Meet Mike Thurow

Mike Thurow grew up in Mequon, Wi, in a middle-class family where hard work and responsibility were expected.

His father, a U.S. Navy veteran, worked at Marquette Electronics, and his mother worked long hours as a nurse practitioner while raising three sons. From an early age, Mike saw how much effort it takes for working families to stay afloat.

After graduating high school, Mike entered public service, first working at Healthcare for the Homeless where he received a close view of America's broken healthcare system. After nearly a decade at Healthcare for the Homeless, Mike became a professional firefighter in 2013. He began his career on a ladder company, responding to fires, medical emergencies, industrial accidents, and natural disasters. Over the next decade, he became a HAZMAT Technician, was promoted to Lieutenant in March 2020, and later advanced to Fire Captain and Director of a HAZMAT team in April 2023. While he earned increasing responsibility, it was not the titles that shaped him - it was the people he served.

Throughout his career, Mike witnessed moments that stay with him forever: supporting grieving parents after the loss of a child, sitting with children after the sudden death of a parent, and standing alongside families as their lives were permanently changed in a single day. Those experiences showed him how quickly any family - no matter how hardworking - can fall into crisis. His experiences reinforced his belief that the government should work for the people, not donors and corporations. 

Now as a husband to his high-school sweetheart and father to four children Mike is focused on building a future where his children, and all children, have the opportunity to succeed. Conversations with his oldest child and seeing the American dream disappear at the hands of corrupt politicians from both parties and corporate interests pushed Mike to step forward. He is running as an independent candidate for Congress in Wisconsin’s 6th District to challenge a broken political system and bring back an affordable America where working families can succeed.