Mike Haridopolos

Haridopolos was born in Huntington, New York, to Ernest "Ernie" Adam Haridopolos (born 1931) and Georgia Haridopolos. His father was a Greek immigrant who served as an FBI agent and was a graduate of Adelphi College.^[3] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Stetson University in history and his Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Arkansas.^[4]

Haridopolos taught United States History and Political Science at Brevard Community College—now Eastern Florida State College—starting in 1993.^[5]

Beginning in 2007, Haridopolos taught classes as an instructor at the Bob Graham Center at the University of Florida.^[6]

In 2000, Haridopolos won an open seat in the Florida House, after winning a six-way Republican primary by over 30 percentage points and later won the November general election 65-35%.^[7][8] He won the 2002 Republican primary following re-apportionment with over 82% of the vote and was re-elected to the Florida House with 79% of the vote in the general election.^[9][10]

In January 2003, State Senator Howard Futch died, and a special election was called in order to elect a new senator. Haridopolos won the Republican Party primary with 84% of the vote, and he won 63% of the vote in the general election to win the remainder of the four-year senate term.^[11][12]

In 2008, Haridopolos passed on an open Congressional race with the retirement of Congressman Dave Weldon. Weldon and others asked Haridopolos to run, including the eventual nominee, Bill Posey.^[13] Haridopolos endorsed Posey. Posey went on to win both the Republican primary and general election.^[14] Haridopolos said that he wanted to focus on his likely role as Senate President and continue his push to make the Florida Senate more conservative.

In both 2006 and 2010, Haridopolos was re-elected without opposition to the Florida Senate. Haridopolos actively supported conservative candidates throughout the state in the 2006, 2008, and 2010 election cycles.^[15] In the Florida Senate, Haridopolos served as Majority Whip from 2006 to 2008 and, in 2009, was elected President of the Senate.^[4] He was sworn in as Senate President on November 16, 2010, for a two-year term. He presided over the largest Republican majority (28-12) since Reconstruction.^[16]

Haridopolos sought the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Nelson in 2012.^[17][18] On July 18, 2011, Haridopolos released a campaign video stating that he would no longer seek the nomination, effectively ending his campaign.^[19]

His candidacy received a number of endorsements, including former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, U.S. Congressman Connie Mack, CFO Jeff Atwater, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.^[20][21][22] He dropped out of the campaign in July 2011 in order to focus on his position as President of the Florida Senate.^[23]

In 2019, Haridopolos co-authored The Modern Republican Party in Florida with Peter Dunbar, which chronicles the rise of the Republican Party in Florida from the 1950s through the 2018 elections.^[24] He continued to teach at the University of Florida after he left the Florida Senate.^[25]

He owns and operates MJH Consulting. He has been a lobbyist in Florida.^[26] He is also active in both the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican Governors Association.^{[citation needed]}

Elections

2024

Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida § District 8

When incumbent Republican Bill Posey announced his retirement in Florida's 8th congressional district in April 2024, Haridopolos quickly announced he was running to succeed him and consolidated Republican support.^[2] He was elected with 62% of the vote in November 2024.

Tenure

Rep. Haridopolos was sworn into the 119th United States Congress on January 3, 2025.

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress:^[27]

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets
  • Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics (Chair)

Caucus memberships

• Republican Study Committee^[28]

Haridopolos is married to Stephanie and the couple have three children.^[29]

• List of new members of the 119th United States Congress