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Dianne Hesselbein

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Dianne Hesselbein
Hesselbein in 2013
Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 1, 2023
Preceded byMelissa Agard
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 27th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byJon Erpenbach
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 79th district
In office
January 7, 2013 – January 2, 2023
Preceded bySondy Pope-Roberts
Succeeded byAlex Joers
Personal details
Born (1971-03-10) March 10, 1971 (age 53)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Scott Edmundson
​
​
(m. 1995; div. 2000)​

Robert Hesselbein
Children3
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Oshkosh (BS)
Edgewood College (MA)
WebsiteState Senate website
Campaign website

Dianne H. Hesselbein (née Conway; born March 10, 1971) is an American Democratic politician from Middleton, Wisconsin. She is the minority leader of the Wisconsin Senate since December 2023; she has been a member of the Senate since January 2023, representing Wisconsin's 27th Senate district. She previously served ten years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 79th Assembly district from 2013 through 2023.

Biography

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Dianne Hesselbein was born Dianne Conway in Madison, Wisconsin, in March 1971. She graduated from La Follette High School in 1989 and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1993. She then obtained her master's in religious studies from Edgewood College in 1996.[1][2]

She subsequently moved to Middleton, Wisconsin, just west of Madison, where she was elected to the Dane County board of supervisors. In November 2012, she was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly without opposition, running on the Democratic Party ticket.[3][4] She was subsequently re-elected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020,[1] and rose within the caucus to become assistant minority leader from 2017 through 2022.[5]

In December 2021, long-time incumbent state senator Jon Erpenbach announced he would not run for a seventh term in 2022.[6] A week later, Hesselbein announced she would run for the open Senate seat.[7] She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary, and went on to defeat Republican candidate Robert Relph with 68% of the vote in the November general election.[8]

She was sworn in as state senator in January 2023. In December 2023, she was elected minority leader of the Wisconsin Senate following the resignation of Melissa Agard.[9]

Personal life and family

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Dianne Hesselbein's first husband was Scott Edmundson, during that marriage she was known as Dianne Edmundson. They were married in 1995[10] and had two children together before divorcing in 2000.[11]

She took the name Dianne Hesselbein when she married airline pilot Robert Hesselbein, with whom she had one more child. She now resides in Middleton with her husband, who is now retired.[2]

Electoral history

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Wisconsin Assembly (2012–2020)

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Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2012 Primary[12] Aug. 14 Dianne Hesselbein Democratic 3,590 65.52% Ellen Lindgren Dem. 1,885 34.40% 5,479 1,705
General[13] Nov. 6 Dianne Hesselbein Democratic 24,683 98.75% 24,995 24,371
2014 General[14] Nov. 4 Dianne Hesselbein (inc) Democratic 18,843 62.24% Brent Renteria Rep. 11,406 37.67% 30,275 7,437
2016 General[15] Nov. 8 Dianne Hesselbein (inc) Democratic 23,211 63.84% Jordan Zadra Rep. 13,105 36.04% 36,360 10,106
2018 General[16] Nov. 6 Dianne Hesselbein (inc) Democratic 28,079 97.58% 28,776 27,382
2020 General[17] Nov. 3 Dianne Hesselbein (inc) Democratic 29,719 67.14% Victoria Fueger Rep. 14,507 32.77% 44,267 15,212

Wisconsin Senate (2022)

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Wisconsin Senate, 27th District Election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 8, 2022[8]
Democratic Dianne Hesselbein 65,618 67.97% +1.81%
Republican Robert Relph 30,863 31.97%
Scattering 53 0.05%
Plurality 34,755 36.00% +3.63%
Total votes 96,534 100.0% -1.14%
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ a b "Senator Dianne H. Hesselbein (2023)". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "About Dianne". Dianne Hesselbein for State Senate. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "Dianne Hesselbein | Wisconsin Vote". Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
  4. ^ Baumann, Roberta (2012-10-24). "Hesselbein unopposed for Assembly District 70". The Waunakee Tribune.
  5. ^ "Representative Dianne Hesselbein (2021)". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "Longtime Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Jon Erpenbach not seeking reelection". Wisconsin Public Radio. December 8, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  7. ^ Opoien, Jessie (December 16, 2021). "Dianne Hesselbein will run for Wisconsin's 27th Senate District". The Capital Times. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Canvass Results for 2022 General Election - 11/8/2022 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 30, 2022. p. 8. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  9. ^ "Dems elect Hesselbein as minority leader". Wispolitics.com. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  10. ^ "Conway / Edmundson". Wisconsin State Journal. October 23, 1994. p. 3G. Retrieved May 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Dane County Case Number 2000FA000447 In RE the marriage of Dianne Hesselbein and Scott Edmundson (Report). Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Canvass Results for 2012 Partisan Primary - 8/14/2012 (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. August 28, 2012. p. 56. Retrieved May 16, 2023 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
  13. ^ Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. p. 27. Retrieved May 16, 2023 – via Wisconsin Elections Commission.
  14. ^ Canvass Results for 2014 General Election - 11/4/2014 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2014. p. 26. Retrieved May 16, 2023 – via Wisconsin Elections Commission.
  15. ^ Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. pp. 26–27. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  16. ^ Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 22, 2019. p. 28. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  17. ^ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 26. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
[edit]
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 79th district
2013–2023 		Succeeded by
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 27th district
2023–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
2023–present


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