James Douglas "Mike" McKevitt (October 26, 1928 – September 28, 2000) was a U.S. Representative from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. Born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

, McKevitt graduated from Grant High School in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. He received a B.A. from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

(

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

) in 1951, and a law degree from the University of Denver School of Law in 1956. He was in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

from 1951 to 1953, rising to the rank of captain. He was a lawyer in private practice. He served as assistant attorney general, Colorado state attorney general's office from 1958 to 1967. He served as District Attorney,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

from 1967 to 1971, during which time McKevitt became known for prosecuting and harassing Denver's "hippies" and the restaurants where they would eat.
McKevitt vs Denver hippies' restaurants McKevitt was elected as a Republican Party (United States), Republican to the Ninety-second Congress (January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973). That year, 20-year incumbent Democrat

Byron Rogers Byron Giles Rogers (August 1, 1900 – December 31, 1983) was an American politician from Colorado. Early life Rogers was the son of Peter and Minnie May Rogers. Born in Greenville, Texas, he moved with his parents to Oklahoma in April 1902. H ...

had been defeated in the primary by a considerably more liberal Democrat, attorney Craig Barnes. Several of Rogers' more conservative supporters threw their support to McKevitt in the general election. The split in the party combined with McKevitt's popularity to allow McKevitt to win by 10,000 votes. However, McKevitt was a conservative Republican in a strongly Democratic district, and he was defeated for reelection to the Ninety-third Congress in 1972 by liberal Democrat

Pat Schroeder Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder (born July 30, 1940) is an American politician who represented Colorado in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Schroeder was the first female U.S. Represe ...

. McKevitt remained in Washington for some time after his brief congressional term, serving as Assistant United States Attorney General, Office of Legislation in 1973, a counsel on energy policy the White House from 1973 to 1974, and a member of the Korean War Memorial Commission from 1987 to 1995. He died on September 28, 2000, in Washington, D.C. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery,

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKevitt, Mike 1928 births 2000 deaths University of Idaho alumni Sturm College of Law alumni United States Air Force officers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery District attorneys in Colorado Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado 20th-century American politicians