|
Wisconsin Elections 2006
The Hamilton
Consulting Group
August 2006
© 2006 The Hamilton Consulting Group
Introduction
State
Assembly Races
2006 Primary
Results
Governor and Attorney General
Candidates Profiles
State Senate Races
Wisconsin State Senators
are elected to four-year terms. The Senate elections are staggered, meaning
that only approximately one-half are up in each election cycle. This fall,
the odd-numbered seats are up, of which there are 17. The breakdown of the
Senate seats by partisan makeup is as follows:
Open Seat Toss Up
-
21st Senate District – This seat,
which is currently held by Republican Cathy Stepp, is considered a “swing”
district. Republican Bill “Mac” McReynolds, currently the Racine County
Executive, faces Rep. John Lehman (D-Racine) in the general election.
Republican Protect
-
5th Senate District – Incumbent Tom
Reynolds (R-West Allis)
-
9th
Senate District – Incumbent Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan)
-
23rd
Senate District – Incumbent Dave Zien (R-Eau Claire)
-
31st
Senate District – Incumbent Ron Brown (R-Eau Claire)
Safe Republican
-
1st
Senate District – Incumbent Alan Lasee (R-DePere)
-
11th
Senate District – Incumbent Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn)
-
13th
Senate District – Incumbent Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) in unopposed
-
17th
Senate District – Incumbent Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz
(R-Richland Center)
-
19th
Senate District – Incumbent Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) is unopposed
-
33rd
Senate District – Incumbent Ted Kanavas (R-Brookfield)
Democrat Protect
Safe Democrat
-
3rd
Senate District – Incumbent Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) is unopposed
-
7th
Senate District – Incumbent Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee)
-
15th
Senate District – Incumbent Senate Minority Leader Judy Robson (D-Beloit)
-
27th
Senate District – Incumbent Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) is unopposed
-
29th
Senate District – Incumbent Russ Decker (D-Schofield)
Open Seat Toss Up
Senate District 21
Republican Senator
Cathy Stepp
announced she would not seek re-election to this seat. This seat is a highly
competitive district and has a history of flipping back and forth between
the parties.
Democratic candidate
John Lehman
is currently a member of the State Assembly where he has served since 1996.
Lehman, a former teacher, currently serves on the Education, Insurance and
Workforce Development Committees. He resides in Racine with his wife and
three children.
Racine County Executive
William L. "Mac" McReynolds is a native of Grant County. After obtaining
an education degree from UW-Platteville in 1971, he was a teacher and coach
at Union Grove High School in Racine County. In 1980, he became a Racine
County deputy sheriff and was elected Racine County Sheriff in 1994. He was
re-elected to that position for three additional two-year terms. Early in
his first four-year term as sheriff, he was elected Racine County Executive.
He has three children and three grandchildren.
Republican Protect
Senate District 5
First-term incumbent Republican
Sen. Tom Reynolds
(R-West Allis) was elected to the Senate in 2002. He was born in Milwaukee,
and is a self-employed owner of a printing business. Sen. Reynolds currently
serves on the Housing and Financial Institutions; Job Creation, Economic
Development and Consumer Affairs; Labor and Election Process Reform (Chair);
and Administrative Rules Committees. He is married and has five children.
Wauwatosa
Democrat Jim Sullivan is an attorney and owner of Sullivan & Mikow, LLC.
Sullivan grew up in the Milwaukee area, attending public schools and
graduated from UW-Madison in 1991. He has served in the US Navy Reserve
since 1999. He graduated from Marquette Law School in 2001. He is married
and has two children.
Senate District 9
Republican
Sen. Joseph Leibham was elected to the Senate in 2002. Prior to that, he
served in the State Assembly. Sen. Leibham currently serves on the Joint
Committee on Finance and the Senate Higher Education and Tourism Committee.
Sen. Leibham attended UW-LaCrosse and Ealing College in London, England,
before graduating from UW-Madison in 1991 with a B.A. in Political
Science/Public Administration. He is married and lives in Sheboygan.
Democrat Jamie John Aulik is an Iraq War
veteran and has been in the U.S. Army Reserve for nine years. Mr. Aulik is
currently finishing up his Masters degree in Public Affairs from UW –
Madison. He is married and resides in Manitowoc.
Senate District 23
Sen. David Zien (R-Eau Claire) was first elected
to the Senate in an April 1993 special election. He served in the State
Assembly prior to that. Sen. Zien served as President Pro Tempore in 2005
and currently serves on the following committees:
Job Creation,
Economic Development and Consumer Affairs; Judiciary, Corrections and
Privacy (Chair); Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs, Small
Business and Government Reform; and the Joint Legislative Road to the Future
Committee. Sen. Zien is a
Vietnam veteran, having served in the USMC from 1968-70. He has four
children and one grandchild. Zien faces Karen Anderson in the primary.
Democrat
Pat Kreitlow served as anchor for WEAU in Eau Claire for almost a
decade. He retired in June 2005 to “spend time with his family” and in
October announced his candidacy for Senate against Dave Zien. Kreitlow
currently resides in Chippewa Falls.
Senate District 31
Incumbent
Sen. Ron Brown (R-Eau Claire) was elected to the Senate in 2002, serving
as Majority Caucus Chair in 2005. He is a business owner, former fire chief,
and Air Force Veteran. Sen. Brown currently serves on the
Committee on
Agriculture, and Insurance; Committee on Health, Children, Families, Aging
and Long-Term Care; Committee on Housing and Financial Institutions;
Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs, Small
Business and Government Reform (Chair).
He is married and has three
children.
Democrat
Christopher H. Danou lives in the Village of Trempealeau with his wife
and two sons. He received his Bachelor's degree from UW – Madison and a
Master's degrees in International Affairs Wildlife Biology. Danou is a
police officer in the City of Onalaska, currently assigned as the Police
Liaison Officer for the School District of Onalaska.
Kathleen Vinehout, a Democrat from Buffalo County, operates a 223 acre
farm near Alma with her husband and son. Kathleen grew up in Aurora,
Illinois, and earned her Masters of Public Health and Ph.D. from St. Louis
University. She also has degrees in agriculture and education.
Safe Republican
Senate District 1
Incumbent Alan Lasee (R-DePere) has served in
the State Senate since 1977 and currently serves as Senate President. Sen.
Lasee raises exotic animals and is a former dairy farmer. Sen. Lasee
currently co-chairs the Employment Relations and Legislative Organization
Committees. He is married and has six children.
Democrat Charles R. Most Jr. of Ellison Bay is
currently Chairman of the Door County Board of Supervisors, where he has
served since 2002.
Senate District 11
Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) was
first elected to the Senate in 2002, where he serves as Assistant Majority
Leader. Prior to that Kedzie served in the State Assembly. Kedzie currently
serves on the
Committee on Agriculture and Insurance; Committee on
Campaign Finance Reform and Ethics; Committee on Energy, Utilities and
Information Technology; Committee on Natural Resources and Transportation
(Chair); and the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization.
He is married and has three children.
Democrat
L.D. Rockwell grew up and attended high school in Madison. He joined the
Air Force and was awarded the Bronze Star with 'V' Device. Mr. Rockwell
retired from the Air Force after 20 years. Mr. Rockwell resides in Elkhorn
and has three children.
Senate District 13
Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) was first elected to the Senate in 1994
and has been reelected since 1998. He received his
Senate District 17B.S. in journalism at
UW-Oshkosh in1985. Sen. Fitzgerald is a former associate newspaper
publisher, and is a member of the U.S. Army Reserve (rank of Lt. Colonel).
Sen. Fitzgerald currently serves as co-chair of the Joint Committee on
Finance. He is married and has three children.
Senate District 17
Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) was elected to the Assembly in
1982 and to the State Senate in 1991, where he currently serves as Senate
Majority Leader. Sen. Schultz is a 1975 graduate of the UW-Madison where he
played basketball and was member of the UW national champion rowing team. He
and his wife, Rachel, own and manage their family’s farm, and have two
children.
Democrat
John C. Simonson grew up on a dairy farm in Central Wisconsin and earned
a bachelor degree in economics and English from University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1961. Simonson was an economics professor at University
of Wisconsin-Platteville from 1966 until his retirement in 2004. In January
2002, he established the Center for Applied Public Policy (CAPP) at
UW-Platteville, serving as its director until his retirement. He currently
resides in Darlington.
Senate District 19
Sen. Michael Ellis (R-Neenah) was born in Neenah, Feb. 21, 1941. He
received a B.S. in secondary education at UW-Oshkosh in 1965. A legislator
and farmer, Ellis was elected to the Assembly from 1970-80, and elected to
the Senate since 1982. He served as Minority Leader 1999, 1997, 1995;
Majority Leader 1997, 1995, 1993; Assistant Minority Leader 1987, 1985.
