Mike Vick
Mike Vick (independent) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 2nd Congressional District. He lost as a write-in in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Mike Vick was born in Daly City, California, and lives in Noblesville, Indiana. He obtained a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of San Francisco in 2007. He attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for three semesters. His professional experience includes working as the field director for Citizens Action Coalition, organizing home care and child care workers for SEIU, and conducting field outreach and fundraising for Greenpeace. As of 2020, Vick was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Socialist Rifle Association.[1][2]
Elections
2024
See also: Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2024
Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Democratic primary)
Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 2
Incumbent Robin Kelly defeated Ashley Ramos and Mike Vick in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Robin Kelly (D) | 75.7 | 139,928 |
 | Ashley Ramos (R) | 24.3 | 45,007 | |
 | Mike Vick (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Total votes: 184,935 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2
Incumbent Robin Kelly advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robin Kelly | 100.0 | 56,732 |
| Total votes: 56,732 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Curry (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2
Ashley Ramos advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ashley Ramos | 100.0 | 20,527 |
| Total votes: 20,527 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Vick in this election.
2020
See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 29
Incumbent Chuck Goodrich defeated Mike Vick in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 29 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chuck Goodrich (R) | 66.0 | 27,618 |
| Mike Vick (D) | 34.0 | 14,228 | |
| Total votes: 41,846 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 29
Mike Vick advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 29 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Vick | 100.0 | 4,396 |
| Total votes: 4,396 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 29
Incumbent Chuck Goodrich advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 29 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chuck Goodrich | 100.0 | 9,190 |
| Total votes: 9,190 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mike Vick did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Vick’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Sanctity of Life Social Justice Centrality of the Family Economic Security Community-Oriented Society Care for the Environment Peace & International Solidarity Respect for Democracy |
” |
| —Mike Vick’s campaign website (2024)[4] | ||
2020
Mike Vick completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vick's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Mike Vick serves as field canvass director for Citizens Action Coalition, Indiana's largest consumer advocacy group, fighting for fair utility rates, energy policy reform, pollution prevention and family farmers. He organized home care and child care workers for the Service Employees International Union, fighting for better pay and working conditions. He also worked as a field canvasser for Greenpeace, a global nonprofit organization fighting for a green and peaceful future. Vick was a web editor and associate producer for television news station WPSD. His first job out of college was as a reporter for a weekly newspaper.
Vick graduated cum laude from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in political science.
Vick's father was a union iron worker and organizer and his mother was a teacher and school board member.
Vick lives in Noblesville, Indiana, with his wife and their two children.
- Healthcare is a human right, and Vick will fight to ensure all Hoosiers get the care they need, a message that has taken on particular relevance in the wake of COVID-19.
- Hoosier families deserve a living wage, the right to a union and a lower cost of living. Vick will fight for a $15 minimum wage indexed to inflation, repeal the anti-union "right to work" (for less) law, and support initiatives aimed at lowering the cost of living for Hoosier families.
- All children deserve a great education, regardless of where they live or how much money their parents have. Indiana should fund schools equitably and ensure that every school has the staff, supplies, and training it needs so that every student, including those with special needs, can thrive.
I am deeply passionate about many areas of public policy, including health care, workers rights and education. But I am also passionate about two areas of public policy that many politicians neglect: election and campaign finance reform and environmental policy.
Regarding election and campaign finance reform, regardless of where people stand on any given issue, unless we make our system more democratic, money will continue to drown out the voices of the people. Our campaign finance system allows wealthy contributors and private corporations to purchase elections. This leads to politicians who do not represent the will of the people. I would move toward public financing of elections and ensure all candidates have fair debate and ballot access. We should also move toward score voting, which will give voters more and better choices on Election Day. Voters can learn more at https://www.starvoting.us/.
