Rebecca Kleefisch

Rebecca Kleefisch
44th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Governor	Scott Walker
Preceded by	Barbara Lawton
Personal details
Born	Rebecca Reed (1975-08-07) August 7, 1975 Pontiac, Michigan
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Joel Kleefisch
Residence	Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Profession	Former news anchor WIFR-TV in Rockford, Illinois, WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Religion	Evangelical Christianity

Rebecca Kleefisch (née Reed; born August 7, 1975), is a former television news anchor and American politician, who is currently serving as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.^[1] She was elected to the position on November 2, 2010, as the running mate of Governor Scott Walker.^[2] She and Walker were the subjects of a recall election on June 5, 2012.^[3] She won the recall election, and became the first Lieutenant Governor to face and win a recall election ^[4]

Early life, education and career

Rebecca Reed was born in Pontiac, Michigan. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.^[5] She was a reporter for WIFR-TV in Rockford, Illinois, and then was a reporter and later morning anchor for WISN-TV in Milwaukee,^[5] before leaving in 2004. Kleefisch formed her own company, Rebecca Kleefisch Enterprises, Inc. and was a contributor to Charlie Sykes' program on WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee.

Political career

Although Kleefisch's husband Joel had been a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly since being elected in 2004, Kleefisch's own first entry into politics began when she ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2010. She declared her candidacy live via webcam from her kitchen table, expressing concern for the future of her children and touting her "kitchen table common sense."^[6]

Kleefisch's campaign quickly garnered notice, including an appearance on Fox News to discuss the rise of conservative women called "Mama Grizzlies", a term coined by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.^[7] Her campaign received wide recognition for its use of social media, employing heavy use of her Facebook^[8] and Twitter^[9] feeds to engage voters and build her message.

Kleefisch made national news during the Wisconsin gubernatorial race in October 2010 when footage of an interview she had done just weeks after she announced her run was uncovered. The hour-long interview contained footage where she showed concern about changing existing marriage laws and discussed where marriage laws might go if changed. "This doesn't just have roots in the Bible. This has roots in fiscal common sense. We can't, at this point, afford to just be handing out money to anyone. This is a slippery slope in addition to that — at what point are we going to okay marrying inanimate objects? Can I marry this table, or this — you know, clock? Can we marry dogs? This is ridiculous. Biblically, again I'm going to go right back to my fundamental Christian beliefs, marriage is between one man and one woman."^[10][11] The story became national news^[12][13][14] after it was discovered that Kleefisch's uncle Chris Pfauser has been in an openly gay relationship for 18 years, and Pfauser said after hearing the comments that he would vote for his niece's opponent.

Kleefisch said in 2012 that there is "no consensus that people have caused climate change."^[15]

The Walker/Kleefisch ticket won the general election on November 2, 2010 and re-election on November 4, 2014. She is currently the Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.

Tenure

Rebecca Kleefisch at a Marquette University political rally for Mitt Romney, September 2012.

As she promised in her campaign, once elected, Kleefisch immediately began cold calling businesses from neighboring states, encouraging them to come to Wisconsin, which she declared "Open For Business". She was credited for helping to broker the growth of a Two Rivers, Wisconsin business. Formrite's owner, Dave Wage, said he contacted state officials regarding a potential $9 million-a-year contract with Caterpillar. Kleefisch was on the phone with him immediately. "She said, 'Dave, rest assured the state will do everything it can do … tell Caterpillar you are working with the state on funding for this project'", Wage recalled. The result was an expansion and addition of 60 jobs.^[16] Kleefisch was designated by Walker as the administration's liaison to Wisconsin's small business community. In that capacity, she has hosted 25 Small Business Roundtables in 2011, traveling Wisconsin and listening to small business owners describe their situation and needs.^[17] She also was selected to chair Walker's subcabinet on workforce investment that developed the Wisconsin Working Plan.^[18]

Recall

Following a contentious collective bargaining dispute in 2011, an effort began to recall Walker and Kleefisch. After examining petitions, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board determined there were more than 800,000 valid signatures to hold a recall election.^[19] The recall election was held on June 5, 2012.^[20] Kleefisch won the recall election and will continue serving as Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.^[21]

Personal life

Kleefisch is married to State Assemblyman Joel Kleefisch, who was also a reporter for WISN-TV. They have two daughters.^[22] They live in Oconomowoc, in Waukesha County, and are members of Crosspoint Community Church, a large evangelical church in Oconomowoc.

Illness

In late August 2010, Kleefish was diagnosed with colon cancer.^[23] She had a tumor removed on September 2, 12 days before she won the primary election.^[23] Although she is currently cancer-free, two days after she was elected, Kleefisch began elective chemotherapy to ensure that the cancer does not return.^[24] By April 2011 she had finished treatment for chemotherapy.^[25]

Electoral history

References