Wisconsin Law Blog

Date: 10/25/2008 1:55 PM

By The Associated Press


Biographical information about the candidates seeking election Nov. 4 in Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts:

1st District

NAME — Paul Ryan, incumbent

PARTY — Republican

AGE — 38

RESIDES — Janesville

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics, Miami University in Ohio, 1992.

CAREER — Worked on the staff of then-U.S. Rep. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., in 1995-96 and then on Brownback’s U.S. Senate staff in 1997. He also worked as a marketing consultant at RYAN Inc. Central, a Janesville-based construction company started by his great-grandfather and now owned by his cousins. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1998.

PERSONAL — Married, three children.

NAME — Marge Krupp

PARTY — Democrat

AGE — 52

RESIDES — Pleasant Prairie

EDUCATION — Graduated from Racine’s Horlick High School, earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1978 and an MBA in marketing and finance from Northwestern University in 1983.

CAREER — She worked for S.C. Johnson and Son Inc. in Racine and in 1990 joined Abbott Laboratories, managing projects that included adding research and development of laboratory space at the company. She resigned from a marketing job to run for Congress, her first campaign for public office.

PERSONAL — Married, one son.

NAME — Joseph Kexel

PARTY — Libertarian

AGE — 43

RESIDES — Kenosha

EDUCATION — Graduated from Bradford High School in Kenosha in 1983; attended University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

CAREER — He is self-employed as an information technology consultant with his company called Vikkex. This is his first run for public office. He believes in personal liberty and supports a smaller role for the federal government in Americans’ lives.

PERSONAL — Married, two daughters.

___

2nd District

NAME — Tammy Baldwin, incumbent

PARTY — Democrat

AGE — 46

RESIDES — Madison

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and political science, Smith College in Northampton, Mass., 1984; law degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1989.

CAREER — Elected to the Dane County Board in 1986 and served four years. She was elected to the state Assembly in 1992 as the youngest woman in the Wisconsin Legislature. She was first elected to the U.S. House in 1998 and is the only openly gay woman in Congress.

PERSONAL — Has partner.

NAME — Peter Theron

PARTY — Republican

AGE — 52

RESIDES — Madison

EDUCATION — Raised in Connecticut and earned a bachelor of arts degree in statistics at Princeton University. In 1980, he enrolled in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned a Ph.D. in mathematics.

CAREER — He has taught statistics, mathematics and computer science at UW-Madison, UW-Whitewater and Beloit College. He has created commercial software for the educational and entertainment industries, and consulted with companies on software and web site design. For the past eight years he has taught industrial programming courses for computer professionals. He is making his first run for public office.

PERSONAL — Married.

___

3rd District

NAME — Ron Kind, incumbent

PARTY — Democrat

AGE — 45

RESIDES — La Crosse

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree in government and economics, Harvard University, 1985; master’s degree, London School of Economics, 1986; law degree, University of Minnesota, 1990.

CAREER — La Crosse County assistant district attorney, 1992-96. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1996.

PERSONAL — Married, two children.

NAME — Paul Stark

PARTY — Republican

AGE — 47

RESIDES — Eau Claire

EDUCATION — Graduated from high school in Tempe, Ariz., in 1979. He earned a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a masters degree in business taxation from the University of Minnesota.

CAREER — He says his first job was at age 14 as a “cleanup boy” for a Milwaukee doughnut shop. He worked as a certified public accountant before founding his own construction company in Eau Claire in 2003. He is a member of the National Association of Home Builder and the National Association of Realtors. He is making his first run for public office.

PERSONAL — Married, two children.

NAME — Kevin Barrett

PARTY — Libertarian

AGE — 49

RESIDES — Lone Rock

EDUCATION — Bachelors degree in journalism from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981; masters degrees in English literature and French from San Francisco State University in the early 1990s; doctorate degree in African languages and literature in 2004.

CAREER — UW-Madison lecturer; works as radio journalist with Genesis Communications Network, No Lies Radio, Republic Broadcasting Network and We the People Radio Network; believes the U.S. government, not al-Qaida, orchestrated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

PERSONAL — Married, two children.

___

4th District

NAME — Gwen Moore, incumbent

PARTY — Democrat

AGE — 57

RESIDES — Milwaukee

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree in political science, Marquette University, 1978; certified in credit union management at Milwaukee Area Technical College, 1983.

CAREER — She worked a series of government jobs and spearheaded an effort to establish a credit union in her neighborhood. She was elected to the state Assembly in 1988 and was the first black woman elected to the state Senate in 1992.

PERSONAL — Single, three children.

NAME — Michael LaForest

PARTY — Independent

AGE — 52

RESIDES — Milwaukee

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree, Ferris State University, 1986; master’s degree, UW-Superior, 1991.

