Mike McKevitt

Mike McKevitt
Mike McKevitt
Member of the Korean War Memorial Commission
	In office; 1987–1995
President	Ronald Reagan
Counsel at White House Energy Policy Office
	In office; 1973–1974
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Robert E. Montgomery Jr.
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislation
	In office; 1973–1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	W. Vincent Rakestraw
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Colorado's 1st district
	In office; January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	Byron Rogers
Succeeded by	Pat Schroeder
District Attorney for Denver, Colorado
	In office; 1967–1971
Preceded by	Bert M. Keating
Succeeded by	Jarvis W. Secombe
Assistant Attorney General for Colorado
	In office; 1958–1967
Personal details
Born	James Douglas McKevitt; October 26, 1928; Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Died	September 28, 2000 (aged 71); Washington, D. C., U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Occupation	Attorney

James Douglas "Mike" McKevitt (October 26, 1928 – September 28, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Colorado from 1971 to 1973.

Early life and education

Born in Spokane, Washington, McKevitt graduated from Grant High School in Sacramento, California. He received a B.A. from the University of Idaho (Moscow, Idaho) in 1951, and a law degree from the University of Denver School of Law in 1956.

Military

He was in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1953, rising to the rank of captain.

Career

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 from 1967 to 1971, during which time McKevitt became known for prosecuting and harassing Denver's "hippies" and the restaurants where they would eat.^[1]^[2]

Congress

McKevitt was elected as a Republican to the Ninety-second Congress (January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973). That year, 20-year incumbent Democrat Byron Rogers 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.

Later career

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.

Death and burial

He died on September 28, 2000, in Washington, D.C. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

Electoral history

1970 United States House of Representatives elections, Colorado's 1st district^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike McKevitt	84,643	51.50%
	Democratic	Craig S. Barnes	74,444	45.30%
	Raza Unida	Salvadore Carpio, Jr.	5,257	3.20%
Majority			10,199	6.20%
Total votes			164,344	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

1972 United States House of Representatives elections, Colorado's 1st district^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pat Schroeder	101,832	51.56%
	Republican	Mike McKevitt (incumbent)	93,733	47.46%
	Raza Unida	Maria Pauline Serna	1,629	0.82%
	Socialist Workers	Fern Gapin	301	0.15%
Majority			8,099	4.10%
Total votes			197,495	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

^ Denver District Attorney's Office McKevitt vs Denver's "hippies"
^ [1] McKevitt vs Denver hippies' restaurants
^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF). Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Compiled from official sources by Benjamin J. Guthrie, under direction of W. Pat Jennings. May 1, 1971. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1972" (PDF). Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Compiled from official sources by Benjamin J. Guthrie, under direction of W. Pat Jennings. March 15, 1973. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

United States Congress. "Mike McKevitt (id: M000513)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Byron Rogers	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 1st congressional district 1971–1973	Succeeded by Patricia Schroeder