Elijah Behnke (born February 15, 1983) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

small business owner and

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politician. 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, ...

, having won an April 2021

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in the 89th Assembly district.

Biography

Behnke was born in

Oconto Falls, Wisconsin Oconto Falls is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,891 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay Green Bay metropolitan area, Metr ...

, and raised on his parents' nearby farm. He worked on the farm through his childhood and graduated from

Oconto High School Oconto High School is a public high school in Oconto, Wisconsin, USA. Enrollment is approximately 394 students. The present school building was constructed in 1969. The school mascot is the Blue Devil and the school colors are blue and gold. The ...

in 2001. He went on to attend

bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...

in northeast

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. In 2006, he returned to Wisconsin and started working for his mother's cleaning business. After a year, he started his own cleaning business, Eschalon Cleaning LLC. In addition to his cleaning business, Behnke operates a

hobby farm A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block in New Zealand, or acreage living or rural residential in Australia) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held merely to ...

and is a ministry leader in his church. In December 2020, just after the 2020 election, state representative

John Nygren John Nygren (born February 27, 1964) is an American insurance and financial services agent, politician, and lobbyist. A Republican, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for nearly 14 years, serving from January 2007 to December 2020. ...

announced he would resign from office. Within days, Behnke announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination to succeed Nygren in the Assembly. In his campaign, Behnke stated that one of his motivations in running for office was to seek relief for small business owners like himself who had been harmed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the resultant public safety measures. In the Republican

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, Behnke was endorsed by neighboring State Senator

André Jacque André Jacque (born October 13, 1980) is an American politician who serves as a Wisconsin State Senator, representing the Wisconsin's 1st State Senate district, 1st senatorial district as a Republican Party (United States), Republican since 2019. ...

and Oconto County Sheriff Todd Skarban, as well as other state Republican interest groups, such as Wisconsin Family Action, Pro Life Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Right to Life. Behnke topped the five-person Republican primary field with nearly 45% of the vote. He went on to defeat Democrat Karl Jaeger in the April

. A recording of Behnke speaking in 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 ...

emerged in January 2022. Behnke referred to fabricated claims of Democrat electoral fraud, and urged his listeners: "Let's cheat like the Democrats do." On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, Governor Evers’ called for a Special Session to defend reproductive rights in Wisconsin to introduce and pass AB 713 and AB 106, which would have protected the right for women to have a say over their bodies. Despite bipartisan support for legal access to abortion from both Wisconsin Democrats and Republicans, Elijah Behnke and other Republicans in the Legislature gaveled in and gaveled out at the special session without protecting women's rights and leaving 1.3 million Wisconsin women of reproductive age without access to a legal abortion.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2021)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Republican Primary, February 16, 2021 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 6, 2021 (unofficial results)

References

External links

* *
Campaign websiteArchived April 7, 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behnke, Elijah 1983 births Living people People from Oconto County, Wisconsin 21st-century American politicians Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly