Jim Steineke

Jim Steineke
Majority Leader of the Wisconsin Assembly
In office
January 5, 2015 – July 27, 2022
Preceded byPatricia Strachota
Succeeded byTyler August
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 5th district
In office
January 3, 2011 – July 27, 2022
Preceded byTom Nelson
Succeeded byJoy Goeben
Personal details
Born (1970-11-23) November 23, 1970 (age 54)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh
WebsiteOfficial website

James Steineke (born November 23, 1970) is a Wisconsin real estate agent and Republican politician from Kaukauna, Wisconsin. He was the majority leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly from January 2015 until his resignation from the Assembly in July 2022. He had represented Wisconsin's 5th Assembly district since 2011.

Early life and career

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Steineke attended the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He worked as a realtor.

Public office

He was a member of the board of supervisors for the town of Vandenbroek from 2005 to 2007, and was chairman of the town board from 2007 to 2011. He also served on the Outagamie County board of supervisors from 2006 to 2011.

Steineke was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2010 in the Wisconsin's 5th Assembly district, which then comprised much of eastern Outagamie County, the Town of Maple Grove in Shawano County, and part of western Brown County.[1][2] He succeeded Democrat Tom Nelson, who had decline running for re-election to seek election as lieutenant governor. He has identified himself as a proponent of limited government and lower taxes.[3]

In November 2020, Steineke was re-elected as the Assembly Majority Leader by his GOP colleagues.[4]

In March 2021, Steineke applauded the conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for preventing Governor Tony Evers from extending a face mask mandate intended to halt the spread of the coronavirus.[5]

In January 2022, Steineke announced he would not run for re-election in 2022.[6] After announcing his retirement, he denounced the 2020 election review recommendations of Michael Gableman, saying that Gableman's suggestion that the legislature could "decertify the 2020 election" "would be the end of our republic as we know it."[7]

References

  1. ^ Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn, eds. (2011). "Biographies" (PDF). State of Wisconsin 2011–2012 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 22–23. ISBN 978-0-9752820-1-4. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "Representative Jim Steineke - Majority Leader". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Home". www.jimsteineke.com.
  4. ^ Vetterkind, Riley (November 12, 2020). "Wisconsin legislative Republicans, Democrats elect leaders". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  5. ^ Beck, Molly. "Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down statewide mask mandate, blocks Evers from declaring multiple emergency orders". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  6. ^ Schmidt, Mitchell (January 19, 2022). "Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke not seeking another term". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  7. ^ Johnson, Shawn (March 1, 2022). "Gableman report calls for decertifying 2020 election. The Legislature's nonpartisan lawyers say that's not possible". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Majority Leader of the Wisconsin Assembly
2015–2022 		Succeeded by