Jessica Jeane King (born July 21, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. She is a former Democratic member of the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

, representing the 18th district when elected in 2011. She defeated incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Senator

Randy Hopper Randal B. "Randy" Hopper is a former Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 18th District from 2009 until losing his seat to Jessica King in a 2011 recall election. The 18th District includes the cities of Fond du Lac, Oshk ...

in a special recall election on August 9, 2011, and took office August 25, 2011; but lost the seat the following year to another Republican, Rick Gudex, in the November 2012

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, which reverted that chamber back to Republican control.

Background

King was born and raised in

Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...

. Her parents were disabled, and she became a

ward of the state In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court". Overview The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient jur ...

at age 15. She put herself through the

University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, working in a juicebox factory and doing similar work, and went on to earn a J.D. degree from

Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) is a private law school in San Diego, California. It offers a Juris Doctor and three Master of Laws programs, including one that is exclusively online,"How to enroll in America's first LLM Program". http://l ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2004, she returned to Wisconsin to care for her aging parents. She opened a

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

, and served as an adjunct professor at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She is a former associate attorney who was with Steinhilber, Swanson, Mares, Marone & McDermott. King was elected to the Oshkosh Common Council, eventually becoming deputy mayor, In 2008, she ran against Hopper for the Senate losing by only 163 votes (41,741 to 41,904).

Wisconsin Senate

In the wake of the

2011 Wisconsin protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

, King was one of two Wisconsin Democratic challengers successful in unseating Republican incumbent senators who had supported Governor

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

. The 18th district includes Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and

Waupun Waupun is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, Dodge and Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 11,344 at the 2020 census. Of this, 7,795 were in Dodge County, and 3,549 were in Fond du ...

. She narrowly defeated Hopper by 1254 votes (28,191 votes to 26,937). On November 13, 2012, King conceded to Republican Rick Gudex, then Fond du Lac

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

president. As a result of the race, the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

reverted to Republican control by a two-vote majority in January 2013.

2020 congressional election

She ran against incumbent

Glenn Grothman Glenn S. Grothman (; born July 3, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 6th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected to his seat in 2014. Grothman r ...

for

Wisconsin's 6th congressional district Wisconsin's 6th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply th ...

in 2020. She received 164,239 votes, or 40.72% of the total votes cast, losing the election.

References

External links

Jessica King for Wisconsin
campaign website
Senate profile
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Jessica 1975 births 21st-century American women politicians Living people People from Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Thomas Jefferson School of Law people University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh faculty Wisconsin city council members Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Women state legislators in Wisconsin Women city councillors in Wisconsin American women academics 21st-century American politicians