Mike Flynn (October 19, 1967 – June 23, 2016) was an American online journalist who was known as the original editor of the website

Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (; known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentar ...

Early life

Born and raised in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

, Flynn was a sixth-generation native of central Illinois. He graduated from Quincy High School in 1985 and graduated from

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1989. From 1989 until 1992, Flynn was the general manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk people, Sauk chief K ...

Career

According to the ''

Quincy Herald-Whig Quincy Media, Inc., formerly known as Quincy Newspapers, Inc., was a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers of Quincy, Illinois. The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when the ''Bounty Land Register'' was one of ...

'', Flynn self-described "as a strongly conservative libertarian," and he emphasized the

U.S. national debt The "national debt of the United States" is the total national debt owed by the federal government of the United States to treasury security holders. The national debt at a given point in time is the face value of the then outstanding treasu ...

, reducing government regulations, and border security. Flynn worked on the staff of the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

from 1992 to 1997, and then for the

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservatism in the United States, conservative state legislature (United States), state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share Model act, ...

from 1997 to 2004. He was a lobbyist with the

Reason Foundation The Reason Foundation is an American Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian think tank that was founded in 1978. The foundation publishes the magazine ''Reason (magazine), Reason''. Based in Los Angeles, California, it is a nonprofit, ...

. Flynn testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress and dozens of state legislatures. His research has been cited by publications such as ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In 2015, Flynn ran for Congress during the Illinois's 18th congressional district special election to fill the remainder of the term of Republican

Aaron Schock Aaron Jon Schock (born May 28, 1981) is a former American politician who was Republican Party (United States), Republican United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative for from 2009 until 2015. The district is based in Peoria, Illi ...

, who resigned on March 31, 2015. He was endorsed by conservative activists such as

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, ...

, Congressman

Steve King Steven Arnold King (born May 28, 1949) is an American former politician and businessman who served as a U.S. representative from Iowa from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Iowa's 5th congressional district un ...

, Congressman

Louie Gohmert Louis Buller Gohmert Jr. (; born August 18, 1953) is an American attorney, politician, and former judge who was the U.S. representative from Texas's 1st congressional district from 2005 to 2023. Gohmert is a Republican and was part of the Tea ...

, Richard Viguerie, Stephen Moore, and

Erick Erickson Erick Woods Erickson (born June 3, 1975) is an American conservative talk radio host, blogger, and former politician. He hosts a three-hour weekday talk show on WSB 95.5 FM and 750 AM in Atlanta, which is syndicated to other radio stations aro ...

. State Senator

Darin LaHood Darin McKay LaHood ( ; born July 5, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Illinois since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, LaHood has represented the 16th district since 2023, and previo ...

defeated Flynn in the Republican primary on July 7, 2015, with 69.5% of the vote to Flynn's 27.7%. In 2016, Flynn served as a member of the leadership team in Illinois for Cruz's

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

, and at the time of his death, was scheduled to be a delegate for Cruz at the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United Sta ...

Personal life

Flynn was married to his wife, Holly Flynn Pitt-Young, and had four children. He died from a heart attack in Washington, D.C., on June 23, 2016, aged 48.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Mike 1967 births 2016 deaths 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers American libertarians American political writers Breitbart News people Candidates in the 2015 United States elections American online journalists People from Quincy, Illinois University of Iowa alumni Journalists from Illinois Illinois Republicans