Connie Mack IV

Early life, education, and family

Mack was born in Fort Myers, Florida, the son of cancer prevention advocate Ludie Priscilla (née Hobbs) and former U.S. Senator Connie Mack III. His father represented the district from 1983 to 1989 (when it was numbered as the 13th District), before serving two terms in the U.S. Senate.

Through his father, Mack is the great-grandson of Connie Mack, the manager and owner of baseball's Philadelphia Athletics and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame; the great-grandson of Morris Sheppard, U.S. Senator and Representative from Texas; and the great-great-grandson of John Levi Sheppard, a U.S. Representative from Texas.

In June 1988, Mack earned his Associate of Arts from Santa Fe Community College and In 1993, Mack earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida. After college, Mack became a marketing executive, working as a consultant to promote the restaurant chain Hooters.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2000, incumbent Republican State Representative Debby Sanderson decided to retire to run for a seat in the Florida Senate. Mack decided to run for the open seat in the Fort Lauderdale-based 91st House District. He defeated Democratic nominee Kevin Rader 56%–44%. In 2002, he won re-election with 79% of the vote.

Mack was Chairman of the Committee on State Administration, and in his second term he became the Deputy Majority Leader.

Elections

In 2003, incumbent Republican Congressman Porter Goss, who had succeeded Connie III in Congress, announced his intention to retire in order to serve as Director of the CIA. That October, Mack resigned from his seat in the State Legislature and moved back to his hometown of Fort Myers to run for his father's old seat. Had he not resigned his state house seat, he would have been unable to vote for himself in the primary or general election in the 14th District, as the Florida Constitution requires state legislators to be residents of the district they represent. Mack stated, "The people of the 14th District deserve to be represented in Washington by someone who shares our mainstream conservative Republican values in the mold of my father and Congressman Porter Goss". He narrowly won a four-way Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—with a plurality of 36% of the vote, defeating more experienced challengers State Representative Carole Green and Lee County Commissioner Andy Coy. He won the general election with 68% of the vote.

Mack consistently won re-election without serious difficulty, with his closest bid in 2008, when he won 59% in a three-way election.

Tenure

Mack is a vocal supporter of cutting federal spending and lower taxes. He is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Additionally, he is a co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget and was one of the most outspoken opponents of federal bailouts. Mack has also been a prominent advocate for greater congressional oversight of government surveillance. He voted against George W. Bush's domestic eavesdropping program in 2006 and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Reform in 2007.

Mack was an outspoken critic of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, as well as one of the most vocal opponents of the pan-Latin American TV network teleSUR. He is also a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mack helped secure over $81 million to expand Interstate 75 in Southwest Florida, a project of significant concern to the region.

Unlike many members of Congress, Mack has been a vigorous and outspoken defender of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks. Mack said that although WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange "are no heroes", he believes there needs to be more transparency in government, and that he opposes any "attempt to suppress information from the general public".

Committee assignments

2012 U.S. Senate election

Early in the election cycle, Mack was considered a potential candidate against incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in the 2012 Senate election. However, he declined to run on March 25, 2011, citing family and his work in the House of Representatives. On October 26, 2011, it was announced Mack had changed his mind and that he would seek the Republican nomination because he felt no one in the current field was able to defeat Nelson. His opponent in the Primary was former Representative Dave Weldon, whom Mack defeated, winning 58% of the vote. Mack was then defeated by Nelson by over one million votes.

Post-Congressional career

In 2013, Mack was hired as a partner at lobbying firm Liberty Partners Group, where his father was a chairman emeritus. Following his unsuccessful bid for the Senate, Mack founded two lobbying and consulting firms, Mack Strategies and Liberty International Group. In March 2014, he registered to become a lobbyist for American Task Force Argentina. As of September 2014, he was an executive vice president of public relations firm Levick as well as a registered lobbyist for Levick, Doral Financial and Las Vegas Sands. Mack has also worked extensively as a lobbyist for the government of Hungary.

Personal life

Mack has been married twice. His wives have been: