised in

Sabina, Ohio Sabina is a village in Clinton County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village had a total population of 2,564. History The town of Sabina was laid out by Warren Sabin, after whom it was named, in 1830, on land originally enter ...

. After attending East Clinton High School, he earned an Associate of Arts degree in economics from the

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state military college o ...

and a Bachelor of Arts in history from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Career

Carey served in the Army National Guard from 1989 to 1999. As a college student, he worked as an aide to State Senator Merle G. Kearns. He has since worked as vice president of government affairs for

American Consolidated Natural Resources American Consolidated Natural Resources, previously known as Murray Energy, is a US-based coal mining company. It is the fourth largest coal producer in the country, and the largest privately-owned coal company. Founded in 1988 by Robert E. Murra ...

, a coal company. He is also chairman of the board of the Ohio Coal Association. During the 2004 and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

presidential elections, Carey developed negative campaign ads against Democratic nominees

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2021 special

Carey was the Republican nominee in the 2021 15th congressional district special election. He was endorsed by former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

and former Vice President Mike Pence. Carey received the most financial contributions out of all 11 candidates in the Republican primary, including from out-of-state donors and individuals in the coal and mining industries. Political commentators and journalists called the race a test of Trump's influence over Republican politics. Carey won the special election on November 2.

117th Congress

On July 19, 2022, Carey and 46 other Republican representatives voted for the

Respect for Marriage Act The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA; ) is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal gover ...

, which would codify the right to same-sex marriage in federal law. On July 28, 2022, Carey and 24 other Republican representatives voted for the CHIPS Act, increasing governmental funding for domestic semiconductor production. In late 2022, Carey announced his "complete" endorsement of Trump.

2022 midterm elections

In the 2022 midterm elections, Carey defeated the Democratic nominee, union leader Gary Josephson. Carey raised around $2.3 million for this election, the 251st-highest sum among elected representatives.

118th Congress

Before the 118th Congress, Carey declared his support for

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...

's bid for House Speaker amid controversy about McCarthy's leadership following the

2022 midterm elections The 2022 United States elections were held on November 8, 2022, with the exception of absentee balloting. During this U.S. midterm election, which occurred during the first term of incumbent president Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, all 4 ...

. Carey also announced his intention to "get on the Ways and Means Committee" in the 118th Congress.

Committee assignments

* Committee on the Budget *

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

Electoral history

2021 special election

2022 midterm election

References

External links

Congressman Mike Carey
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Mike 1971 births American lobbyists Living people Marion Military Institute alumni Ohio State University alumni People from Sabina, Ohio Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio