Devin LeMahieu

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Devin LeMahieu
Majority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
Preceded byScott L. Fitzgerald
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded byJoe Leibham
Personal details
Born (1972-08-08) August 8, 1972 (age 53)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, U.S.
PartyRepublican (Wisconsin)
Parent
ResidenceOostburg, Wisconsin
EducationDordt College (BA)
OccupationNewspaper publisher, politician
WebsiteOfficial website

Devin LeMahieu (born August 8, 1972) is an American businessman and Republican politician from Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. He is the current majority leader of the Wisconsin Senate, since 2021, and has represented Wisconsin's 9th Senate district since 2015. He previously served nine years on the Sheboygan County board of supervisors. His father, Daniel LeMahieu, served 12 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Early life, education and career

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Devin LeMahieu was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and has lived most of his life in the Sheboygan area. He graduated from Sheboygan County Christian High School in 1991, and went on to attend Dordt College, in Sioux Center, Iowa; he earned his bachelor's degree in 1995 with a double major in business administration and political science.[1]

After college, LeMahieu began working for the Lakeshore Weekly advertiser, which his father owned. He later took over ownership of the paper.[1]

Early political career

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LeMahieu was involved in politics from an early age because of his father's active role in the local Republican Party.[2] In 2006, he made his first bid for public office, running for an open seat on the Sheboygan County board of supervisors. He won the election without opposition[3] and went on to serve on the board for the next nine years.[1]

LeMahieu made his first run for the Wisconsin Legislature in 2012, when he launched a primary challenge against Republican incumbent Mike Endsley in the 26th Assembly district. In announcing his run, LeMahieu stated that his campaign wasn't intended as opposition to any particular policy or vote from Endsley, but was merely an acknowledgement that the district had been significantly reshaped by the 2011 redistricting act to include vast portions of southern Sheboygan County, including LeMahieu's home in Oostburg.[4][5] LeMahieu ultimately fell short in the primary, receiving 40% of the vote.[6]

Wisconsin Senate

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Two years after his loss in the Assembly primary, LeMahieu seized another opportunity to run for state office when incumbent state senator Joe Leibham announced he would run for U.S. House of Representatives rather than seeking another term representing Wisconsin's 9th Senate district.[7] This time, LeMahieu faced no opponent in the primary and went on to the general election against Democratic candidate Martha Laning. The 9th Senate district then comprised most of Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties and part of Calumet County, and was a safely Republican seat; LeMahieu prevailed with 60% of the vote.[8] He took office at the start of the 101st Wisconsin Legislature, and resigned from the county board.

During his first term in the Senate, he was assigned chair of the Senate Committee on Elections and Local Government, and was Senate co-chair of the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions.[9] LeMahieu was easily re-elected in 2018.[10]

In the 2020 general election, Wisconsin Senate majority leader Scott L. Fitzgerald was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving his leadership position vacant. In a closed caucus meeting, the Senate Republicans elected LeMahieu as their majority leader just days after the 2020 election.[11][12]

He supports flattening Wisconsin's tax code to provide tax relief to the middle class, and has proposed gradually transitioning Wisconsin to a flat tax, a move he said would "fundamentally transform Wisconsin's individual income tax and keep more money in the pockets of hardworking families."[13] During his tenure as majority leader, the two largest income tax cuts in Wisconsin's history were signed into law with bipartisan support.[14] [15]

In 2017, LeMahieu authored the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. REINS improved transparency in Wisconsin's rulemaking process by allowing additional public input and required that administrative rules costing more than $10 million be passed by the legislature as a whole.[16] Similar legislation has since been considered at the federal level and in statehouses across the country.[17][18]

LeMahieu is known for his calm, pragmatic demeanor and was featured in the Capital Times for legislating out of the limelight.

Electoral history

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Wisconsin Assembly (2012)

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Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2012 Primary[6] Aug. 14 Mike Endsley (inc) Republican 5,144 59.93% Devin LeMahieu Rep. 3,427 39.93% 8,583 1,717

Wisconsin Senate (2014–present)

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Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2014 General[8] Nov. 4 Devin LeMahieu Republican 43,186 59.95% Martha Laning Dem. 28,770 39.94% 72,035 14,416
2018 General[10] Nov. 6 Devin LeMahieu (inc) Republican 44,680 58.47% Kyle Whelton Dem. 31,684 41.47% 76,409 12,996
2022 General[19] Nov. 8 Devin LeMahieu (inc) Republican 57,836 93.64% Jarrod Schroeder (write-in) Dem. 1,237 2.00% 61,765 56,599

References

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  13. ^ https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/01/17/republican-senate-leader-reveals-flat-tax-proposal/
  14. ^ https://atr.org/wisconsin-lawmakers-pass-budget-includes-largest-income-tax-cut-state-history/?amp
  15. ^ https://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/republicans/budget/tax-cuts/
  16. ^ https://www.wispolitics.com/2017/sen-lemahieu-reins-act-passes-the-senate/
  17. ^ https://ballotpedia.org/REINS-style_state_laws
  18. ^ https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/277
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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