Peter A. Schmidt (born July 3, 1992) is an American dairy farmer and

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 ...

politician from the U.S. state of

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 ...

. 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

Wisconsin's 6th Assembly district The 6th Assembly District of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in northeast Wisconsin, the district comprises most of Shawano County, including the city of Shawano, and northwest Outagamie County, as well ...

since January 2023.

Biography

Peter Schmidt was born in

Shawano County, Wisconsin Shawano County (pronounced SHAW-no) (originally Shawanaw County) is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,881. Its county seat is Shawano. Shawano County is included in the Shawano, WI ...

, graduated from St. Paul Lutheran School, and earned his bachelor's degree from the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and grants associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees, as well as ...

. He is a co-owner of his family farm, the Schmidt Ponderosa farm, which maintains a herd of 1,600 dairy cows. He has been a member of the Shawano County board of supervisors and the planning commission for the town of Hartland.

Political career

In 2021,

incumbent

Gary Tauchen Gary Tauchen (born November 23, 1953) is an American dairy farmer and Republican politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 6th Assembly district from 2007 through 2022. The 6th district comprised most of Sh ...

announced he would not seek re-election in the 2022 election. Schmidt was one of six who sought the Republican nomination to succeed Tauchen. Schmidt ultimately prevailed in the primary by just 63 votes, but soon came under intense controversy. Days after the primary, it was revealed that Schmidt had been the victim of a blackmail attempt by a worker on his family farm, who had a video of Schmidt performing oral sex on another man. The same week, another story came to light in which Schmidt had been charged with a felony for choking another worker on his farm, but had pleaded it down to a misdemeanor. The controversies caused the Shawano County Republican Party to censure Schmidt and coalesce around a write-in campaign for his Republican primary rival, businessman Dean Neubert. The censure was backed by Republican county officeholders, including the district attorney, sheriff, and clerk of courts, who all said they could not support Schmidt. Many who signed the censure even suggested they would support the Democratic candidate if there were no Republican write-in campaign. Despite the controversies and the write-in campaign, the district's heavy Republican tilt, created by Wisconsin's strong Republican gerrymander, allowed Schmidt to easily prevail in the general election with 55% of the vote.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2022)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Republican Primary, August 9, 2022 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 2022

References

External links

Campaign website

Peter Schmidt
at Wisconsin Vote * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Peter Living people People from Shawano County, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 21st-century American politicians Farmers from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point alumni 1992 births