# Mike Stack

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33rd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

This article is about the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. For his grandfather and U.S. Representative, see [Michael J. Stack](/source/Michael_J._Stack).

Mike Stack Official portrait, 2015 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania In office January 20, 2015 – January 15, 2019 Governor Tom Wolf Preceded by Jim Cawley Succeeded by John Fetterman Member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 5th district In office January 2, 2001 – January 20, 2015 Preceded by Frank Salvatore Succeeded by John Sabatina Personal details Born Michael Joseph Stack III (1963-06-05) June 5, 1963 (age 63) Washington, D.C., U.S. Party Democratic Spouse Tonya Stack Relatives Michael J. Stack (grandfather) Education La Salle University (BA) Villanova University (JD) Military service Allegiance United States Branch/service United States Army Years of service 2008–present Unit Army Judge Advocate General's Corps[1]

**Michael Joseph Stack III** (born June 5, 1963) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 33rd [lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania](/source/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Pennsylvania) from 2015 to 2019. A member of the [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)), he previously served as a member of the [Pennsylvania State Senate](/source/Pennsylvania_State_Senate) for the [5th district](/source/Pennsylvania_Senate%2C_District_5) from 2001 to 2015. Stack is the first lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania to be denied renomination, being defeated by then-Mayor [John Fetterman](/source/John_Fetterman).

## Early life and education

Stack was born in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.) He graduated from [La Salle College High School](/source/La_Salle_College_High_School), [LaSalle University](/source/La_Salle_University) in 1987 and [Villanova University School of Law](/source/Villanova_University_School_of_Law) in 1992.[2]

Stack attended [the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School](/source/The_Judge_Advocate_General's_Legal_Center_and_School) at the [University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia) and entered the [United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Judge_Advocate_General's_Corps).[3]

## Career

Stack as a state senator in 2009

### State senate career

Stack served in the Pennsylvania Senate from 2001 until 2015. In 2009, Stack was Democratic leader of Philadelphia's 58th ward.[4]

### Lieutenant governor term

He was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in the [2014 election](/source/Pennsylvania_lieutenant_gubernatorial_election%2C_2014), running with Democratic gubernatorial nominee [Tom Wolf](/source/Tom_Wolf).[5] The Wolf/Stack ticket defeated the Republican [Tom Corbett](/source/Tom_Corbett)/[Jim Cawley](/source/Jim_Cawley) ticket in the [2014 gubernatorial election](/source/Pennsylvania_gubernatorial_election%2C_2014). Stack took the oath of office January 20, 2015.[6][7] While serving as lieutenant governor, Stack had a high-profile falling out with governor [Tom Wolf](/source/Tom_Wolf), owing in part to Stack's alleged mistreatment of staff and a difference in management styles with Wolf.[8]

On May 15, 2018, Stack lost the state Democratic primary for lieutenant governor to [Braddock](/source/Braddock%2C_Pennsylvania) Mayor [John Fetterman](/source/John_Fetterman),[9] placing fourth overall.[10] Stack is the only lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania to lose his renomination bid.

Stack ran briefly for a [Philadelphia City Council](/source/Philadelphia_City_Council) 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.[11]

### 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".[12] Stack's routine involves self-deprecating jokes about his nickname "Mikey", as well as jokes around his mother's cooking, [Donald Trump](/source/Donald_Trump), [Opioid use disorder](/source/Opioid_use_disorder) and teenage suicide.[13]

In August 2021, Stack appeared on the [AWE](/source/AWE_(TV_network)) show *Find Me a Luxury Home*, wherein he described himself as a lawyer seeking to purchase a $7 million home in [Manhattan Beach, California](/source/Manhattan_Beach%2C_California).[14] 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](/source/John_Sabatina)'s announcement that he would not seek re-election.[14] In 2022, Stack said he might run for [Mayor of Philadelphia](/source/Mayor_of_Philadelphia) as an independent in [2023](/source/2023_Philadelphia_mayoral_election).[15] In January 2023, Stack announced he was running for mayor.[16] In February 2023, he dropped out of the race.[17]

Stack appeared on the CBS game show [Let’s Make a Deal](/source/Let%E2%80%99s_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.[18]

## Personal life

Stack's grandfather, [Michael J. Stack](/source/Michael_J._Stack), was a U.S congressman from 1935 to 1939.

