Martha Kniess Laning (born 1962/1963) was the chairwoman of the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educa ...

. A businesswoman, activist, and politician from

Port Edwards, Wisconsin Port Edwards is a village in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States. The village is located northeast and adjacent to the Town of Port Edwards. The population was 1,818 at the 2010 census. History Port Edwards was known as "Frenchtown" until ...

, she was elected Democratic chairwoman on June 5, 2015 and was succeeded by

Ben Wikler Benjamin McDonald Wikler (born February 3, 1981) is an American politician and the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin since July 2019. He is a former Senior Advisor at MoveOn. Early life and education Ben Wikler grew up in Madison, ...

on July 1, 2019.

Life and political career

Laning received her undergraduate and master's degrees from the

University of Wisconsin 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, t ...

. She was employed by

Target Stores Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...

and

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

before moving to

Plymouth, Wisconsin Plymouth is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, along the Mullet River. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in the Town of Plymouth, but is politically independent. Plymouth is kno ...

, where she worked as executive director of the Plymouth Intergenerational Center. She was also one of the founders of the organization, which was started in 2009. While she was at the organization, she helped raise around $4.7 million to build the center. She resigned as director "for personal reasons" in 2013. In 2013, Laning announced that she would challenge state Senator

Joe Leibham Joseph K. Leibham (born June 6, 1969) is an American business executive and lobbyist who served as a Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 9th District from 2002 to 2014. He previously served in the Wisconsin Assembly, repr ...

, a

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 ...

, for reelection to his 9th District. This would be her first time running for office as she had no prior political experience. However, Laning felt that her fundraising skills would give her an advantage in the race. Leibham did not seek reelection, instead pursuing the Republican congressional nomination 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 ...

, so Laning faced

Sheboygan County Sheboygan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At th ...

Board Chairman

Devin LeMahieu Devin LeMahieu (born August 8, 1972) is an American businessman and Republican politician. He is the current majority leader of the Wisconsin State Senate, since 2021, and has represented the 9th Senate district since 2015. Early life, educat ...

in the 2014 general election. Laning was defeated in the election, losing by about 20 percentage points. In 2015, Laning announced her candidacy to succeed outgoing

chairman Mike Tate. The campaign for the chairmanship was crowded and contentious; Laning faced former party chair

Joe Wineke Joseph S. Wineke (born January 5, 1957) is an American politician. He was chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 2005 through 2009. During his term as chair, he saw the Democrats gain full control of Wisconsin's executive and legisla ...

, Milwaukee consultant Jason Rae, and former state representatives Jeff Smith and Stephen Smith. Prior to the party convention in Milwaukee, Jeff Smith controversially offered Laning the party's executive directorship if she exited the race; she declined the offer, while Smith ultimately dropped out of the race and endorsed Laning. On June 5, 2015, she was elected chairwoman at the party's annual convention in

Milwaukee 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. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

receiving 721 votes to Rae's 428 and Wineke's 191. Laning was a super-delegate, and pledged support to whoever won the presidential primary in Wisconsin. Despite this statement, the primary was won by

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

and Laning cast her vote for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. In July 2017, Laning was re-elected to the head of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. She had three challengers for the seat of head of party.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laning, Martha 1960s births Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairs Living people People from Plymouth, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Wisconsin Democrats Year of birth missing (living people)