Politics

Paul Mitchell, Republican Turned Independent From Michigan, Dead At 64

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Former Michigan Rep. Paul Mitchell died Sunday of cancer, his wife announced.

Mitchell, 64, served the majority of his career as a Republican, but left the party and became an Independent weeks before retiring over former President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede and discredited claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

“He wanted no part of a state funeral but insisted on the Star Spangled Banner upon his passing,” his wife, Sherry, said. “His biggest regret was that he never served in the military, he felt that he didn’t fulfill his responsibility for the gift of our freedom.”

“I am immensely proud of him and never more so than when he was the lone voice in a sea of politicians who cared more about power than the true definition of the office,” she added. “Paul stood up for what matters most, it had nothing to do with political ideology and everything to do with keeping our humanity.”

RIP former Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan, a Republican turned independent who died yesterday from cancer. Statement from wife Sherry below, along with photo of the couple, and the former congressman with son Luke. pic.twitter.com/JxWedQL3HP

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 16, 2021

Mitchell revealed that he had stage IV renal cancer in June, he told Detroit radio station WJR. “They give me a 50/50 chance of getting into remission,” he said. “But, either way, I’m going to go down swinging.”

“Paul was a trooper to the very end. He was always ready to fight on principle and was never afraid of the politics,” Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton wrote. “He had grown very tired of the gridlock in Washington and always wanted to make a difference and that is what he did.”