Van H. Wanggaard

Van H. Wanggaard (born April 19, 1952) is a Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Racine County since January 5, 2015, and before that from January 3, 2011 until July 11, 2012.[1][2]

Van H. Wanggaard
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 21st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 2015
Preceded by	John Lehman
In office January 3, 2011 – July 11, 2012
Preceded by	John Lehman
Succeeded by	John Lehman
Member of the Racine County Board of Supervisors
In office 2002–2011
Personal details
Born	(1952-04-19) April 19, 1952 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Jo Wanggaard
Children	2
Alma mater	Gateway Technical College
Profession	Former investigator for the Racine Police Department

Background/family life

Born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Wanggaard graduated from Racine Lutheran High School in 1970. He then graduated from Gateway Technical College with a certificate in Police Science Instruction. Wanggard also took course work at University of Wisconsin–Extension, University of Wisconsin–Parkside, Green Bay Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Racine Technical College, Gateway Technical College, Wisconsin State Patrol Academy, and the United States Coast Guard National SAR School. Wanggard also taught at Gateway Technical College.

Wanggaard worked for the Racine Police Department from 1972 to 2001 as an investigator. He and his wife have two children.[3][4][5]

Political career

Wanggaard was elected to the Racine County Board of Supervisors in 2002, a seat he held until he joined the State Senate in 2011.

In 2006, Wanggaard ran unsuccessfully for the 62nd Wisconsin Assembly District, defeated by future Racine Mayor Cory Mason.

In 2010, Wanggaard ran again for state legislative office, this time challenging incumbent Democrat John Lehman in the 21st senate district. This time Wanggaard was successful, winning the seat as part of the 2010 Republican wave election which saw Republicans flip 721 state legislative seats around the country.[6][7]

Shortly after the 2010 election, the new unified Republican government attempted to pass a controversial budget restructuring. The bill was characterized as an assault on unions and public education, and led to senate recall elections in 2011 and 2012, as well as a recall election for the Governor, Scott Walker. Wanggaard was one of the 16 senators who faced recall elections, and was challenged by his defeated 2010 rival, former-senator John Lehman. Lehman defeated Wanggaard in the recall election held on June 5, 2012. This was the 2nd time that a senator serving in the 21st district had been successfully recalled, the first being George Petak in 1996.[8]

After the 21st was redrawn into a safe Republican district, Lehman chose not to run for re-election in 2014, opting instead to seek the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. Wanggaard sought and received the Republican nomination to reclaim the 21st senate district and defeated Democrat Randy Bryce in the general election.[9][10]

As of 2018, Wanggaard is the Wisconsin Senate Majority Caucus Chair.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2006)

Wisconsin Assembly, 62nd District Election, 2006[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	Cory Mason	1,976	58.17%
	Republican	Van H. Wanggaard	1,416	41.68%
		Write-ins	5	0.15%
Total votes			'3,397'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Democratic	Cory Mason	10,302	52.37%	-37.18%
	Republican	Van H. Wanggaard	9,363	47.60%
		Write-ins	6	0.03%
Total votes			'19,671'	'100.0%'	-8.65%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate (2010-2018)

Wisconsin Senate, 21st District Election, 2010[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Republican	Van H. Wanggaard	13,864	61.13%
	Democratic	John W. Lehman (incumbent)	5,317	23.45%
	Republican	Bob Gulan	3,475	15.32%
		Write-ins	22	0.10%
Total votes			'22,678'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Republican	Van H. Wanggaard	32,036	52.52%	+5.62%
	Democratic	John W. Lehman (incumbent)	28,930	47.43%	-5.60%
		Write-ins	29	0.05%
Total votes			'60,995'	'100.0%'	+5.60%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Senate, 21st District recall Election, 2012[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election
	Democratic	John W. Lehman	20,284	67.80%
	Democratic	Tamra Varebrook	9,513	31.80%
		Write-ins	122	0.41%
Total votes			'29,919'	'100.0%'
General Election
	Democratic	John W. Lehman	36,358	50.53%	+3.10%
	Republican	Van H. Wanggaard (incumbent)	35,539	49.39%	-3.13%
		Write-ins	58	0.08%
Total votes			'71,955'	'100.0%'	+17.97%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Wisconsin Senate, 21st District Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election[14]
	Republican	Van H. Wanggaard	10,563	53.19%
	Democratic	Randy Bryce	4,967	25.01%
	Republican	Jonathan Steitz	4,293	21.62%
		Write-ins	37	0.19%
Total votes			'19,860'	'100.0%'
General Election[15]
	Republican	Van H. Wanggaard	44,967	61.42%	+11.96%
	Democratic	Randy Bryce	28,106	38.39%	-12.15%
	Independent	Bill Thompkins	34	0.05%
		Write-ins	106	0.14%
Total votes			'73,213'	'100.0%'	+1.79%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Senate, 21st District Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Primary Election[16]
	Republican	Van Wanggaard (incumbent)	15,385	55.68%
	Democratic	Lori Hawkins	12,160	44.01%
		Write-ins	88	0.32%
Total votes			'27,633'	'100.0%'
General Election[17]
	Republican	Van Wanggaard (incumbent)	48,603	58.01%	-3.41%
	Democratic	Lori Hawkins	35,111	41.91%	+3.52%
		Write-ins	69	0.08%
Total votes			'83,783'	'100.0%'	+14.44%
	Republican hold

References

1. Alison Bauter. "Recount affirms Lehman's win in Senate recall race". jsonline.com.
2. "Election Recount Information". wi.gov.
3. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 2011-2010, Biographical Sketch of Van H. Wanggaard, pg. 60
4. "Van Wanggaard's Biography - The Voter's Self Defense System - Vote Smart". Project Vote Smart.
5. "Default Parallels Plesk Page". voteforvan.com.
6. Mike Moore (2010-11-02). "STATE SENATE: Lehman concedes to Wanggaard as Senate falls to GOP control". Racine Journal Times. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
7. Tim Storey (2010-12-10). "GOP Makes Historic State Legislative Gains in 2010". Rasmussen Reports. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
8. Craig Gilbert (2012-05-20). "Racine's 21st Senate District no stranger to recalls". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
9. Bergquist, Lee. "Election 2014: Allen, Brostoff, Wanggaard, Bowen win legislative primaries" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel August 13, 2014
10. 'Wanggaard reclaims senate seat,' The Journal Times, Mark Schaff, November 5, 2014
11. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 2003-2004 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 920, 923. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
12. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections". State of Wisconsin 2011-2012 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 892, 893. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
13. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections". State of Wisconsin 2013-2014 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 892, 893. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
14. Canvass Results for 2014 Fall Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
15. Canvass Results for 2014 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
16. Canvass Results for 2018 Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
17. Canvass Results for 2018 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2019-03-26.

External links

• Profile at Vote Smart