A middle Tennessee native, Mitchell graduated from Dickson County High School in 1988 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from David Lipscomb University in 1992.

Mitchell started his career in politics volunteering for the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign.

[1] In 2007 Mitchell accepted a position as Director of Community Affairs for former Governor Phil Bredesen.

[7] The race was made up of four candidates: Bo Mitchell, David Shepard, James Edward, and Tom Waychoff.

In 2012, Mitchell ran for the General Assembly again as a Democrat, this time in the district to which he had moved following his earlier defeat.