Mike Crapo is a long-serving American politician and lawyer, currently holding the position of senior United States Senator from Idaho as a Republican.
Born Michael Dean Crapo on May 20, 1951, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, he grew up in a family with deep roots in the state, including farming potatoes and grains on a family property.
His parents were George Lavelle Crapo, who managed a post office and farmed, and Melba Crapo, a homemaker.
Crapo is a fourth-generation Idahoan, a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1966.
He graduated from Idaho Falls High School in 1969, earned a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude in political science from Brigham Young University in 1973, and received a Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977.
After law school, he clerked for Judge James M. Carter on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before practicing law in Idaho.
Siblings
Crapo was one of several children in his family, though detailed public records primarily highlight his older brother Terry Crapo.
Terry, born about 12 years earlier, was a prominent attorney who graduated from Harvard Law School and practiced in Idaho Falls.
He served in the Idaho House of Representatives, including as majority leader from 1968 to 1972, and was viewed as a rising star in state politics until his death from leukemia in 1982 at a relatively young age.
Mike joined Terry’s law firm, Holden Kidwell Hahn & Crapo, after his clerkship.
Terry’s passing motivated Mike to enter politics, leading him to run successfully for the Idaho Senate in 1984.
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Career
Crapo’s professional path began in law after his clerkship, practicing in San Diego briefly before returning to Idaho in 1979 to join his brother’s firm in Idaho Falls.
He became active in Republican politics in the 1980s.
Following Terry’s death, Crapo was elected to the Idaho Senate in 1984, representing Bonneville County until 1992; during his final four years, he served as Senate President Pro Tempore.
In 1992, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives for Idaho’s 2nd District, serving three terms from 1993 to 1998 on committees including Commerce, Resources, and Agriculture.
In 1998, he ran for the U.S. Senate, winning decisively in the Republican-leaning state with around 70% of the vote, and took office in 1999.
He has been reelected multiple times (2004, 2010, 2016, and 2022), making him a senior figure in the chamber.
As senator, Crapo has focused on fiscal policy, serving on the Finance Committee (becoming its top Republican in 2021), Budget Committee, and others.
He has championed tax reform, entitlement program solvency, reduced government spending, and conservative priorities like free-market health care approaches.
He briefly delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union in 2022.
Accolades
Crapo received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and various legislative honors from organizations such as the National Retail Federation (Retail Crime Fighter Award), Humane World Action Fund (Legislative Leader Award), and Idaho Farm Bureau (Friend of Farm Bureau Award).
During his early congressional service, he achieved perfect or high scores from groups tracking fiscal conservatism and received awards like the President’s Award in 1996.
His long tenure and leadership on the Finance Committee have positioned him as a key player in major legislation, including tax reforms.
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