Robert Richard Stafsholt (born November 1975) is an American farmer, businessman, and Republican politician from St. Croix County, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 10th Senate district since 2021. He previously served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 29th Assembly district from 2017 to 2021.
Rob Stafsholt | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 10th district | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Patty Schachtner |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 29th district | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 4, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | John Murtha |
| Succeeded by | Clint Moses |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 1975 (age 49) St. Croix County, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Colleen McNamara (div. 2007) |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence(s) | New Richmond, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Occupation | businessman, farmer |
| Website | |
Early life and career
editStafsholt graduated from New Richmond High School in 1994.[1] He attended the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and University of Wisconsin–River Falls.[2][3]
Stafsholt comes from a farming family and managed the family farm; he also ran his family's food manufacturing business, worked as a mortgage loan originator, and owned several rental units.[1]
Political career
editState Assembly
editIn 2016, after incumbent state representative John Murtha declared that he would not seek re-election to a sixth term, Stafsholt filed to run for the 29th district seat. Stafsholt won the Republican primary, and defeated Democrat Scottie Ard in the 2016 general election. He was re-elected in 2018.[4][5][6] In 2020, Stafsholt ran for Wisconsin State Senate from the 10th Senate district, defeating Cherlie Link of Somerset in the Republican primary[7] and incumbent Democratic state senator Patty Schachtner in the general election.[8]
In the state Assembly, Stafsholt sponsored legislation to eliminate state protections for wetlands and air quality[9] and to prohibit state and local government from using the power of eminent domain to create or extend bike trails, recreational trails, and sidewalks.[10] Stafsholt authored legislation in 2019 that eliminated Wisconsin's minimum hunting age.[11] In 2021, Stafsholt and other Republican state legislators demanded that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources implement immediately a wolf hunt season before the wolf could potentially be re-added to the federal Endangered Species List.[12]
State Senate
editDuring his 2020 campaign for state Senate, Stafsholt criticized public-health orders issued by Governor Tony Evers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic, calling the orders "unlawful government overreach."[13] In 2021, Stafsholt proposed legislation to prevent the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Technical College System from requiring on-campus students to be vaccinated or regularly tested against COVID-19 in order to access campus buildings.[14]
He is a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Rifle Association of America, the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, and Safari Club International; he is a former member of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters' Association and the Wisconsin Association of Mortgage Brokers.[15]
Electoral history
editWisconsin Assembly (2016, 2018)
edit| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Primary[16] | Aug. 9 | Rob Stafsholt | Republican | 1,352 | 73.44% | Vince Trudell | Rep. | 485 | 26.34% | 1,841 | 867 |
| General[17] | Nov. 8 | Rob Stafsholt | Republican | 16,774 | 61.10% | Scottie E. Ard | Dem. | 10,661 | 38.83% | 27,454 | 6,113 | |
| 2018 | General[17] | Nov. 6 | Rob Stafsholt (inc) | Republican | 12,523 | 54.70% | John Rocco Calabrese | Dem. | 9,750 | 38.94% | 31,739 | 5,432 |
| Brian Corriea | Lib. | 620 | 2.71% | |||||||||
Wisconsin Senate (2020–present)
edit| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Primary[16] | Aug. 11 | Rob Stafsholt | Republican | 12,603 | 64.85% | Cheri Link | Rep. | 6,828 | 35.13% | 19,435 | 5,775 |
| General[17] | Nov. 3 | Rob Stafsholt | Republican | 61,914 | 59.91% | Patty Schachtner (inc) | Dem. | 41,410 | 38.83% | 103,353 | 20,504 | |
References
edit- ^ a b Jason Schulte, Three declare for Murtha's seat, RiverTowns (March 17, 2016).
- ^ Rebecca C. Mariscal, Hear from the Wisconsin District 10 candidates, RiverTowns (October 13, 2020).
- ^ "Representative Rob Stafsholt". docs.legis.wisconsin.gov.
- ^ Schulte, Jason (2016-03-17). "Three declare for Murtha's seat". New Richmond News. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- ^ "WisconsinVote.org.-Rob Stafsholt".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Rob Stafsholt". www.ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Primary Races Shape State Senate, Set Stage For November, Wisconsin Public Radio (August 11, 2020).
- ^ Lindquist, Eric (November 4, 2020). "Stafsholt rolls to victory over Schachtner in 10th Senate District". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ Steven Verburg, Wisconsin Republicans launch new rollback of air, water protections, Wisconsin State Journal (October 3, 2017).
- ^ Todd Richmonds, Evers budget restores eminent domain for bike trails, Associated Press (April 7, 2019).
- ^ Sandy Cullen, Assembly eliminates Wisconsin's minimum hunting age, Wisconsin State Journal (November 3, 2017).
- ^ Todd Richmond, Republicans demand DNR resume wolf hunt immediately, Associated Press (January 19, 2021).
- ^ Bailey Rieger-Borer, 10th Senate District Candidates Debate COVID-19 Response, Education Spending, Wisconsin Oublic Radio (October 28, 2020).
- ^ Kremer, Rich (2021-05-12). "Republican Bill Would Ban UW System, Tech Colleges From Requiring COVID-19 Testing Or Vaccinations". Wisconsin Public Radio. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "State Legislature". State of Wisconsin Blue Book (PDF) (Report) (2017-2018 ed.). State of Wisconsin. p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- ^ a b Canvass Results for 2020 Primary Election - 8/11/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2020. p. 6. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ^ a b c Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. pp. 4–5. Retrieved October 2, 2024.