Chuck Wichgers (born July 4, 1965) is an American businessman and Republican politician from Waukesha County, Wisconsin.Representative Chuck Wichgers: Assembly District 83 (R - Muskego)
Wisconsin State Assembly. He is a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, representing the 83rd Assembly district since 2017. Due to

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

, he will represent the 82nd Assembly district after January 2023.

Early life and education

Wichgers was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. He graduated from

Muskego High School Muskego High School is a comprehensive secondary school located in Muskego, Wisconsin. The school, administered by the Muskego-Norway School District, lies in southeast Waukesha County, in southeast Wisconsin. The district stretches through the ...

in 1983 and attended

Waukesha County Technical College Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) is a public community college in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The college has campuses in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Waukesha and Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Pewaukee. It is a member of the W ...

from 1984–1985.

Political career

Wichgers was a Waukesha County supervisor and alderman of

Muskego Muskego () is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,135. Muskego is the fifth largest community in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Muskego has a large Norwegian population. The nam ...

(1999–2002). He was first elected to the

in 2016, from District 83. In 2017, he sponsored a controversial bill that would allow

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...

s to give physicals to student athletes. (Under current Wisconsin law, only

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s and

physician assistant A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of Mid-level practitioner, mid-level health care provider. In North America PAs may diagnose illnesses, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and may serve as a pri ...

s may do so.) In 2021, he sponsored legislation to prohibit public schools from teaching students and employees about concepts such as

systemic racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, healt ...

and

implicit bias In social identity theory, an implicit bias or implicit stereotype, is the pre-reflective attribution of particular qualities by an individual to a member of some social out group. Implicit stereotypes are thought to be shaped by experience and ...

; the bill passed an Assembly committee on a party-line vote. In March 2020, Wichgers opposed a Wisconsin Department of Health Services rule that

seventh-grade Seventh grade (or grade seven) is a year or level of education. The seventh grade is the eighth school year, the second or third year of middle school, and the first year of junior high school. Students are around 13-14 years old in this stage of ...

students to receive the meningitis vaccine, a key protection against

bacterial meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. The proposal was voted down on party lines in a committee vote. October 2020, amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin, Wichgers was one of several Wisconsin Republican legislators who attended an indoor mass gathering hosted by an anti-abortion organizations without wearing masks. In August 2021, Wichgers delivered a speech to anti-

vaccine mandate A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by State or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or s ...

protestors at the

Wisconsin State Capitol The Wisconsin State Capitol, located in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed in 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wi ...

, at which demonstrators likened

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

s to genocide and tyranny. After Joe Biden defeated

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, Wichgers was one of 15 Wisconsin Republican legislators (joined by 76 Republican state legislators from other states) who attempted to subvert the election result and block Biden's victory. On January 5, 2021—one day before a violent pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol—Wichgers signed a letter asking Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

to delay the legally-mandated counting of the electoral votes for 10 days while they worked to convince Republican-controlled state legislators in key states won by Biden to overturn the election results, keeping Trump in power for another term. On July 25, 2022, Wichgers joined fellow Wisconsin Rep. Tim Ramthun's effort to pass a bill that would have the state legislature decertify its results from the 2020 presidental election and recall Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes, which went to Joe Biden.

References

External links

Official Assembly webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wichgers, Chuck 1965 births Living people Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly County supervisors in Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members People from Muskego, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee Waukesha County Technical College alumni 21st-century American politicians