State Policy Network mourns the loss of Mike Thompson, the founder, chairman, and long-time president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, who passed away on September 7, 2019, after a hard-fought battle with leukemia, an illness he had been fighting since October 2018.

Mike founded the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy in 1997, a Virginia-based state think tank dedicated to developing free-market policy solutions to address Virginia’s challenges while promoting limited government and individual responsibility. To his think tank leadership role Mike brought a professional background in marketing and a passion for giving voice to free-market ideas.

“We are truly saddened by the passing of Mike Thompson,” said Tracie Sharp, president of State Policy Network. “Mike was not only a leader in Virginia; he was a leader in our Network when it came to disseminating ideas. He encouraged the Network to refine our marketing approaches, and he taught me something valuable in every conversation I had with him. He will be deeply missed, but his efforts and work to improve the lives of so many Americans will always be remembered.”

Christian Braunlich, current president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute, noted:

“Most men, when they retire …. retire. Instead, Mike launched the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, where he continued the battle to make a difference by developing Virginia-oriented public policy solutions based on free markets, limited government, and individual responsibility. The breadth of Mike Thompson’s ideas and interests was stunning. The lives he touched and inspired are countless. And the stories he could tell were without limit. All of us at the Thomas Jefferson Institute are profoundly saddened at the passing of our friend and founder. But we take comfort in remembering the words of Walter Lippman: ‘The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.’ From ‘Youth for Goldwater’ to the Thomas Jefferson Institute, Mike Thompson left hundreds, if not thousands, with those same convictions and the same will to carry on.”

Mike got his start in youth politics, as a leader in the “Youth for Goldwater” movement, later joining the National Board of Young Americans for Freedom and leading the Student Committee for Victory in Vietnam. Mike was passionate about youth involvement—a passion that led him to his role as Vice Chairman of the Fund for American Studies, an organization that works with college and university student leaders around the world to promote a market economy and free political systems. Before starting the Thomas Jefferson Institute, Mike was the owner and president of the Thompson Creative Marketing Group, a nationally recognized marketing and public affairs company in Springfield, Virginia.

Lynn Taylor, president of the Virginia Institute for Public Policy added: “Mike was a patriot and warrior and will be sorely missed. We send our deepest sympathy to his family and friends.”

Mike is survived by his wife Katherine, daughter Liza Graves, son Michael Jr., and five grandchildren.

How to show your support

If you have a story about Mike you would like to share, please email them to mikethompsonstories@gmail.com. Mike’s family is hoping to gather these stories for his grandchildren.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, September 19, and the memorial service and reception will be held on Friday, September 20. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mike’s name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.