Karen Marie Kirsch (née Weber; born April 29, 1968) is an American marketing professional and Democratic politician from Greenfield, Wisconsin. She is a member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and will represent 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.
Karen Kirsch | |
|---|---|
| Member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 7th district | |
| Assuming office January 6, 2025 | |
| Succeeding | Daniel Riemer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Karen Marie Weber April 29, 1968 Port Washington, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Residence | Greenfield, Wisconsin |
| Education | Milwaukee Area Technical College Mount Mary University |
| Occupation | Marketing, politician |
| Website | Campaign website |
Her husband, Rob Hansen, is a former chair of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County.
Early life and career
editKaren Kirsch was born Karen Marie Weber in Port Washington, Wisconsin, on April 29, 1968.[1] 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.[2] She continued her education at Milwaukee's Mount Mary University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in art education.[3]
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
editKirsch 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.[3]
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.[3] From 2017 to 2019, she was also a member of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's governing administrative committee.[4]
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.[3]
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.[5] 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.[6][7][8] In the general election, she won a comfortable victory over perennial candidate Lee Whiting.[9] She will take office in January 2025.
Personal life and family
editKaren 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.[10]
Karen Marie Weber took the last name Kirsch when she married John Gerard Kirsch. They divorced in 2006.[11] Karen Kirsch subsequently married Robert Hansen. Robert Hansen is a member of the Greenfield school board since 2013, and previously served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County, and was a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention supporting Bernie Sanders.[12] They reside in Greenfield, Wisconsin; Karen is stepmother to Hansen's daughter from a previous marriage.[3]
Electoral history
editWisconsin Assembly (2024)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 5, 2024[9] | |||||
| 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
edit- ^ "Births". The Sheboygan Press. May 2, 1968. p. 6. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "About". Karen Kirsch for Assembly. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Team Bio". Citizen Action Wisconsin. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "2024 Wisconsin Assembly races". Wispolitics.com. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b County by County Report - 2024 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 27, 2024. p. 7. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ "Weber, Harvey A." The Sheboygan Press. September 28, 2011. p. 7. Retrieved December 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sheboygan County Case Number 2006FA000097 Karen Marie Kirsch vs. John Kirsch". Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. February 20, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ "School Board". School District of Greenfield. Retrieved December 1, 2024.