As for environmental policy, none of this matters if we do not have a habitable planet on which to live. We should protect our rivers, soil, and air from pollution of any kind, which threatens harm against Hoosiers who live, work, and seek recreation in our rural and undeveloped areas. Meanwhile, the state has enormous potential for generating our own clean energy, with a combination of solar, wind, battery technology and energy efficiency. I oppose fracking, carbon capture and sequestration, and continued taxpayer subsidies for overpriced and under-performing power plants.
I look up most to Jesus Christ. I seek to follow Him and to die to my sins daily. He is the only person who ever lived who never sinned, so He's the only role model who's example is one we can follow without making exception for character failures. My faith in Him isn't about religion or following a set of rules. It's about having a personal relationship with Him.
In my political life, I seek to follow the words of Christ while also trying to bridge the gaps between people who believe in Him and people who do not, as well as between people who differ politically. I have strongly-held political beliefs that I feel are justified by the Bible, but I would never presume to insult others who hold opposing beliefs either about the Bible, about politics, or both, It's important to stand firm on our beliefs and to know why we believe what we believe so that we can defend it, but I try not to let those debates descend into personal attacks.
The language people often use in political debates frequently mirrors the language of apologetics and faith. But the "truth" we're defending tends just to be the fallible opinions of equally fallible people. It wouldn't matter if our political fervor were on behalf of the politics of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Mitt Romney or Donald Trump. We see only in part, and we are prone to put our faith in things and in people who do not deserve it. So, while I'll always stand firm on my beliefs, I try to stay humble and to listen to people who disagree with me. I've changed my mind on issues before when presented with compelling reasons to do so, and I'm sure it will happen again many times before I die.
As the Apostle Paul writes, "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool so that he can become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God ... So let no one boast in human leaders ..." (1 Corinthians 3:18-19, 21)
We should boast only in Christ.
Two of the most important political books I've come across in recent years are "Dark Money" by Jane Meyer and "Listen, Liberal" by Thomas Frank.
"Dark Money" shows the ways in which the Republican Party has turned away from the values it espouses and has been corrupted by the influence of corporate cash.
Meanwhile, "Listen, Liberal" shows the ways in which corporate money and misplaced focus have caused the Democratic Party to abandon its ideals.
One of the most important books I've read regarding the history of the United States, both its politics and its people, is "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn.
Public servants need compassion, putting themselves in the shoes of the most vulnerable and giving them a voice in the halls of power. Public servants must have the wisdom to discern the best course of action to take to solve a problem given the circumstances and the available options. Public servants must be brave in the face of powerful interests who would seek to subvert the will of the people for their own private gain.
I have a passion for public policy and a deep commitment to the rights of working families like mine.
The core responsibilities of a state legislator are to write, sponsor or co-sponsor legislation that will improve the lives of their constituents and the state as a whole. State legislators must also gather the best evidence and testimony available to come to conclusions about how to craft that legislation. Finally, one of the most important but least visible aspects of a legislator's job is constituent services, that is, helping constituents deal with problems they're facing. This can involve reaching out to other elected officials or to government agencies, or if appropriate, drawing attention to the problem at the legislature or in the news media.
I would like to make my state and my nation more democratic, putting more power into the hands of regular people. Power has become too centralized in the hands of government and large corporations. I would like to put that political and economic power into the hands of everyday people so they have control over their own lives and communities.
I love the book "1984" by George Orwell. The book's warnings against authoritarianism and conformity are more relevant now than ever.
I would want to be Superman. He was always my favorite fictional character as a child, and his ideals still inspire me to this day.
I couldn't stop playing a song I first heard a few weeks ago called "Don't Look Back" by Kitomi and Ryan Elder.
From a practical perspective, upper chambers are often less responsive to the will of the people because each legislator represents a much larger group of people. Provided that we get the corrosive influence of money out of politics, this problem can be mitigated without going to a unicameral legislative model. However, I am ultimately in favor of anything that puts more power into the hands of individuals and communities, and less in the hands of bureaucrats and politicians. The more transparent and responsive legislators are to the will of the people, the better. For this reason, I favor ballot initiatives as well as efforts to decentralize power by making state governments more accountable to the people and communities they're supposed to represent.