CAREER — Job counselor, Lac Courte Oreilles Community College, 1992-1996; job training counselor, Oneida Nation 1997, 1998-1999; state Department of Workforce Development, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, 1997-1998, 1999-2005; part-time organic fruit, vegetable and poultry farmer and substitute teacher. He is a foster parent. This is his third run for public office. He was an unsuccessful candidate for state secretary of state in 2006 and for the Milwaukee City Council in 2008.

PERSONAL — Single, with partner.

___

5th District

NAME — James Sensenbrenner, incumbent

PARTY — Republican

AGE — 65

RESIDES — Menomonee Falls

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree, Stanford University, 1965; law degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1968.

CAREER — He was a staff assistant to then-Rep. J. Arthur Younger of California in 1965. He practiced law, then served in the Wisconsin Assembly, 1969-75, and the state Senate, 1975-79. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1978.

PERSONAL — Married, two children.

NAME — Robert Raymond

PARTY — Independent

AGE — 54

RESIDES — Shorewood

EDUCATION — Attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for two years, 1974-75.

CAREER — He owns Raymond Contractors, a roofing company in business for more than 25 years. He ran unsuccessfully against Republican incumbent Jim Sensenbrenner in 2002. He was executive director of the Coalition for Independent Americans, an inactive organiz ation that focused on reducing government regulations and abolishing the income tax.

PERSONAL — Divorced, two children.

___

6th District

NAME — Tom Petri, incumbent

PARTY — Republican

AGE — 68

RESIDES — Fond du Lac

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree, Harvard University, 1962; law degree, Harvard University, 1965.

CAREER — He served in the Peace Corps in Somalia, 1966-67, and was an aide in the White House in 1969. He began practicing law in Fond du Lac in 1970 and served in the state Senate, 1973-79. He was first elected the U.S. House in a 1979 special election.

PERSONAL — Married, one child.

NAME — Roger Kittelson

PARTY — Democrat

AGE — 52

RESIDES — Lomira

EDUCATION — Graduated from Goodhue, Minn., High School in 1975. He earned a bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics and political science in 1980 and a masters of science degree in 1988 from the University of Minnesota.

CAREER — He unsuccessfully ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives as the Democratic Farmer Labor candidate in 1982. He has spent 26 years in agricultural business, including nine years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a dairy marketing specialist. For seven years, beginning in 1985, he served on the school board for Our Lady of Peace Catholic Elementary School in Minneapolis. He got 62 percent of the vote in the Sept. 9 Democratic primary to defeat Mark Wollum, a physical therapist from Beaver Dam.

PERSONAL — Divorced, four children.

___

7th District

NAME — David Obey, incumbent

PARTY — Democrat

AGE — 70

RESIDES — Wausau

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1960; master’s degree, UW-Madison, 1962.

CAREER — He worked as a real estate broker and served in the Wisconsin Legislature, 1962-69. He was first elected to the U.S. House in April 1969 in a special election.

PERSONAL — Married, two children.

NAME — Dan Mielke

PARTY — Republican

AGE — 53

RESIDES — Rudolph

EDUCATION — Graduated from DeForest High School in 1972. He attended Bear Valley School of Preaching in Denver, Colo., in biblical studies for two years. The school, now called the Bear Valley School of Biblical Studies, was associated with Bear Valley Church of Christ.

CAREER — Mielke says he has been a self-supporting minister since 1975. He worked in factories for five years and has been self-employed since 1979. He operates an organic vegetable and berry farm, owns a woodworking business, sells goods at summer farmers markets and is a state-certified property assessor. This is his fourth run for public office. He lost a 2004 race for the Wisconsin Assembly in District 70, a 2006 race for Portage County executive and a 2007 race for the Town of Linwood Board.

PERSONAL — Married, three children.

___

8th District

NAME — Steve Kagen, incumbent

PARTY — Democrat

AGE — 58

RESIDES — Appleton

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1972; medical degree, UW-Madison, 1976.

CAREER — He founded Kagen Allergy Clinics in Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 2006, winning 51 percent of the vote, giving the seat to a Democrat for the first time in eight years. Republicans have held the seat for most of three decades.

PERSONAL — Married, four children.

NAME — John Gard

PARTY — Republican

AGE — 45

RESIDES — Suamico.

EDUCATION — Bachelor’s degree in public administration and political science, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1986.

CAREER — He worked as a legislative aide from 1986 to 1987 before being elected to the state Assembly representing a northern Wisconsin district in 1987. He became Assembly speaker in 2003. Narrowly lost 2006 8th District race after President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney campaigned for him. He runs Gard Business Group, a consulting firm that works with businesses to grow their company and create jobs.

PERSONAL — Married, two children.

Source: Candidates

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.