Robert T. "Bob" Welch (born June 8, 1958) is an American lobbyist and former

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. He served 10 years in 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 ...

and 10 years in the State Assembly, and was an unsuccessful candidate for United States Senate in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

and 2004.

Biography

Born in

Berlin, Wisconsin Berlin is a city in Green Lake and Waushara counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 5,571 at the 2020 census. Of this, 5,435 were in Green Lake County, and only 89 were in Waushara County. The city is located mostly within t ...

, Welch graduated from Ripon College and went to

Madison Area Technical College Madison Area Technical College (Madison College) is a public technical and community college based in Madison, Wisconsin. It serves students in parts of 12 counties in south-central Wisconsin: Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, J ...

, where he was trained to be a surveyor. He served in 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, ...

from 1985 to 1995. Rather than run for re-election in 1994, he chose to run for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

and was defeated by

Herb Kohl Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...

. Shortly after the 1994 election, incumbent state senator Joseph Leean announced he would resign to accept an appointment from the Governor. Welch won the 1995

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to fill the remainder of his term. He was subsequently elected to a full term in 1996 and 2000. In 2004, he again deferred re-election for an attempt at election to the United States Senate, but came in a distant 3rd in the Republican primary. He left office in January 2005. After leaving office, Welch formed a lobbying firm, Welch Group Public Affairs, with his wife, Jeanne. Their son, Peter, also works for the company as Chief Operating Officer.

References

External links

*
Our Campaigns – Robert Welch (WI)
profile , - , - People from Berlin, Wisconsin Madison Area Technical College alumni Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 1958 births Living people Candidates in the 2004 United States elections 21st-century American politicians {{Wisconsin-WISenate-stub