John McKager "Mac" Stipanovich (born November 26, 1948) is an American lobbyist, political strategist, and activist, best known for his role in the

2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida The 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida was a period of vote recounting in Florida that occurred during the weeks after Election Day in the 2000 United States presidential election between George W. Bush and Al G ...

, in which he helped advise then-

Secretary of State of Florida The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of th ...

, Katherine Harris.

Early life and education

Stipanovich was born in Ocala, Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1972, followed by a Juris Doctor from the

Fredric G. Levin College of Law The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida, and second oldest overall ...

in 1974.

Career

Stipanovich previously served as chief of staff to Florida Governor

Bob Martinez Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected governor o ...

from 1987 to 1991. After that, he served on

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

's gubernatorial campaign against

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...

during the

1994 Florida gubernatorial election The 1994 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent governor Lawton Chiles, a Democrat, survived a strong challenge from businessman Jeb Bush, a Republican, to win re-election. This race was the second-closest gubern ...

. Stipanovich is portrayed in the HBO film ''

Recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

'' by

Bruce McGill Bruce Travis McGill (born July 11, 1950) is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the movies '' The Insider'' (1999), ''Ali'' (2001), and '' Collateral'' (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Da ...

. The film, which had a broadcast premiere on May 25, 2008, chronicled the events in Florida during the presidential election lawsuits and appeals. Stipanovich has written op-ed columns for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'', '' Sun-Sentinel'', and others. Since the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

, Stipanovich has been critical of 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 the Republican Party, calling the latter "...isolationist, protectionist, nativist, and xenophobic." In 2019, Stipanovich registered as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, stating that he was supportive of

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

candidates Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar. In a February 2020 op-ed for the ''

'', Stipanovich stated that he would be "voting in the Democratic primary for the first time in 40 years." In March 2020, Stipanovich officially endorsed Joe Biden.

References

External links

Official Profile''St. Petersburg Times'' article about Stipanovich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stipanovich, John Mackager 1948 births Florida Republicans Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Living people Politicians from Ocala, Florida University of Florida alumni