John Jagler (born November 4, 1969) is an American radio broadcaster, communications consultant, 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. He served in the 37th district 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, ...

from 2013 until being elected to 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 ...

13th district in the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

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 vacancy left by

Scott L. Fitzgerald Scott Lawrence Fitzgerald (born November 16, 1963) is an American politician and former newspaper publisher. A Republican, he represents in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes many of Milwaukee's northern and western suburb ...

. He was sworn in on April 23.

Early life and career

Born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, Jagler moved to

Oak Creek, Wisconsin Oak Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Milwaukee County, it sits on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and is located immediately south of Milwaukee. The city is one of the fastest growing in Milwaukee County and al ...

, with his family at age 3 and graduated from Oak Creek High School in 1987. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, but departed instead to the Trans-American School of Broadcasting in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, where he earned an

associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of Tertiary education, post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelo ...

in 1989. Jagler worked in radio broadcasting for over 20 years, most of it spent at WTMJ radio 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 ...

. For several years he was the co-host of ''Wisconsin's Morning News'' with Gene Mueller. He also started a communications and media consulting firm, Jagler Communications, which he still owns and operates.

Political career

In January 2010, he joined the legislative staff of state representative Jeff Fitzgerald as communications director. Following the 2010 election, Fitzgerald became

Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly The Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly is the presiding officer of the Wisconsin State Assembly, the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Article IV of the Constitution of Wisconsin, ratified in 1848, establishes the legislature and s ...

. Jagler remained on his staff until announcing his own campaign for

in 2012. The 37th Assembly district was significantly redrawn in the controversial Republican redistricting act of 2011
2011 Wisc. Act 43
. The previous representative of the 37th district, Democrat Andy Jorgensen, was drawn out of the district entirely, residing in what was—after 2011—the 43rd district, and leaving the 37th district an open seat. The new 37th district was heavily gerrymandered to create a Republican-majority district, and it resulted in a flood of Republican candidates entering the primary for the open seat. Jagler was endorsed by Speaker Fitzgerald and the entire Assembly Republican leadership. He also received substantial support from other Republican officeholders, including, significantly, State Representative Joel Kleefisch, whose 38th Assembly district previously covered much of the territory of the new 37th district. Kleefisch was also, notably, the husband of the new

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, removal, impeachment, absence from the state, or incapacity due to ...

Rebecca Kleefisch Rebecca Ann Kleefisch (née Reed; born August 7, 1975) is an American politician and former television reporter who served as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected to the p ...

, with the Kleefisches also being former broadcast reporters. In the August primary, Jagler cruised to victory over his four opponents. He went on to win the 2012 general election with 55% of the vote over Democrat Mary Arnold. Jagler is now serving his fifth term. Shortly after the 2020 election, where State Senator

, brother of former Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, was elected to 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 the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Jagler announced his candidacy for Fitzgerald's state senate seat. Jagler once again faced a crowded primary field and received substantial support from the party; he was immediately endorsed by Scott Fitzgerald. Jagler prevailed in the February primary with 57% of the vote, and went on to defeat Democrat Melissa Winker in the April special election.

Personal life and family

Jagler and his wife, Heidi, have lived in

Watertown, Wisconsin Watertown is a city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. The population of Watertown was 2 ...

, for over 20 years. They have three children.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2012–2020)

Wisconsin Senate (2021)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Republican Primary, February 16, 2021 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Special Election, April 6, 2021 (unofficial results)

References

External links

* *
Official website

Representative John Jagler
at

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republica ...

37th Assembly District map (2011–2021)
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jagler, John 1969 births Living people Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky Politicians from Watertown, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Parkside alumni Radio personalities from Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 21st-century American politicians