It can be beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics. It's most beneficial for elected officials to represent a wide range of professional backgrounds. And while we must never let representation turn into tokenism by disregarding the policy positions of individuals who seek high office, fair representation rightly means a lot to under-represented populations. Far too few women, far too few people of color, and far too few working class and middle income people are to be found in the halls of power. This must change.
We have a state that works really well for the well-connected and affluent, and not so well for the rest of us. It's critically important that we share our prosperity more broadly. We must stop leaving Hoosiers behind when it comes to health care, jobs and educational opportunities. We must end a system with so many disparities between people of different racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds.
A further challenge we'll face is that the runaway effects of climate change will negatively impact us all, but particularly those who are already disadvantaged by systemic inequality. We must ensure that even as we pursue economic justice and racial justice, we are not leaving behind environmental justice. All these issues are interconnected.
The biggest obstacle we'll face in tackling all these problems remains the corrosive influence of money on our political system. So, while we must not wait to address any of the issues above, we must also end money's stranglehold on our democratic institutions.
The governor's job is to faithfully execute the laws made by the people through their elected state representatives. The governor should certainly be a check on the power of the legislature, as he or she is also elected by the people. But the governor should take care not to exploit this check in order to serve his or her own political interests. The people can ensure the governor will do this by holding him or her accountable to their interests through aggressively rooting out political corruption. The governor has a responsibility to represent the people, not his or her wealthy campaign contributors.
Building relationships with other legislators will be critical to get anything done at the state house. I have a long history of working with people of diverse political backgrounds to achieve common interests, which will serve me well in my efforts to forge these relationships.
I favor independent, non-partisan redistricting. State legislatures far too often use their redistricting power to favor their own narrow, partisan political interests. This leaves average voters without meaningful representation. I favor giving more power to individual voters, not to politicians and their wealthy campaign contributors.
I would like to be a part of as many committees as possible, but specifically, I am most interested in:
- Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development
- Employment, Labor and Pensions
- Environmental Affairs
- Financial Institutions
- Natural Resources
- Public Health
- Utilities and Energy
I would absolutely be interested in whatever leadership role my party might confer on me, but I prefer to lead by example and in a collegial manner. I also understand that I must put in time before I would have the kind of experience and relationships that would merit a leadership position.
What's more, my goal is not to lead my party but to be a voice for all the people in my district, whether they're members of my party or not. I do not believe either major political party fully represents the will of the people, and neither political party completely encapsulates my beliefs, either. I'll work with Hoosiers of all political stripes to ensure Indiana moves forward in a better direction.
I would say I model my politics not after any particular legislator, but on my research of the available options and on my own experience. There are some historical figures I greatly admire, but every one of them has flaws, sometimes serious flaws, even when compared to their own contemporaries, let alone as compared to our present day.
I find some of the most inspiring figures who were engaged in political activism never actually attained elected office. Some never sought it.
One of the most inspiration political figures I've come across is labor organizer Eugene V. Debs, who worked tirelessly for the rights of working people in Indiana and around the country. He received nearly a million votes while unjustly imprisoned for advocating peace during World War I.
At this time, I'm focused on being the best state legislator I can be. If other opportunities arise down the line, I'll have to determine whether I can best serve the people of my district and my state by taking those opportunities, or by remaining a state legislator.
One of the residents in my district told me she had not voted until recently because she always thought it wouldn't make any difference. Far too many people, particularly those of us who are economically disadvantaged, feel our voices and our votes don't matter. Far too often, politicians and their wealthy donors create the conditions that make people feel that way. I intend to end a system where the votes and the voices of working families matter less than the piles of lobbyist money heaped on state legislators.
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Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Illinois District 2 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 22, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Mike Vick," June 29, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Mike Vick’s campaign website, “Values,” accessed October 22, 2024
