31 Facts About Mike Bost

From 1995 to 2015, Mike Bost was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 115th district.

Mike Bost was raised Baptist and graduated from Murphysboro High School.

Mike Bost attended a firefighter academy program offered by the University of Illinois, later becoming a firefighter.

Mike Bost served in the United States Marine Corps from 1979 to 1982.

Mike Bost was a member of the Jackson County Board from 1984 to 1988, the treasurer of Murphysboro Township from 1989 to 1992, and trustee of Murphysboro Township from 1993 to 1995, until his election to the Illinois House of Representatives.

Mike Bost was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in November 1994, having lost his first campaign in 1992.

In November 2013, Mike Bost presented fellow US Marine Archibald Mosley with Illinois House Resolution 706 for his lifetime accomplishments, including being among the first African-Americans to serve in the Marines.

In 2014 Mike Bost ran for US Congress in Illinois's 12th congressional district.

Mike Bost was unopposed in the Republican primary, and faced the incumbent, William Enyart, in the general election.

Mike Bost challenged Enyart to as many as 12 debates.

Mike Bost won primarily by dominating the areas of the district outside the St Louis suburbs, taking all but three of the district's 12 counties.

Mike Bost benefited from the coattails of Bruce Rauner's successful run for governor; Rauner carried every county in the district.

Mike Bost was endorsed by the Illinois Education Association, Illinois's largest labor union.

Mike Bost was challenged in the Republican primary by former state senator and 2022 gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey, making this his second challenge in a US House primary.

At a March 2017 meeting with editors of the Southern Illinoisan, Mike Bost said that he did not do "town halls" because they had become too combative.

At a March 2017 "telephone town hall," Mike Bost spoke about health care with several constituents who criticized Obamacare.

Mike Bost voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, saying he believed the bill would enable businesses to compete globally and thereby improve the economy.

In December 2017, Mike Bost signed a letter requesting that two education-related portions of the Internal Revenue code, one providing tuition breaks and the other incentivizing employees "to accept tax-free educational assistance from employers," be left unchanged in the new tax bill.

Mike Bost has a "D" rating from marijuana legalization advocacy organization the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws for his voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.

In December 2020, Bost was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump.

In 2015, Bost condemned the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution.

In 2021, Mike Bost was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

Mike Bost was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

Mike Bost voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

In 2024, Mike Bost voted against the $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, although much of the money would go to his constituency.

Mike Bost has said that his political hero is John Alexander Logan, an Illinois Democrat who had switched parties when the Civil War began.

In 1986, Mike Bost's daughter required stitches after being bitten by a beagle after chasing it.

Unsatisfied with authorities' lack of an immediate response, Mike Bost drove to the dog's owner's home and shot the dog dead with a handgun while it was in its enclosure.

Mike Bost was arrested and charged with criminal damage to property and reckless misconduct in relation to the incident, but was acquitted at trial.

In 2014, Mike Bost joked to a reporter about the killing.

Mike Bost led authorities to his gun safe, which contained a bottle of whiskey and no gun.