Dennis C. Mendiola

Dennis James Camacho Mendiola was born March 2, 1980 in Guam.^[1] He was raised by his grandparents in Rota. He attended high school in Rota and Guam before dropping out. He eventually earned his G.E.D. at Guam Community College in 2006.^[1] After dropping out, he moved, first to Saipan, then to Guam, to play basketball. Eventually, he was recruited for the Guam men's national basketball team.^[2]

He attended the University of Guam and graduated with a degree in public administration and a minor in military science. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the US Army National Guard.^[3] He medically retired in 2015 at the rank of captain after a battle with cancer.^[2]

Mendiola served as the Commissioner of Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services.^[4] He was the campaign chairman for Victor Hocog in the 2018 general election.^[2] In 2020, he was the Republican candidate against incumbent Paul Manglona. He lost with 666 votes to Manglona's 764 votes.^[5] He ran again in the 2022 election winning a five-way race for two seats in the Senate.^[6] On January 8, 2025, it was announced that Mendiola would be elected to the position of President of the Senate for the 24th Commonwealth Legislature.^[7]

Mendiola was elevated to the position of lieutenant governor after David M. Apatang was elevated to governor after the death of Arnold Palacios.^[8] He announced that he would not be a candidate for public office in the 2026 general election in order to focus on an outstanding corruption allegation.^[9]

Mendiola endorsed the Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the 2024 United States presidential election and was one of the Northern Mariana Islands’ ^[10]