Jessica King

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Jessica King
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 18th district
In office
August 25, 2011 – January 3, 2013
Preceded byRandy Hopper
Succeeded byRick Gudex
Personal details
Born (1975-07-21) July 21, 1975
Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Oshkosh (BA)
Thomas Jefferson School of Law (JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Jessica Jeane King[1] (born July 21, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician from Wisconsin. She is a former Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 18th district when elected in 2011. She defeated incumbent Republican Senator Randy Hopper in a special recall election on August 9, 2011,[2] and took office August 25, 2011;[3] but lost the seat the following year to another Republican, Rick Gudex, in the November 2012 general election, which reverted that chamber back to Republican control.

Background

King was born and raised in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.[4] Her parents were disabled, and she became a ward of the state at age 15.

She put herself through the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, working in a juicebox factory and doing similar work, and went on to earn a J.D. degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in California.[5]

In 2004, she returned to Wisconsin to care for her aging parents. She opened a small business, and served as an adjunct professor at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

She is a former associate attorney who was with Steinhilber, Swanson, Mares, Marone & McDermott.[6]

King was elected to the Oshkosh Common Council, eventually becoming deputy mayor,[4] In 2008, she ran against Hopper for the Senate losing by only 163 votes (41,741 to 41,904).[7]

Wisconsin Senate

In the wake of the 2011 Wisconsin protests, King was one of two Wisconsin Democratic challengers successful in unseating Republican incumbent senators who had supported Governor Walker. The 18th district includes Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Waupun. She narrowly defeated Hopper by 1254 votes (28,191 votes to 26,937).[8]

On November 13, 2012, King conceded to Republican Rick Gudex, then Fond du Lac City Council president.[9] As a result of the race, the Wisconsin Senate reverted to Republican control by a two-vote majority in January 2013.

2020 congressional election

She ran against incumbent Glenn Grothman for Wisconsin's 6th congressional district in 2020. She received 164,239 votes, or 40.72% of the total votes cast, losing the election.[10]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (2008–2012)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2008 General[11] Nov. 4 Randy Hopper Republican 41,904 50.05% Jessica King Dem. 41,741 49.86% 83,724 163
2011 Primary[12] Jul. 12 Jessica King Democratic 19,562 68.21% John D. Buckstaff Dem. 8,995 31.37% 28,677 10,567
Recall[13] Aug. 9 Jessica King Democratic 28,191 51.10% Randy Hopper (inc) Rep. 26,937 48.83% 55,170 1,254
2012 General[14] Nov. 6 Rick Gudex Republican 43,079 50.29% Jessica King (inc) Dem. 42,479 49.60% 85,648 600

U.S. House (2020)

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2020 Primary[15] Aug. 11 Jessica J. King Democratic 38,043 75.89% Michael G. Beardsley Dem. 7,896 15.75% 50,128 30,147
Matthew L. Boor Dem. 4,165 8.31%
General[16] Nov. 3 Glenn Grothman (inc) Republican 238,874 59.23% Jessica J. King Dem. 164,239 40.72% 403,333 74,635

References

  1. About this Candidate, fec.gov. Accessed October 25, 2022.
  2. Veremis, Lindsay (August 10, 2011). "District 18: King defeats Hopper". WLUK-TV. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  3. Rolander, Leslie (August 18, 2011). "Wis. Dems to Take Oaths of Office Next Week". KSTP-TV. Hubbard Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  4. "About Jess". Jessica King For Senate. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  5. "Jessica King '01 is a Contributing Author". Thomas Jefferson School of Law. July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  6. "Council Member Jessica King". Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  7. State of Wisconsin 2009-2010 Blue Book (PDF). Madison: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature. 2009. p. 911. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  8. "2011 Recall Election SD 2, 8, 10, 14, 18, 32 - Results". Wisconsin Elections Commission. September 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  9. "Jessica King Concedes District 18 Race". Nbc26.com. Retrieved June 21, 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. "Jessica King (Wisconsin)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  11. Results of Fall General Election - 11/04/2008 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 1, 2008. p. 7. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  12. Canvass Results for 2011 Primary Recall Election State Senate 18 - 7/12/2011 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. July 18, 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  13. Canvass Results for 2011 Recall Election State Senate 18 - 8/9/2011 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. August 11, 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  14. Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  15. Canvass Results for 2020 Partisan Primary - 8/11/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2020. p. 3. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  16. Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 3. Retrieved June 19, 2026.