Over the years, some have guessed that a haridopolos is some species of sea turtle or dinosaur. But haridopolos actually refers to history professor and State Senator, Mike Haridopolos.

Mike was first elected to the Florida Senate in March of 2003 and was re-elected in 2006. He has served in the Florida Legislature since 2000, gaining a reputation for electoral victories won by notably large margins. In his initial run for public office in 2000, Mike was elected with 65% of the vote after earlier winning a six-way Republican primary. He was subsequently re-elected to the House in 2002 by a margin of 79% to 21%.

Mike graduated from Stetson University in 1992 with a B.A. in History, and in 1993 earned a Masters in History at the University of Arkansas. Later that year, at the age of twenty-three, Mike became a history instructor at BCC, and within three years he was named the Department Chair of Social Behavioral Sciences. In 1997, Mike was promoted to the Chair of the Liberal Arts Department.

Mike has appeared on CNN as a guest of Lou Dobbs and has been featured in Florida Trend magazine as one "...who could shape Florida politics." He was also, again, recently named by the Hotline as one of six "rising stars" among Republican state legislators.

He has stood up for Floridians against more government, higher taxes, and unrestrained spending. Mike is a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus that led the fight against the tax increase proposed during the 2002 session and has signed the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) pledge each year in which he has been in the Florida Legislature. Beginning in January of 2007, Mike is traveling across the state to meet with citizens in a series of town hall meetings, designed to address the growing crisis of property taxes.

Mike currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Tax as well as Majority Whip. In the 2007 and 2008 sessions, he will serve on eight legislative committees: Finance and Tax (Chair); Fiscal Policy and Calendar Committee; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Community Affairs; Military Affairs and Domestic Security; Regulated Industries; Rules; and the Legislative Auditing Committee.

Senator Mike Haridopolos represents District 26 in the Florida Senate, which includes parts of Brevard, Indian River, Osceola, and St. Lucie Counties. He is married to Stephanie Bressan, M.D., and they have three children: Alexis, Hayden, and Reagan.