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Karen Kirsch

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21st century American politician
Karen Kirsch
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 6, 2025
Preceded byDaniel Riemer
Personal details
BornKaren Marie Weber
(1968-04-29) April 29, 1968 (age 56)
Port Washington, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRobert William Hansen
Children1
ResidenceGreenfield, Wisconsin
EducationMilwaukee Area Technical College
Mount Mary University
OccupationMarketing, politician
WebsiteCampaign website

Karen Marie Kirsch (née Weber; born April 30, 1968) is an American marketing professional and Democratic politician from Greenfield, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and represents Wisconsin's 7th Assembly district in the 2025–2026 term. She previously served as a member of the administrative committee of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Her partner, Rob Hansen, is a former chair of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County.

Early life and career

Karen Kirsch was born Karen Marie Weber in Port Washington, Wisconsin, on April 30, 1968. She was raised and educated in Milwaukee, graduating in 1986. She went on to attend Milwaukee Area Technical College, where she earned her associate degree in 1988. She continued her education at Milwaukee's Mount Mary University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in art education.

Through the 1990s, she worked for Charlton Photos, then went to work for the marketing firm Cramer-Krasselt. She worked for 18 years at Cramer-Krasselt, rising to become senior art producer and vice president.

Political career

Kirsch became politically activated by the backlash to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's signature legislation, 2011 Wisconsin Act 10. The law stripped public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights and ignited months of protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol.

This led her to become involved in the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County and campaigning for their candidates. In 2018 she was deputy campaign manager for Julie Henszey, who challenged incumbent state senator Dale Kooyenga in the 5th Senate district. From 2017 to 2019, she was also a member of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's governing administrative committee.

In 2018, she left her employment at Cramer-Krasselt and took a full-time job with the progressive political action committee, Citizen Action Wisconsin, and is now campaigns director for the organization.

In 2024, the Wisconsin Legislature adopted a new legislative redistricting plan after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the decade-old Republican gerrymander. Under the new plan, the 7th Assembly district was reshaped to comprise a large portion of the city of Greenfield. The Democratic incumbent, Daniel Riemer, announced in April 2024 that he would not run for a seventh term, leaving an open seat. Republican incumbent Bob Donovan, who was drawn into the district by the redistricting plan, announced he would relocate to run in another district. Kirsch announced her candidacy to succeed Riemer just a few days after he dropped out; she did not face an opponent for the Democratic nomination. In the general election, she won a comfortable victory over perennial candidate Lee Whiting. She took office in January 2025.

Personal life and family

Karen Kirsch was one of two daughters born to Harvey Weber and Carol Mae (née Achsel). Her father was a member of the United Steelworkers union, working for 30 years at the Continental Can Company, and was active in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2024)

Wisconsin Assembly, 7th District Election, 2024
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 5, 2024
Democratic Karen Kirsch 16,014 58.49% −3.31pp
Republican Lee Whiting 11,289 41.24% +3.14pp
Scattering 74 0.27%
Plurality 4,725 17.26% -6.45pp
Total votes 27,377 100.0% +35.63%
Democratic hold

References

  1. "Births". The Sheboygan Press. May 2, 1968. p. 6. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "About". Karen Kirsch for Assembly. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "Team Bio". Citizen Action Wisconsin. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  4. "Statistics and Reference: Officials" (PDF). Wisconsin Blue Book 2017–2018 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 2017. p. 586. ISBN 978-0-9752820-9-0. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  5. "State Representative Daniel Riemer to Not Seek Re-Election" (PDF). State Representative Daniel Riemer (Press release). April 25, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Wisconsin Legislature.
  6. "Kirsch campaign: Karen Kirsch announces campaign for 7th Assembly District". Karen Kirsch for Assembly (Press release). April 30, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Wispolitics.com.
  7. "2024 Wisconsin Assembly races". Wispolitics.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  8. Karnopp, Hope (June 27, 2024). "Here's who's running for state Legislature in Milwaukee, suburbs in Wisconsin 2024 election". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  9. ^ County by County Report - 2024 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 27, 2024. p. 7. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  10. "Weber, Harvey A." The Sheboygan Press. September 28, 2011. p. 7. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

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