Jack Bergman Bio
John Warren Bergman, known publicly as Jack Bergman, is an American politician and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general. Born on February 2, 1947, in Shakopee, Minnesota, he has represented Michigan’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Bergman serves on the House Budget Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.
Before entering politics, Bergman completed a 40-year military career that included command of the Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North, as well as service as a naval aviator. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in business from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of West Florida.
Early Life and Background
John Warren Bergman was born in Shakopee, Minnesota, on February 2, 1947. He grew up in the state and completed his secondary education before moving on to higher studies in business and management.
Bergman attended Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business in 1969. He later returned to graduate study at the University of West Florida, where he completed a Master of Business Administration. His formal military education later included naval aviation flight training, the Amphibious Warfare School, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the Naval War College Strategy and Policy program.
Path to US Politics
After completing his undergraduate degree in 1969, Bergman was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve under the Platoon Leaders Course program for aviation. He was designated a naval aviator and spent decades balancing a civilian career in business with ongoing reserve military service, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant general.
Following his retirement from active duty in December 2009, Bergman and his wife settled permanently in the Watersmeet area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Years later, he entered the political arena by campaigning for Michigan’s 1st congressional district, winning the 2016 Republican primary and the general election to succeed retiring Representative Dan Benishek.
Jack Bergman Career
Early Career (1969-2009)
Bergman began his military career in 1969 as a Marine Corps second lieutenant and was designated a naval aviator after completing flight training at NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field, Florida. He flew CH-46 helicopters with HMM-261 at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, and later deployed with HMM-164 to Okinawa, Japan, and the Republic of Vietnam.
After leaving active duty in 1975, he flew UH-1 helicopters with the Rhode Island Army National Guard before transferring back to the Marine Corps Reserve in 1978. He served with several 4th Marine Aircraft Wing units at NAS Glenview, Illinois, stood up VMGR-452 in 1988 as its first commanding officer, and rose through senior staff and command positions. He began his final assignment as commander of the Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North on June 10, 2005, relinquishing command in October 2009 and retiring from active duty in December of that year.
Congressional Tenure and Committee Work (2017-Present)
Bergman assumed office on January 3, 2017, and has since built a legislative record focused on defense, veterans’ affairs, and federal spending. He serves on the House Budget Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. He is also a member of the Republican Study Committee, the Climate Solutions Caucus, and the U.S.-Japan Caucus.
In June 2017, Bergman was practicing on an Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field for the annual Congressional Baseball Game when a gunman opened fire on the group, wounding four people, including Representative Steve Scalise. Bergman later attributed the attack to anti-GOP rhetoric and the media. In October 2023, he unsuccessfully ran for Speaker of the House. In February 2026, he co-led the bipartisan Michigan congressional delegation that secured the designation of Camp Grayling’s National All-Domain Warfighting Center as a national range for uncrewed aerial systems testing by the Department of Defense.
Notable Events and Milestones
Bergman won the 2016 general election with 55 percent of the vote and has been reelected multiple times in the strongly Republican 1st district, including victories in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. He has opposed the Affordable Care Act, voted to nullify several environmental rules in 2025, and cosponsored the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which passed the U.S. House in April 2025.
Jack Bergman Career Wins
John Warren Bergman has won five consecutive U.S. House elections in Michigan’s 1st congressional district, beginning with his 2016 victory to succeed retiring Representative Dan Benishek. His winning margins have remained consistent, ranging from 55 to 62 percent of the vote.
Congressional Election Highlights
Bergman first won election to Congress in 2016, defeating Democratic nominee Lon Johnson and Libertarian nominee Diane Bostow with 55 percent of the vote. He was unopposed in the 2018 Republican primary and defeated Democrat Matthew Morgan with 56 percent, then won the 2020 general election against Dana Ferguson with 62 percent of the vote.
After redistricting shifted the district’s boundaries slightly in 2022, Bergman faced only write-in opposition in the Republican primary and defeated Democrat Bob Lorinser with 60 percent of the vote. In 2024, he won renomination over Josh Saul with 79 percent of the primary vote and defeated Democratic candidate Callie Barr in the general election with 59 percent. Bergman has announced his candidacy for reelection in 2026.
Other Wins and Achievements
Beyond his electoral record, Bergman advanced several legislative priorities during his tenure, including the 2026 designation of Camp Grayling’s National All-Domain Warfighting Center as a Department of Defense testing range. He also co-led bipartisan Michigan delegation efforts on military infrastructure.
Jack Bergman Family
Family Background and Service Lineage
Bergman comes from a Minnesota upbringing that shaped his path into both business and military service. He and his wife Cindy have ten grandchildren, and the family has been based in the Watersmeet area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for nearly three decades. Bergman is a Lutheran.
Personal Life
Jack Bergman is married to Cindy Bergman, and the couple has ten grandchildren. Congressional records list Watersmeet, Michigan, as his official residence, though he has also been documented as having a home in St. Francisville, Louisiana, a situation that drew public attention during the 2016 and 2018 election cycles. Bergman has maintained that his primary residence is in Michigan, and local officials have upheld his tax status after reviewing documentation.