In 2002, he was named to the [PoliticsPA](/source/PoliticsPA) list of best-dressed legislators.[19]

## Electoral history

Pennsylvania Senate, District 5, 1988 Party Candidate Votes % Republican Frank Salvatore (incumbent) 58,331 56.83 Democratic Michael Stack III 44,308 43.17 Total votes 102,639 100.00 Republican hold

Pennsylvania Senate, District 5, 1992 Party Candidate Votes % Republican Frank Salvatore (incumbent) 52,211 54.06 Democratic Michael Stack III 44,362 45.94 Total votes 96,573 100.00 Republican hold

Pennsylvania Senate, District 5, 2000 Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Michael Stack III 46,980 52.55 Republican Frank Salvatore (incumbent) 42,416 47.45 Total votes 89,396 100.00 Democratic gain from Republican

Pennsylvania Senate, District 5, 2004 Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Michael Stack III (incumbent) 66,844 65.74 Republican Sam Mirarchi 34,829 34.26 Total votes 101,673 100.00 Democratic hold

Pennsylvania Senate, District 5, 2008 Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Michael Stack III (incumbent) 71,141 71.97 Republican John Farley 27,702 28.03 Total votes 98,843 100.00 Democratic hold

Pennsylvania Senate, District 5, 2012 Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Michael Stack III (incumbent) 65,587 71.65 Republican Michael Tomlinson 25,954 28.35 Total votes 91,541 100.00 Democratic hold

2014 Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial election, Democratic Primary Party Candidate Votes % Democratic Michael Stack III 351,627 46.79 Democratic Mark Critz 119,334 15.88 Democratic Mark Smith 109,519 14.57 Democratic Brad Koplinski 89,524 11.91 Democratic Brandon Neuman 81,438 10.84 Total votes 751,442 100.00

2014 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election[20] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Tom Wolf Michael Stack III 1,920,355 54.93% +9.42% Republican Tom Corbett (incumbent) Jim Cawley (incumbent) 1,575,511 45.07% −9.42% Total votes 3,495,866 100.00% N/A Democratic gain from Republican

2018 Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial election, Democratic Primary Party Candidate Votes % Democratic John Fetterman 288,229 38.0 Democratic Nina Ahmad 182,309 23.8 Democratic Kathi Cozzone 142,410 18.6 Democratic Mike Stack (incumbent) 127,259 16.6 Democratic Ray Sosa 27,427 3.6 Total votes 767,634 100.0

