Mike Kresteva is Peter Florrick's Republican opponent for governor. He is unscrupulous and has no problem with outright lying about Peter or his family to score political points. Not surprisingly, Alicia and Peter hate him. He is campaigning on family values because of Peter's prostitute past, and using his cancer-stricken young son as a campaign prop. Alicia first meets him when he is a lawyer presiding over a Blue Ribbon Panel looking into a police officer-involved shooting. He gets annoyed with Alicia when she questions the information that is presented instead of just signing off on it. She quickly finds out that he cannot be trusted.