Mike Doogan is a third-generation Alaskan. He was born in Fairbanks on June 7, 1948. He moved to Anchorage in 1964 and has lived there since. He graduated from West Anchorage High School in 1966 and from the University of San Francisco in 1970. In 1999, he received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Mike and the woman who lets him live with her, Kathy, have been married since 1970. They have two adult children, Matthew and Amy. Mike and Kathy have lived in House District 25 since 1973.