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Training Ground"](http://www.philadelphiabar.org/WebObjects/PBAReadOnly.woa/Contents/WebServerResources/CMSResources/PLS08_trainingground.pdf) (PDF). The Philadelphia Lawyer. Summer 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Pennsylvania State Senate - Michael J Stack, III Biography"](https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=5523&body=S). *www.legis.state.pa.us*. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Training Ground"](https://philadelphiabar.org/?pg=PhiladelphiaLawyerSummer08). *Philadelphia Bar Association*. Retrieved 2022-07-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Committee of Seventy](/source/Committee_of_Seventy) (2009-12-21). ["2009 Citizen's Guide"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090419063456/http://seventy.org/Downloads/2009_Citizen%27s_Guide.pdf) (PDF). The Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Archived from [the original](http://www.seventy.org/Downloads/2009_Citizen's_Guide.pdf) (PDF) on 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-12-21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Foster, Brittany (20 May 2014). ["Lt. Gov.: Stack Wins Big"](http://www.politicspa.com/lt-gov-stack-wins-big/58097/). *PoliticsPA*. Retrieved 21 May 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Lavender, Paige (4 November 2014). ["Pennsylvania Governor Election Results: Tom Wolf Defeats Incumbent Tom Corbett"](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/04/pennsylvania-governor-election-results_n_5974022.html). Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["NBC News Projects: PA's Corbett Ousted by Democrat Tom Wolf"](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/nbc-news-projects-pas-corbett-ousted-democrat-tom-wolf-n241396). NBC News. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-fallingout_8-0)** ["Your guide to who's running for Pa. lieutenant governor — and why you should care"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180512162555/https://www.ydr.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/05/08/pa-lieutenant-governor-election-whos-running-why-you-should-care/589891002/?from=new-cookie). The York Daily Record. 2018. Archived from [the original](https://www.ydr.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/05/08/pa-lieutenant-governor-election-whos-running-why-you-should-care/589891002/) on May 12, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Almukhtar, Sarah (2018-05-15). ["Pennsylvania Primary Election Results"](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/15/us/elections/results-pennsylvania-primary-elections.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2018-05-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** McGoldrick, Gillian. ["John Fetterman takes historic win over incumbent lieutenant governor Mike Stack"](http://www.mcall.com/news/elections/mc-nws-pennsylvania-lieutenant-governor-mike-stack-20180515-story.html). *themorningcall.com*. Retrieved 2018-05-16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Cole, John (March 27, 2019). ["Stack Ends Bid for Philly City Council"](https://www.politicspa.com/stack-ends-bid-for-philly-city-council/90766/). *PoliticsPA*. Retrieved October 31, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Brennan, Chris (January 23, 2020). ["The former lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania is now doing stand-up comedy in California as 'Mikey Stacks'"](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/mike-stack-pennsylvania-lieutenant-governor-california-stand-up-comedy-20200123.html). *The Philadelphia Inquirer*. Retrieved February 4, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Marin, Max (January 23, 2020). ["Former PA Lt. Gov. Mike Stack hits Hollywood with new standup comedy act"](https://billypenn.com/2020/01/23/former-pa-lt-gov-mike-stack-hits-hollywood-with-new-standup-comedy-act/). *Billy Penn*. Retrieved February 2, 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hanker_14-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hanker_14-1) Brennan, Chris; Roebuck, Jeremy (October 8, 2021). ["Mike Stack is back and hankering for his old Northeast Philly seat in the Pa. Senate"](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/mike-stack-state-senate-john-dougherty-bill-mcswain-larry-krasner-chuck-peruto-20211008.html). *The Philadelphia Inquirer*. Retrieved October 12, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Three questions for every politician we could corner on Election Day"](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/clout-three-questions-mayor-2023-josh-shapiro-president-20221111.html). 11 November 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-stack_16-0)** Ulrich, Steve (January 19, 2023). ["Mike Stack "Announces" Run For Philly Mayor"](https://www.politicspa.com/mike-stack-announces-run-for-philly-mayor/117625/). *PoliticsPA*. Retrieved 21 January 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Mike Stack leaves Philly voters wanting more"](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/mike-stack-mayor-philadelphia-comedy-acting-politics-20230221.html?outputType=default). 21 February 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Former Pa. senator who zonked out on 'Let's Make a Deal' is also a disgraced Lt. Gov"](https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/2024/12/19/who-is-the-pennsylvania-senator-on-lets-make-a-deal-mike-stack-wayne-brady/77086097007/#). 19 December 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bestdressedlegislators_19-0)** ["Sy Snyder's Best Dressed Legislators"](https://web.archive.org/web/20020803093934/http://www.politicspa.com/FEATURES/best_dressed.htm). *[PoliticsPA](/source/PoliticsPA)*. The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from [the original](http://www.politicspa.com/FEATURES/best_dressed.htm) on 2002-08-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Pennsylvania Elections - Summary Results"](https://electionreturns.pa.gov/General/SummaryResults?ElectionID=41&ElectionType=G&IsActive=0).

## External links

- [Stack for PA](http://www.stackforpa.com/) - official website

- [Project Vote Smart - Senator Michael J. 'Mike' Stack III (PA)](http://votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=47379) profile

- *Follow the Money* - Mike Stack - [2006](http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=88575) [2004](http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=65065) [2002](http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=16702) [2000](http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=49279) campaign contributions

Pennsylvania State Senate Preceded by Frank Salvatore Member from the 5th district 2001–2015 Succeeded by John Sabatina Party political offices Preceded by Scott Conklin Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania 2014 Succeeded by John Fetterman Political offices Preceded by Jim Cawley Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania 2015–2019 Succeeded by John Fetterman

v t e Lieutenant governors and vice-presidents of Pennsylvania Vice-presidents (1777–1790) Bryan M. Smith Moore Potter Ewing Irvine Biddle Muhlenberg Redick Ross Lieutenant governors (since 1875) Latta Stone Black Davies Watres Lyon Gobin Brown Murphy Reynolds McClain Beidleman D. Davis James Shannon Kennedy Lewis Bell Strickler Wood Furman J. Davis Shafer Broderick Kline Scranton Singel Schweiker Jubelirer Knoll Scarnati Cawley Stack Fetterman Ward (acting) A. Davis

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mike Stack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Stack) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Stack?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.