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Jessie Rodriguez

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Jessie Rodriguez
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 21st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 4, 2013
Preceded byMark Honadel
Personal details
Born
Yesenia Edelmira Garay

(1977-07-05) July 5, 1977 (age 47)
Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAaron M. Rodriguez
Children1
ResidenceOak Creek, Wisconsin
Alma materMarquette University (BA)
OccupationPublic relations, politician
WebsiteOfficial website

Jessie Rodriguez born July 5, 1977 is a Salvadoran American immigrant and Republican politician from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 21st Assembly district since December 2013. She is the first Hispanic immigrant elected to the Wisconsin Legislature.

Early life and education

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Jessie Rodriguez was born on July 5, 1977, in the Usulután Department, El Salvador. As a child, in 1984, she emigrated to the United States with her family, eventually settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1] She graduated from Milwaukee's Alexander Hamilton High School in 1996 and went on to attend Milwaukee's Marquette University where she earned her bachelor's degree in communications in 2002.[2] After graduating college, Jessie worked as an analyst for a large supermarket chain, but eventually landed a job as a communications outreach coordinator for Hispanics for School Choice.[3]

Political career

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Her prominent role in the school voucher movement in Milwaukee County made Rodriguez a close political ally of Republican county executive and later governor Scott Walker.[4]

In August 2013, the state representative in Rodriguez's new district, Mark Honadel, announced he would resign in the middle of his term to take a job in the private sector.[5] Governor Walker called a special election in the 21st district seat, to serve out the remainder of the 2013–2014 term. Rodriguez won the special Republican primary for the seat in October, taking 48% of the vote against a field of four opponents.[6] In its configuration at that time, the 21st Assembly district was considered competitive but slightly Republican-leaning—Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had edged out Barack Obama in the 2012 general election by two percentage points in the district.[4] Rodriguez slightly overperformed that benchmark in her special election, defeating Democrat Elizabeth Coppola with 56% of the vote.[7]

She was sworn in as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly on December 4, 2013.[8][9][10] She was re-elected without opposition at the 2014 general election and joined the Assembly Republican caucus leadership team in the 2015–2016 term as majority caucus secretary.[11] She was comfortably re-elected in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022. In the 2021–2022 legislative term, Rodriguez stepped down from her caucus leadership position and was appointed to a coveted seat on the Joint Finance Committee; Joint Finance is considered the most powerful committee in the state legislature, whose 16 members oversee all of the state's appropriations and revenues.[12][13][14]

In 2024, Wisconsin underwent a significant redistricting which undid the Republican partisan advantage that had existed in the state since 2011. Rodriguez's district was significantly affected as the more Republican leaning areas of Franklin were removed from the district and replaced with more Democratic leaning wards from the southern reaches of the city of Milwaukee. The neighboring Democratic-leaning city of South Milwaukee was also removed from the district. Under the new maps, the 21st Assembly district is projected to have a 53% Democratic partisan advantage, making it one of the most politically competitive districts in the State Assembly.[15]

Rodriguez faces a general election challenge in 2024 from Democratic activist David Marstellar.[16]

Personal life and family

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Jessie Rodriguez has a husband and child and they reside in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.[1]

Electoral history

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Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2013
(special) 		Special
Primary[6] 		Oct. 22 Jessie Rodriguez Republican 1,513 47.82% Chris Kujawa Rep. 866 27.37% 3,164 647
Ken Gehl Rep. 536 16.94%
Larry Gamble Rep. 170 5.37%
Jason Red Arnold Rep. 73 2.31%
Special[7] Nov. 19 Jessie Rodriguez Republican 4,557 56.40% Elizabeth Coppola Dem. 3,523 43.60% 8,080 1,034
2014 General[17] Nov. 4 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 16,051 96.54% --unopposed-- 16,626 15,476
2016 General[18] Nov. 8 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 16,589 59.30% Jack Redmond Dem. 11,338 40.53% 27,975 5,251
2018 General[19] Nov. 6 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 14,280 54.66% Gabriel A. Gomez Dem. 11,806 45.19% 26,123 2,474
2020 General[20] Nov. 3 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 17,729 54.61% Erik Brooks Dem. 14,708 45.3% 32,466 3,021
2022 General[21] Nov. 8 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 13,712 54.18% Nathan M. Jurowski Dem. 11,580 45.75% 25,309 2,132

References

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  1. ^ a b "Biography". State Representative Jessie Rodriguez. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "Meet Jessie". Jessie for Assembly. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-20 – via Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ "Hispanics for School Choice". Hispanics for School Choice. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Jessie Rodriguez could become the Legislature's first Hispanic Republican". The Capital Times. September 18, 2013. p. 14. Retrieved October 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Republican legislator announces retirement". Wisconsin State Journal. August 28, 2013. p. 5. Retrieved October 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Canvass Results for 2013 Special Primary Assembly 21 - 10/22/2013 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. October 29, 2013. p. 1. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  7. ^ a b 2013 Special Election Assembly 21 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2013. p. 1. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Craver, Jack (September 12, 2013). "Jessie Rodriguez could become Wisconsin Legislature's first Hispanic Republican". The Capital Times. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. ^ Garza, Jesse (November 19, 2013). "Republican Jessie Rodriguez elected to Assembly for 21st District". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "Jessie for Assembly". Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Representative Jessie Rodriguez (2015)". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "Representative Jessie Rodriguez (2021)". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  13. ^ Bauer Jr., Jere M. (January 2011). Joint Committee on Finance (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "2023 Joint Committee on Finance". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  15. ^ "Assembly District 21". Wisconsin Watch. September 6, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  16. ^ Morales, Eddie; Files, Emily (July 30, 2024). "Wisconsin Assembly District 21 election: Rodriguez vs. Marstellar". WUWM. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  17. ^ Canvass Results for 2014 General Election - 11/4/2014 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2014. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  18. ^ Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 22, 2019. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  21. ^ Canvass Results for 2022 General Election - 11/8/2022 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 30, 2022. p. 13. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
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Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 21st district
December 4, 2013 – present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessie_Rodriguez&oldid=1255566280"