Senate District 33
Sen.Theodore Kanavas (R-Brookfield) was first elected to the Wisconsin
State Senate in a July 2001 special election, and was re-elected in November
2002. In 2003, while serving as a member of the Joint Committee on Finance,
Sen. Kanavas was appointed as the Co-Chairman of the Senate Select Committee
on Job Creation. Prior to his election to the Senate, he spent 12 years in
the software industry and continues to work in the field as a senior
enterprise executive with a Brookfield-based software company. He earned a
B.A. in Political Science from UW-Madison in 1983, and attended Pepperdine
University Law School. He is married and has three children.
Democrat Andrew Stiffler is an event
planner in Waukesha. He received a B.S. from the University of Minnesota in
1997 and did graduate work at University of Memphis.
Democrat Protect
Senate District 25
Sen. Robert Jauch (D-Poplar) has
served in the State Senate since 1986. Prior to that, he served in the State
Assembly. Jauch served four years in the military including tours in
Vietnam and Japan. Following his discharge, he attended the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Sen. Jauch currently serves on the
Committee on
Education; Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules; and the Joint
Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions
Sen. Jauch resides in Poplar and is married with
two children. Sen. Jauch faces fellow Democrat Gary Kauther in the September
primary.
Republican
Shirley Riedmann has global
experience as a business executive and currently is a supervisor on the
Sawyer County Board.
Safe Democrat
Senate District 3
Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) was elected to the State Senate in
2002. Prior to that he was elected to the State Assembly, serving since
1984. As a Senator, he currently serves on the committees for Health,
Children, Families, Aging and Long term Care, the Labor and Election Process
Reform, and State and Federal Relations. Sen. Carpenter received his B.A. at
UW-Milwaukee and his M.A. at UW-Madison La Follett Institute.
Senate District 7
Sen. Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee)
has served in the State Senate since 2003 and served in the State Assembly
prior to that. Sen. Plale currently serves as Democratic Caucus Chair and
serves on the
Committee on Energy, Utilities and Information
Technology; Committee on Higher Education and Tourism; and the Committee on
Housing and Financial Institutions
He received a B.A. and M.A. in communications
and public relations at Marquette University. He resides in South Milwaukee
with his two sons.
Donovan Riley is challenging Jeff Plale in the Democratic primary.
Riley was an administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and he’s also a former budget analyst for
the state Dept. of Administration and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Riley
is a retired partner of Michael, Best & Friedrich, is married, and has five
children and 14 grandchildren.
A Republican challenger,
Dimity
Grabowski is an Oak Creek alderwoman. Grabowski was born, raised, and
educated in Sydney, Australia. From 1985 to 1989 she worked for the US
Department of Defense. After her husband received an Honorable Discharge
from the U.S. Army in 1992, they moved to Oak Creek, Wis. As Alderwoman, she
has served on a variety of commissions and boards, and currently is pursuing
a certificate in Public Administration at UW - Milwaukee. She and her
husband have three children.
Senate District 15
Sen. Judith Robson (D-Beloit) was first elected to the Assembly in a
June 1987 special election, and was reelected in1988. Following her election
to the Senate in1998, she served as the Majority Caucus Vice Chair in 1993,
Assembly Minority Caucus Vice Chair in1995, Senate Majority Caucus Chair in
2001, 1999, and the Senate Minority Leader in 2005. Sen. Robson received her
B.S.N. St. John College and an M.S. at UW-Madison. She is a Registered Nurse
and the mother of three children.
Republican Gregory Addie is
currently serving his second two-year term on the Janesville City Council.
He has private management experience, and is also a Marine Corps veteran and
an ordained minister.
Senate District 27
Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) was elected to the Senate in 1998 and
served as Minority Leader in 2003. Sen. Erpenbach is a former radio
personality and legislative assistant. He currently serves on the following
committees: Agriculture & Insurance; Education; Health, Children, Families,
Aging and Long Term Care; and the Joint Committee on Information Policy. He
resides in Middleton with his two children.
Senate District 29
Sen. Russell Decker (D-Schofield) has served in the State Senate since
1990. Sen. Decker currently serves on the Joint Committee on Finance,
Committee on Job Creation, Economic Development and Consumer Affairs and the
Road to the Future Committee. Sen. Decker currently resides in Schofield
with his wife and two children.
Republican Jimmy Boy Edming is the
owner of Edming Oil and Edming Manufacturing, as well as the found of Jimmy Boy's Pizza. As a community leader, Edming served
as a member of the Rusk County Hospital Board and was on the Rusk County
Board for ten years. He is married with three children and two grandchildren
| 
