Howard L. Marklein (born October 3, 1954) is an American
Republican politician and retired accountant and fraud examiner from
Sauk County, Wisconsin. He is a member of the
Wisconsin Senate, representing
Wisconsin's 17th Senate district since 2015; he was president pro tempore of the Senate from 2017 through 2021, and is now the Senate co-chair of the Legislature's influential Joint Finance Committee. Previously, he served four years in the
Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the
51st Assembly district.
Early life and education
Howard Marklein was born in
Madison, Wisconsin, and raised on a dairy farm in rural
Spring Green
Spring green is a color that was traditionally considered to be on the yellow side of green, but in modern computer systems based on the RGB color model is halfway between cyan and green on the color wheel.
The modern spring green, when plott ...
, where he continues to reside.
He graduated from River Valley High School in 1972 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting at the
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 1976.
After college, Howard worked for First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee (now
U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American bank holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and incorporated in Delaware. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, and is the fifth largest banking institution i ...
). He was recruited by Virchow, Krause, & Company, LLP (now
Baker Tilly US, LLP) to work in their
Dodgeville office. In 1979, he obtained his
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
(CPA) certification. Shortly after earning his CPA, Howard was promoted and transferred to the Whitewater and Fort Atkinson offices of Virchow, Krause, & Company, LLP. In 1984, he was promoted to Partner in the firm. Later, his practice was focused on forensic accounting and white collar crime investigations, for which he also became a
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). He is now retired from this career.
Political career
Howard was elected to the
Wisconsin State Assembly in 2010, representing the
51st Assembly district, and was re-elected in 2012.
On April 7, 2013, Marklein announced that he would launch a
primary challenge against incumbent state senator
Dale Schultz. Schultz, a moderate Republican who sometimes crossed over and voted with Democrats, chose not to run for re-election after Marklein jumped out to an early lead in fundraising. With Schultz out of the race, Marklein won the nomination without opposition and went on to defeat Democrat Pat Bomhack in the general election.
He was elected by the Republican caucus as president pro tempore of the Senate for the 2017 and 2019 sessions. In 2021, he became the Senate co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee—the Wisconsin Legislature's powerful budget-writing committee. He retained that chairmanship in the
2023–2024 session.
Personal life and family
Howard Marklein married Peggy McNeil, a registered nurse. They have two adult children, three stepchildren, and six grandchildren.
Electoral history
Wisconsin Assembly (2010, 2012)
Wisconsin Senate (2014, 2018, 2022)
References
External links
Official (Senate) websiteSenator Howard L. Markleinat
Wisconsin Legislature
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1954 births
21st-century American politicians
Living people
Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
People from Spring Green, Wisconsin
Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni
Republican Party Wisconsin state senators