Mike Lee
Bio | Mike Lee attended Brigham Young University for both his undergraduate and Law degree. He spent many years as an attorney before holding political positions. |
Status and Position | Current US Senator of Utah |
Political Party and Jurisdiction | Republican, Utah |
Elections | Election Jurisdiction | Started Campaign | Campaign Status | Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2022 Senate Election Utah 2 | Utah 2 | No | N/A | N/A |
Campaign Financing | Lee has raised $9,399,858 in campaign finances over the course of his career. The majority comes from republican/conservative individuals and PACs ($788,175) and retired individuals ($664,479). Source: https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/mike-lee/summary?cid=N00031696&cycle=CAREER&type=I |
Voting Rights | Lee has been outspoken in his views against reforms meant to protect voters' rights, namely HR1, the For the People Act of 2021. Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/542559-mike-lee-condemns-for-the-people-voting-bill-says-its-as-if-written-in |
Opinions on Issues
Issues | Stance | Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Against | Lee is against universal healthcare. Lee supports repealling Obamacare. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/3/sen-mike-lee-don-t-give-up-on-health-care |
| Socialized Healthcare | Against | Lee is against socialized healthcare. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/3/sen-mike-lee-don-t-give-up-on-health-care |
| Private Healthcare | For | Lee is supports private healthcare. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/3/sen-mike-lee-don-t-give-up-on-health-care |
| LGBT Rights | Against | Lee is against same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights. Lee does not support the Equality Act, among other efforts to protect the rights of the LGBT community. Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-lee-equality-act-counterproductive_n_5cdef6c4e4b09e05780380f7 |
| Taxes | Against | Lee does not support taxes. Lee supportrs tax reform, specifically increasing the Child Tax Credit. He also sponsored the Family Fairness and Opportunity Tax Reform Act. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/family-fairness-and-opportunity-tax-reform https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1616?r=5&s=1 |
| Flat Tax Rate | Unknown | Lee's stance on a flat tax rate is unknown. Lee supportrs tax reform, specifically increasing the Child Tax Credit. He also sponsored the Family Fairness and Opportunity Tax Reform Act. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/family-fairness-and-opportunity-tax-reform https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1616?r=5&s=1 |
| Abortion | Against | Lee is pro-life. Lee is pro-life. He advocates against abortion after 20 weeks, except in cases of rape incest, or endagerment to the mother. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/protecting-life |
| Gun Control | Against | Lee is against gun control. Lee believes in the right to bear arms and believes it's the government's duty to protect that right. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/protect-2a |
| Assisted Suicide | Unknown | Lee's stance on assisted suicide is unknown. Lee believes in the right to bear arms and believes it's the government's duty to protect that right. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/protect-2a |
| Government Interference | Against | Lee has been against instances of government interference, such as with universal healthcare and gun control. |
| Planned Parenthood | Against | Lee is pro-life and against Planned Parenthood. He voted in favor of S1881, to prohibit federal/taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2015/8/lee-votes-to-end-federal-funding-for-planned-parenthood |
| Welfare | Against | Lee is against welfare. Lee supports welfare reformand introduced the Welfare Reform and Upward Mobility Act. He believes welfare programs do not allow for social mobility. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/welfare-reform-and-upward-mobility |
| Welfare | Unknown | Lee's stance on stem cell research is unknown. |
| Death Penalty | Unknown | Lee's stance on the death penalty is unknown. |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Against | Mike Lee is against mandatory prison sentencing and advocates for prison reform. He cosponsored the Smarter Sentencing Act. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/3/sen-lee-cosponsors-the-smarter-sentencing-act https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/11/sen-mike-lee-a-conservative-case-for-criminal-justice-reform |
| Military Spending | Against | Lee is against excessive military spendings. He has spoken out in critique of the Overseas Contingency Operations funding account, as well as the $75 billion dollars allotted by the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act for the military. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/6/responsibly-providing-for-the-common-defense |
| War on Terrorism | Against | Lee advocates for the deescalation in the Middle East. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/2/we-don-t-need-another-war-in-the-middle-east |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | For | Lee is for international interaction. Lee supports the US maintaining international relationships with its allies, such as in trade pacts and defense agreements. However, it is important to note that he maintains his support for removing US troops from the Middle East and does not approve of wars deemed unnecessary. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/foreign-policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lee_(American_politician)#Foreign_policy |
| United Nations power | Against | Lee voiced his support for the removal of the US by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley from the United Nations Human Rights Council, which he claims to be "totally farce." He also believes the UN has "illigitimate authority." Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/6/sen-lee-applauds-u-s-exit-from-fraudulent-u-n-council |
| Nationalism | Unknown | Lee's stance on nationalism is unknown. |
| Free Markets | For | Lee supportrs the free market. Lee has voiced concern over the free market becoming corrupted by cronyism and has made efforts to deter this, namely his Anti-Cronyism and Free Market Agenda. https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/anti-cronyism-and-free-market-agenda |
| Brexit | For | Lee supports Brexit. He believes the vote to exit the EU was an examplary decision declining centralized power, which is a sentiment many Americans share. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/6/lee-statement-on-brexit-vote-results |
| Affirmative Action | Unknown | Lee's stance on affirmative action is unknown. |
| Government Spending | Against | Lee voted against the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, specifically because of the increased government spending allocations tied in with it. He also dissproves of excess government spendings for the military, particularly in the Middle East. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/12/sen-lee-statement-on-government-spending-bill https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/6/responsibly-providing-for-the-common-defense |
| Charter Schools | Unknown | Lee has not made a specific statement on charter schools. However, he does advocate for school choice between both public and private schools. Source: https://www.ksl.com/article/46688285/sen-mike-lee-pushes-school-choice-in-meeting-with-trump-devos |
| Common Core | Against | Lee is against the Common Core. Lee does not believe the Common Core allows for high quality education. Source: https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Lee-Common-Core-education-standards/2014/09/01/id/591939/ |
| Clean Energy | Against | Lee is against clean energy reforms. Lee has advocated against clean energy policy packages and the Green New Deal. He also believes the solution to climate change is growing the human population. Source: https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063714505 https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/26/politics/mike-lee-green-new-deal |
| Religious Freedom | For | Lee is for religious freedom. Lee is an advocating for protecting religious freedom, and he uses this logic against the Equality Act, stating it does not take into account the religious freedom of employers. He also introduced the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act for similar reasons. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/6/protecting-religious-freedom https://universe.byu.edu/2014/01/28/utah-sen-mike-lees-bill-would-draw-line-between-church-and-state/ |
| Separation of Church and State | For | Lee supports the separatin of church and state. https://universe.byu.edu/2014/01/28/utah-sen-mike-lees-bill-would-draw-line-between-church-and-state/ |
| Slavery Reparations | Unknown | Lee's stance on slavery reparations is unknown |
| Border Control | For | Lee is for border control. Lee criticizes President Biden's open border immigration policies. He also introduced the Stopping Border Surges Act. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/3/sen-lee-colleagues-introduce-stopping-border-surges-act https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/3/25/22350312/mike-lee-condemns-biden-immigration-policies-mexico-border-child-trafficking |
| Passenger Profiling | Against | Lee wrote a letter jointly with Senator Edward Markey in attempts to prevent the use of a controversial biometric tracking program in US airports. This program has been found to unfairly target people of color, contributing to racial profiling. Source: https://www.newamerica.org/oti/blog/biometric-tracking-us-citizens-border-poses-significant-risks-privacy/ |
| DACA | Against | Lee has claimed DACA to be "an illegal abuse of executive power." He instead advocates for a reformed compromise that is compassionate, yet does not promote illegal immigration. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/9/sen-lee-calls-for-balanced-legislative-daca-solution |
| Sanctuary Cities | Against | Lee has voiced disproval of San Francisco, pointing out that it is a sanctuary city with severe drug abuse and illegal immigration issues. Source: https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/op-eds?ID=85EC32FB-3D15-44A0-B341-5F9C50E2C28A |
| Legalizing Marijuana | Nuance | Lee supports reclassifying marijuana from a schedule 1 drug to schedule 2, and believes marijuana businesses should have legal access to financial institutions. He also believes there needs to be other federal changes in regards to marijuana, but hasn't made specific statements on whether he thinks it should be legalized recreationally or not. Source: https://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/19603-sen-lee-says-it-may-be-time-to-change-federal-rules-for-marijuana |