Michael Joseph Stack III (born June 5, 1963) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 33rd lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 5th district from 2001 to 2015.
Mike Stack | |
---|---|
33rd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania | |
In office January 20, 2015 – January 15, 2019 | |
Governor | Tom Wolf |
Preceded by | Jim Cawley |
Succeeded by | John Fetterman |
Member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 5th district | |
In office January 2, 2001 – January 20, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Frank Salvatore |
Succeeded by | John Sabatina |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Joseph Stack III June 5, 1963 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Tonya Stack |
Relatives | Michael J. Stack (grandfather) |
Education | La Salle University (BA) Villanova University (JD) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 2008–present |
Unit | Army Judge Advocate General's Corps[1] |
Stack was born in Washington, D.C. He graduated from La Salle College High School, LaSalle University in 1987 and Villanova University School of Law in 1992.[2]
Stack attended the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School at the University of Virginia and entered the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps.[3]
Stack served in the Pennsylvania Senate from 2001 until 2015. In 2009, Stack was Democratic leader of Philadelphia's 58th ward.[4]
He was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in the 2014 election, running with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tom Wolf.[5] The Wolf/Stack ticket defeated the Republican Tom Corbett/Jim Cawley ticket in the 2014 gubernatorial election. Stack took the oath of office January 20, 2015.[6][7] While serving as lieutenant governor, Stack had a high-profile falling out with governor Tom Wolf, owing in part to Stack's alleged mistreatment of staff and a difference in management styles with Wolf.[8]
On May 15, 2018, Stack lost the state Democratic primary for lieutenant governor to Braddock Mayor John Fetterman,[9] placing fourth overall.[10] Stack is the only lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania to lose his renomination bid.
Stack ran briefly for a Philadelphia City Council at-large position, though withdrew in March 2019 after drawing a poor ballot position. His spokesman said Stack would continue to consider other opportunities for public service.[11]
Following his withdrawal from the city council race, Stack moved to California, where he was operating as of January 2020 as a comedian under the name "Mikey Stacks".[12] Stack's routine involves self-deprecating jokes about his nickname "Mikey", as well as jokes around his mother's cooking, Donald Trump, Opioid use disorder and teenage suicide.[13]
In August 2021, Stack appeared on the AWE show Find Me a Luxury Home, wherein he described himself as a lawyer seeking to purchase a $7 million home in Manhattan Beach, California.[14] In October 2021, it was reported that Stack was contemplating a return to politics, considering a run in his old state senate district following incumbent senator John Sabatina's announcement that he would not seek re-election.[14] In 2022, Stack said he might run for Mayor of Philadelphia as an independent in 2023.[15] In January 2023, Stack announced he was running for mayor.[16] In February 2023, he dropped out of the race.[17]
Stack's grandfather, Michael J. Stack, was a U.S congressman from 1935 to 1939.
In 2002, he was named to the PoliticsPA list of best-dressed legislators.[18]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Frank Salvatore (incumbent) | 58,331 | 56.83 | |
Democratic | Michael Stack III | 44,308 | 43.17 | |
Total votes | 102,639 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Frank Salvatore (incumbent) | 52,211 | 54.06 | |
Democratic | Michael Stack III | 44,362 | 45.94 | |
Total votes | 96,573 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael Stack III | 46,980 | 52.55 | |
Republican | Frank Salvatore (incumbent) | 42,416 | 47.45 | |
Total votes | 89,396 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael Stack III (incumbent) | 66,844 | 65.74 | |
Republican | Sam Mirarchi | 34,829 | 34.26 | |
Total votes | 101,673 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael Stack III (incumbent) | 71,141 | 71.97 | |
Republican | John Farley | 27,702 | 28.03 | |
Total votes | 98,843 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael Stack III (incumbent) | 65,587 | 71.65 | |
Republican | Michael Tomlinson | 25,954 | 28.35 | |
Total votes | 91,541 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael Stack III | 351,627 | 46.79 | |
Democratic | Mark Critz | 119,334 | 15.88 | |
Democratic | Mark Smith | 109,519 | 14.57 | |
Democratic | Brad Koplinski | 89,524 | 11.91 | |
Democratic | Brandon Neuman | 81,438 | 10.84 | |
Total votes | 751,442 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Tom Wolf Michael Stack III |
1,920,355 | 54.93% | +9.42% | |
Republican | Tom Corbett (incumbent) Jim Cawley (incumbent) |
1,575,511 | 45.07% | -9.42% | |
Total votes | 3,495,866 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Fetterman | 288,229 | 38.0 | |
Democratic | Nina Ahmad | 182,309 | 23.8 | |
Democratic | Kathi Cozzone | 142,410 | 18.6 | |
Democratic | Mike Stack (incumbent) | 127,259 | 16.6 | |
Democratic | Ray Sosa | 27,427 | 3.6 | |
Total votes | 767,634 | 100.0 |