Michael Joseph Stack III (born June 5, 1963) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 33rd

lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor of Pennsylvania, governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutena ...

from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

for the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

from 2001 to 2015.

Early life and education

Stack was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He graduated from

La Salle College High School La Salle College High School is a Catholic, all-male college preparatory school located in Wyndmoor, a community in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. La Salle is within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and i ...

LaSalle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. ...

in 1987 and

Villanova University School of Law The Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova Law) is the law school of Villanova University, a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was opened in 1953 and is approved by the American Bar Association (A ...

in 1992. Stack attended

the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and entered the

United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers ("judge advocates"), who provide legal service ...

Career

State senate career

Stack served in the Pennsylvania Senate from 2001 until 2015. In 2009, Stack was Democratic leader of Philadelphia's 58th ward.

Lieutenant governor term

He was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in the 2014 election, running with Democratic gubernatorial nominee

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

. The Wolf/Stack ticket defeated the Republican

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician, lobbyist, and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was also attorney general of Pen ...

Jim Cawley James Cawley (born June 22, 1969) is an American politician and administrator who has served as president of Rosemont College since 2022. Cawley previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. As of 2025, he is the mo ...

ticket in the 2014 gubernatorial election. Stack took the oath of office January 20, 2015. While serving as lieutenant governor, Stack had a high-profile falling out with governor

, owing in part to Stack's alleged mistreatment of staff and a difference in management styles with Wolf. On May 15, 2018, Stack lost the state Democratic primary for lieutenant governor to Braddock Mayor

John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman ( ; born August 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2019 as the mayor o ...

, placing fourth overall. Stack is the only lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania to lose his renomination bid. Stack ran briefly for a

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

at-large position, though withdrew in March 2019 after drawing a poor ballot position. His spokesman said Stack would continue to consider other opportunities for public service.

Subsequent career

Following his withdrawal from the city council race, Stack moved to California, where he was operating as of January 2020 as a comedian under the name "Mikey Stacks". Stack's routine involves self-deprecating jokes about his nickname "Mikey", as well as jokes around his mother's cooking,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

Opioid use disorder Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. ...

and teenage suicide. In August 2021, Stack appeared on the AWE show ''Find Me a Luxury Home'', wherein he described himself as a lawyer seeking to purchase a $7 million home in

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Coastal California, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north ...

. In October 2021, it was reported that Stack was contemplating a return to politics, considering a run in his old state senate district following incumbent senator John Sabatina's announcement that he would not seek re-election. In 2022, Stack said he might run for

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

as an independent in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. In January 2023, Stack announced he was running for mayor. In February 2023, he dropped out of the race. Stack appeared on the CBS game show Let’s Make a Deal; dressed as a Roman soldier and introducing himself as a former state senator from Pennsylvania and a retired Army captain. The episode aired on December 19, 2024.

Personal life

Stack's grandfather,

Michael J. Stack Michael Joseph Stack (September 29, 1888December 14, 1960) was a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1935 to 1939. His grandson is former Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Michael J. Stack III. Biography Stack was born in Listowel in C ...

, was a U.S congressman from 1935 to 1939. In 2002, he was named to the

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the ...

list of best-dressed legislators.

Electoral history

References

External links

Stack for PA
- official website
Project Vote Smart - Senator Michael J. 'Mike' Stack III (PA)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Mike Stack
2006200420022000
campaign contributions , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stack, Mike 1963 births 21st-century American comedians Candidates in the 2019 United States elections Judge advocates general of the United States Army La Salle University alumni Lieutenant governors of Pennsylvania Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives National Guard (United States) officers Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Philadelphia Villanova University School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly