Maurice "Mo" White is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Illinois' 7th congressional district. Born and raised in South Side, Chicago, Mo is considered a true American Congressman by many of South Side's own white working class residents. Mo fell out of favor with the public after he was arrested and placed on probation for engaging in sexual relations with an underage girl. With the 2018 elections in an upswing, Frank Gallagher takes advantage of the political tides by bringing Mo out of retirement and becoming his campaign manager in the congressional election against Eleanor Wyman and Isaac Ruiz.
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What led to Mo White's fall from public favor in 'Shameless'?
What is Mo White's role in the 2018 elections in 'Shameless'?
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What is Mo White's background before becoming a congressman?
Biography[]
Early Political Career[]
Maurice White was born and raised in South Side, Chicago. He was a football coach at Robert E. Lee High School (now called Margaret Long Wisdom High School) and was considered the best coach that the school ever had. He would go on to represent his hometown as a congressman during his early tenure in politics. During his time in office, he loosened the liquor license rules so that the Irish-American residents would have a place to drink, he helped rebuild Comiskey Park in the aftermath of Disco Demolition Night, put in bocce and horseshoe pits for the Italian-American residents, and kept the Christopher Columbus monument from being torn down.
Mo White, unbeknownst to the general public at the time, started a relationship with a then fifteen-year-old girl that went on for five years. Though he would later claim that the girl lied about her actual age and told him that she was eighteen, he was charged with pedophilia and arrested, which resulted in the girl breaking up with him on her 20th birthday. When he was released from prison, he was placed on probation and forced to wear an ankle bracelet that would shock him if he was within one-hundred yards of a school. With his political career in shambles, he retired from politics and retreated from the public eye.
Season 9[]
In Mo White!, Mo was soon called out of retirement by Frank Gallagher who decided to help him reclaim his stature while in reality, he was taking advantage of the political race by collecting campaign money for himself. Mo met Frank at his home and the latter successfully convinced him to run for office again. Mo used his charisma and political knowledge to gain support and while Frank actively gained donations from his supporters.
During Weirdo Gallagher Vortex, Mo and Frank continued the campaign until Frank discovered his past indiscretions after his bracelet reacts when near a school. Frank realized that it might be harder to get him elected than he anticipated. With the election drawing to a close Mo is in dead last and decides to call it quits, seeing no reason to continue, much to Frank's dismay. Knowing that the political runoff would be enormous if Mo were to win, he pays a visit to Terry Milkovich who asks for his help on election day to ensure that Mo White is victorious by having his neo-Nazi and white supremacists colleagues and surrounds the polling place to non-violently intimidate any minority from entering the building while only letting the whites inside. However, a violent riot ends up breaking out between the white supremacists and members of the Church of Gay Jesus.
As of Do Right, Vote White!, Frank later meets up with Mo and admits that while it may not have gone smoothly like he hoped he was still proud of his efforts. Mo thanks Frank for trying to get him back out there. However, they hear people cheering at the results of the election on television. Walking over to see the results, the pair are shocked to learn that Mo is the surprise victor with just over 52% of the votes. Mo's victory comes to a complete shock to South Side's residents, with pollsters believing that his victory was in large part due to the vast number of Caucasian voters and their reluctance to admit to that they voted purely out of bigotry. Happy, Frank congratulates Mo and asks him what he plans on doing now that he's back in Congress. Mo pridefully responds with "Absolutely nothing." He states that the beauty of being in Congress is that he doesn't have to do anything for anyone but himself. During his first televised speech, Mo is seen with an underaged girl and this surprises as well as disgust Frank to see he hasn't learned.
Notes[]
- He is one of the few characters who actually likes Frank, due to the latter helping him get his career back.
- His immoral acts even disgusted Frank who himself has done many shameful things.
- As seen in Shameless Hall of Shame episode Frank: Ghosts of Gallagher Past, Mo died and was sent to heaven after spending his last few years in a nursing home where he redeeming himself and having no children around.